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J Flare Samba Member
Joined: September 27, 2004 Posts: 309 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject: Bus rims |
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I see on the Thing Shop site that you can not use 15" bus rims on a Thing.
Can anyone tell me why not? |
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Ron Domeck Samba Member
Joined: August 05, 2007 Posts: 1466 Location: louisville Ky
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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The offset is to the inside and will rub on the front at the pan when you turn. |
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J Flare Samba Member
Joined: September 27, 2004 Posts: 309 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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ooohhh I see
Thank you |
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howiesfamily Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2004 Posts: 858 Location: Panther City, Texas
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:46 am Post subject: |
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How about 5 lug Ghia rims on the rear? I was wanting to get a set of off road tires just for the rear and figure that rubbing shouldn't be a problem there. _________________ member of: Fort Worth Aircoolers Gang |
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wardvwracer Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2002 Posts: 489 Location: De Pere, WI
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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Will 14" wide-5 bus rims work?
My thing has only one of its original 14" rims and I was wondering about running 14" bus rims with the slots.
Is the offset problem the same? _________________ David Ward
ACME Berrien Buggy Street/Strip racer build
1963 Single Cab
1969 Beetle Convertible
63 11-Window Kombi Bus
Cornpanzers |
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Ron Domeck Samba Member
Joined: August 05, 2007 Posts: 1466 Location: louisville Ky
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Bus 14 in. will work on the rear, 15 in. Beetle, not sure. |
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56zwitter Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2004 Posts: 97 Location: AZ
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:25 am Post subject: |
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Can you also use the bus 14" rims on the front too? |
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Ron Domeck Samba Member
Joined: August 05, 2007 Posts: 1466 Location: louisville Ky
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:37 am Post subject: |
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That is were they cannot be used, they will rub on the pan when turning. |
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Pierre G Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2007 Posts: 1771 Location: New Caledonia
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:01 am Post subject: |
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While I agree with the fact that it can rub on the pan when turning, saying that they can't be used is a bit much. I use them "temporarly" on my 181/Thing since a year. It rubs a bit when full turning on the right side. For some reason, it doesn't rub at all on the left. I wouldn't recommend everyone to use bus rims, but I'm using my bus 15" rims with very minor rub. I'm finishing the tires and will then go for some aftermarket 15X6 wheels with new tires. It can be used for a while, waiting for a better wheel choice, if you have them laying around. But if you have to buy them,you'd better look for something that fits perfectly. _________________ 1976 181/Thing, 1967 fastback, 1973 squareback, 1964 microbus, 1967 Double Cab, 1969 westfalia (currently under resto), 1972 LM1C dune buggy, 1974 jean's bug, 1974 1303 (super beetle, currently under reassembly after new paint). |
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[email protected] Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2003 Posts: 868 Location: Clifton Park NY Saratoga County
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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they sometimes rub on the spindle, not the pan, sometimes not by about a half inch _________________ Michael Basso
http://www.thingparts.com
New and Used VW Thing Parts Free advice
CALL 518 630 0173 |
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uberautowerks Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2005 Posts: 1600 Location: Longmont Co
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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OK....
With regard to OE wheels...
14" bus wheels will rub on the front spindle, some more than others, some all the time, some only while cornering.
15" Bus rims... I could be wrong, but I think these are pretty hard to find, if they exist at all, I think only the real early busses used them, or were they 16", anyway...
15" Beetle and Ghia rims are identical, I believe type 3 rims too, and they will not rub the spindle. However they have too much negative offset and the fronts may rub the pan at full lock. The steering arm stops can be adjusted to compensate for this. That said, the extra negative off-set can be a good thing, providing more fender clearance for wide tires.
15" x 6" Aftermarket Chromies have about the same off-set as the factory Thing rims and work well, no rubbing, except with some tires at the front on the pan. Again the steering arm stops can be adjusted to prevent the pan rub.
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These are NOT guesses (except the type 3 and 15" bus info), these are tried and true fitments on my Thing and customers Things over the years. _________________ --- The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.
- Douglas Adams -
---
'74 Thing (White)
'71 Single cab (White too)
'70 Weekender (White three)
'05 Evolution VIII (White also!!!)
'68 F-250 (White over black) |
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Pierre G Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2007 Posts: 1771 Location: New Caledonia
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:53 am Post subject: |
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uberautowerks wrote: |
15" Bus rims... I could be wrong, but I think these are pretty hard to find, if they exist at all, I think only the real early busses used them, or were they 16", anyway...
These are NOT guesses (except the type 3 and 15" bus info), these are tried and true fitments on my Thing and customers Things over the years. |
Thanks for the info based on tried. I'll just ad about the 15" bus rims. They're not that rare (otherwise I wouldn't have some ). They were on a lot of split bus, as the 14" rims were on 1964-later buses. Earlier buses had 15", except the really old ones (barndoor) that had 16". _________________ 1976 181/Thing, 1967 fastback, 1973 squareback, 1964 microbus, 1967 Double Cab, 1969 westfalia (currently under resto), 1972 LM1C dune buggy, 1974 jean's bug, 1974 1303 (super beetle, currently under reassembly after new paint). |
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sam_w Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 1479 Location: Petaluma, CA
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:29 am Post subject: |
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well i am puzzled.
