Pedrini Wheels on 71 Beetle

[C_Parm]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and also to VW ownership so I will apologize in advance for my ignorance but I figure I've come to the right place. I recently bought a 71 bug and have been doing small things to make it a better driver and just having fun with it. I just came across some Pedrini wheels off a 914 and had a few questions that I'm having a little trouble finding direct answers to within the forum and outside research.
They seem to fit my car ok and I love the way they look but they need some touching up. What is the best way to clean them up and make them pretty. Do they need to be bead blasted and then painted or how were they originally treated?
Next seems to be the problem with using them with disk brakes. I have drums right now but have considered upgrading. They are the early style 00 wheels and while I know everyone says its an issue with disk brakes, I have also noticed guys putting these wheels on disk brakes so I wanted to know what I should look out for and if there are rotors that will work. I know everyone says watch out for the centering ring and all that, but I honestly don't know what that is exactly. If I end up with rotors with a centering ring can it be machined off or no?
The final problem seems to be when lowering the car with drop spindles. I want to lower the car and would prefer to do it with spindles than adjusters and I don't want the car slammed and would prefer to keep it as cheap as possible and riding nicely. Guys are saying that there is a ball joint rubbing problem with drop spindles and the Pedrinis. I want to know if this is always the case and if so what is the best fix for it?
I appreciate your patience and look forward to your responses.
Much appreciated,
Chris

[jeff68]

Hey C_Parm ---I have a standard 1968 beetle (not superbeetle with a strut front end) and rear long axle swing axle transmission (stock rear) with stock drum brakes. On the front end of my car I installed Kharmann Ghia disk brake spindles with stock ghia calipers. I have Pedrini rims on the front and rear of my car and the calipers don't rub the inside of the rim and everything is stock. I also have Avis adjusters in my beam so that I can lower the front end, and I've lowered the from end about three inches. I did have to machine the centering ring off the rotors to allow the Pedrini wheels to fit. The centering ring is the "snout" that extends off of the center of the rotor. this is the center diameter that the wheel bearing is installed in. Machining off the centering ring has no adverse impact on the rotor but makes installing the wheels a litter harder if you use the stock lug bolts. If you don't have the Pedrini lug nuts, You will also need different lug nuts as the Pedrini wheels use a ball seat type lug nut and stock VW are not ball seat. I bought lug nuts off of e-bay and I had to cut them shorter. Make sue that you buy good quality lug nuts as many that are sold are made of inferior materials and not manufactured to a good level of quality.

As far as the finish of the wheels....I chose to refinish mine and I had the wheels bead blasted, then I polished all of the raised ribs and raised lips around the wheel windows. The unpolished areas of the wheels were painted rally silver. I didn't like the stock grey finish of the wheels. I also designed and made my own center caps out of aluminum and polished them to math the wheels. I don't have any pictures handy but if I find some I'll PM to you to see if you'd like. I like Pedrini's on late bugs and I get many compliments on mine. Hope this helps!

[C_Parm]

Thank you for your reply! First off I have a question about the Ghia spindles, they do not result in any sort of drop for the car correct? Also are there aftermarket rotors that do not have the centering ring, I believe some guys have found some that work. Lastly what should I expect to pay to bead blast all 4 wheels?
Thanks for the help, every little bit is appreciated so hopefully some more guys chime in on this!
ps: I'd love to see pictures of your bug if you can find some, feel free to PM me

[jeff68]

You're very welcome! Stock VW ghia disk brake spindles do not drop the front of the car at all and don't widen the track either. I think some rotors come without the centering ring but you have to check / ask when you're buying the rotors. I think some of the product information when you order them from some suppliers will specify if they have the ring or not. I'll pm you some pictures if I can find some!

[jeff68]

Here are some pictures of the detailed Pedrini wheels on my 68 beetle.

[Glenn]

I've had Pedrini's on my 74 Standard since 1980. I have early 00 on the rear and later 01 on the front since i have disc brakes.

Make sure you have the correct "ball seat" lug bolts and not the watercooled tapered ones that don't fit.

00 left, 01 rignt

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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

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[C_Parm]

Wow, those are some good looking cars and wheels. Thanks for the feedback. Glenn I've actually done some studying on your car when I was first getting these wheels. I have the right lugs and the wheels fit beautifully on my car right now. My only concern at this point is the trouble of going to disks and dropped spindles. Seems like you guys both have adjusters and Ghia spindles and brakes. Maybe that is the best route to go but was hoping to go the drop spindle route.

[Glenn]

Drop spindles will work, but you have to find a set that are "zero" offset. Otherwise they will push the wheels out,

I have AVIS adjusters and it's dropped 3" in the front.

Front tires are 195/55-15 and rears are 205/60-15.

_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי

[C_Parm]

Maybe this is getting outside the area of this forum section, and I think I'm opening a can of worms because everyone has a different opinion, but do you have a recommendation on a zero offset set of brakes and drop spindles? Also my concern with the drop spindles is the ball joint rubbing issue that people seem to have when running them with pedrinis. I was hoping to find out what the consensus is on the best way to remedy this problem.

[jeff68]

Since I want more rake (front end lower) and don't want to sacrifice ride quality (too stiff) I'm going to install a set of drop spindles on the front of my car soon. I bought a brand new pair from a local seller on Craigslist for $40. 00. He bought them from CIP1 and never installed them. I have been told by many that the combination of drop spindles and beam adjusters will give the best ride and handling when lowering the front end of a ball joint beetle.....We'll see.
Also, I will modify the drop spindles and add mounting holes for the backing plates as they don't have the threaded holes to install them. I'll also check the clearance between the spindle steering knuckle and the inside of the rim and radius the knuckle if need be. I'm not sure when I'm going to get to this as I've got a lot going on right now.

I have found that any time you modify / put aftermarket / custom parts on your car you may have to adjust this / tweak that to get things to assemble properly and work correctly.

[C_Parm]

Sounds good, I'd love to see how that turns out when you're able to do it. If I haven't done the conversion myself when you get around to that, I'd love to pick your brain on problems and solutions. I agree about making things work when going aftermarket, half the fun is finding a solution when it doesn't.

[Glenn]

Here's a side by side of (2) 74 standards. Mine has a 3" drop.

_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי

[Failer]

Sorry for gravedigging this post, but it seemed the most relevant to my question. I too have a 68, that I would like to put Pedrini wheels on. I take it from previous comments that stock size tires on this wheel should present no problems with a stock front end and swingaxle?

What about larger tires? My question is two-fold, first - what is the approximate range of sizes that will fit on this wheel, and second, if I were to go wider, how do I know how much the beam would need to be narrowed, short of buying and trying? Would Glenns particular sizes fit in this car? Do I need to go that big anyway?