The thing parts microfiche shows a 211part number wheel.
Well I have 5 powdercoatedbus rimsn thing silver,i intend to use 185/65 tires, I willtry my 63 singlecab wheels and tires, they are 201/75 15's and do not fit under the hood.
Ist the tire or the wheel tnat rubs? _________________ 63 singlecab
73 thingster
74 Thing |
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crofty Judas of the North
Joined: August 09, 2000 Posts: 19672 Location: Land of Whine and Phonies
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:36 am Post subject: |
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uberautowerks wrote: |
OK....
With regard to OE wheels...
14" bus wheels will rub on the front spindle, some more than others, some all the time, some only while cornering.
15" Bus rims... I could be wrong, but I think these are pretty hard to find, if they exist at all, I think only the real early busses used them, or were they 16", anyway...
15" Beetle and Ghia rims are identical, I believe type 3 rims too, and they will not rub the spindle. However they have too much negative offset and the fronts may rub the pan at full lock. The steering arm stops can be adjusted to compensate for this. That said, the extra negative off-set can be a good thing, providing more fender clearance for wide tires.
15" x 6" Aftermarket Chromies have about the same off-set as the factory Thing rims and work well, no rubbing, except with some tires at the front on the pan. Again the steering arm stops can be adjusted to prevent the pan rub.
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These are NOT guesses (except the type 3 and 15" bus info), these are tried and true fitments on my Thing and customers Things over the years. |
Buses from March of '55 to '64 used 15" rims. _________________ Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.
HamburgerBrad wrote: |
I slept on crofty's tent once. I passed out drunk from two bottles of Everett's brother's wine. |
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uberautowerks Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2005 Posts: 1600 Location: Longmont Co
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:55 am Post subject: |
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crofty wrote: |
Buses from March of '55 to '64 used 15" rims. |
Thank you!
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Sam, the rim itself rubs. At the very outer lip, if you have an inner balance weight it will be ripped off. With some rims it's just a slight rub when cornering others rub all the time.
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In theory you could clearance the spindle where the rim rubs but you would have to remove over a quarter inch to get a weight in there too and that's a bit much for a spindle. _________________ --- The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.
- Douglas Adams -
---
'74 Thing (White)
'71 Single cab (White too)
'70 Weekender (White three)
'05 Evolution VIII (White also!!!)
'68 F-250 (White over black) |
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sam_w Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002 Posts: 1479 Location: Petaluma, CA
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:27 am Post subject: |
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Here is the pic I posted previously, and the fiche shows a 211 part number wheel.
I will try my bus wheels to check on the front later in the week.
_________________ 63 singlecab
73 thingster
74 Thing |
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crofty Judas of the North
Joined: August 09, 2000 Posts: 19672 Location: Land of Whine and Phonies
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:37 am Post subject: |
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Those might be different from the rdx box Things and the IRS ones? _________________ Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.
HamburgerBrad wrote: |
I slept on crofty's tent once. I passed out drunk from two bottles of Everett's brother's wine. |
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yellow73kubel Samba Member
Joined: August 17, 2008 Posts: 789 Location: Columbia, SC
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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crofty wrote: |
Those might be different from the rdx box Things and the IRS ones? |
I'm curious about this, decided to see what google turned up. Found one military 181 with the slotted Bus wheels, but the other 181's look like standard no-slot Thing wheels. Doc 181 (or Kubelmann), you seem to have a good resource for military 181 info, care to chime in and solve this?
[edit] oh wait.. From that chart posted by sam. 181's up to chassis F181 2617 370 got the 211 part number 4.5x15in Bus wheels, 181's after that chassis got 181 part number 5JK14 wheels (no slots). So now, anyone have any info on those particular chassis numbers? |
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uberautowerks Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2005 Posts: 1600 Location: Longmont Co
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Just read a bit more...
The early Things did get 211 numbered wheels AND those were 15" in diameter. The extra inch will prevent the rim rubbing on the spindle. _________________ --- The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.
- Douglas Adams -
---
'74 Thing (White)
'71 Single cab (White too)
'70 Weekender (White three)
'05 Evolution VIII (White also!!!)
'68 F-250 (White over black) |
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sjhotz Samba Member
Joined: May 12, 2007 Posts: 468
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Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:49 am Post subject: |
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My 74 has front end 4lug to 5 lug wheel adapters up front from a super beetle front brake conversion my mechanic did (he swears by the larger super beetle pads stopping power, i'm indifferent). My issue is i'm running 14" General Grabbers AT2's all around and have occasional rubbing up front. I have a set of good stock 14" tires on 5 lug Bus rims. If I understand the issue the rubbing is on the inside of the rim correct? So with my adapters moving the wheel out 1/3 of an inch I should be able to use my Bus rims correct? Or is this just wishful thinking? _________________ BAY PRIDE!
74 Thing
72 Bay Window Westy TinTop |
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