Hello everybody...

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:47 pm

Hey, My name is Joe. I'm sixteen and am just about to be the recipient of a hand-me-down '87 Brumby from my Dad.

It's pretty good physically, but needs alot of cosmetic work. New paintjob, rims, and a new weld where we removed the lame sunroof.

In the engine, we've replaced the Alternator

(I think) and about to replace the driveshaft.

Inside, It's got new upholstery, but needs a new ignition. The stereo is lame, because the bay is too wide and too shallow, so we had to make a stupid looking wooden thing to fit a decent head unit in. New steering wheel needed for cosmetic reasons only.

So, I need to know something that I haven't got around to asking my dad yet. How do you get a wheel with five nuts onto the original area (What's it called?) and does it require major modification?

Thanks.

Fang · Post by **Fang** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:55 pm

Hey Joe - and welcome to the board

You will have to post up pics of your beast once you have it on the road.

Are you referring to a steering wheel or car wheels? If you are wanting to put Subaru 5 stud wheels onto a Brumby, its not easy. A fellow here on the board is working on making an adapter kit to put 5 stud brakes onto MY/Brumby and L Series cars. See this link

http://www.ausubaru.com/main/modules.ph ... opic&t=593

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:06 pm

Yeah, I meant the wheels. How hard is it to find new 4 stud wheels?

Fang · Post by **Fang** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:08 pm

Not so bad - it depends if you want 13" or 14" wheels. 14" Speedy wheels are very popular for offroad. You can see the Speedy wheels for sale on here from time to time or you can buy them new.

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:16 pm

I was thinking more of Street wheels, like the ROH Shift R- http://www.roh.com.au/asp/iframe_conten ... =Shift%20R

Do Speedy make them? (What's their website?)

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:26 pm

Nah, it's simple to do the 5 stud conversion!

Ever seen junkyard wars?

There are two things you can do:
1) grab a new set of wheels and weld them onto the existing wheels
2) cut the centers out, swap them over and weld them back up.

8O 8O

Ok, I've been watching too much tv!

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 7:34 pm

smoov · Post by **smoov** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:04 pm

welcome to the forums.

sounds like you want to sell the subaru and buy a honda civic.

pm tim_81coupe, he'll be more than happy to share his experiences with hondas to you

(p.s: don't talk about your brumby like its something bad)

Fang · Post by **Fang** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:05 pm

You can get mags Joe. I have never gotten a set personally. I think Superlites might do them - but someone else is sure to be able to point you in the right direction.

Speedy wheels are made of steel and are white.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:19 pm

There is a modern stereo mounting kit you can buy very cheaply (few dollars). Fit any brand new stereo into your dash and make it look totally factory. No need for bodgy wood things

Contact your local car stereo shop - they have lots of adaptor kits, one of them is specifically for MY subarus.

smoov · Post by **smoov** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 8:45 pm

why not upholster the wood bit to make it look better?

go and get yourself an offcut of vinyl (or any other fabric that floats your boat) and staple it on.

i know smokey loves the fur i put on to his current car :P

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:51 pm

smoov wrote:pm tim_81coupe, he'll be more than happy to share his experiences with hondas to you

Steady on there Paris honey...

. I can't be the only person on these boards who loathes Honda's. But I do think I'm the only person that lets everyone know

That said I know my fair share about them, I have been involved in a B16A swap into an early 90's Civic.

About the wheels, I'll give you a quick rundown. There is a little bit of science involved in bolting a wheel to a car. There's the number of bolt holes and the PCD (pitch circle diameter). Basically if you were to draw a circle through all the bolt holes, the diameter of this circle is the PCD.
The problem you'll run into straight away, hopefully before buying wheels(!), is that the Subaru uses a 140mm PCD, whereas cars like Lancers, Civics and Corollas use a 100mm PCD or sometimes a 114.3mm PCD. Long story short, yes they have 4 bolt holes but they are too close together to bolt up to your hubs.
There is more behind just this, you have to consider wheel offset as well as tyre profile to match, but that is secondary to the above.
Your wheel options: If you really want the "Adrenaline" wheels, you can have your hubs redrilled to match the 114.3 PCD. Alternatively you can opt for a 6 stud conversion, as the standard 6 stud pattern uses a 140mm PCD as well, but this is really more for an offroad wheel than a streeter.

You won't find many rim options at all in the 4X140 pattern.

BaronVonChickenPants · Post by **BaronVonChickenPants** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:31 pm

Wildhorse looked into the 6 stud option, although it can be done you'll have a hard time getting it engineered as the extra stud holes go straight through the some of the main structural reinforcment sections of the hub.

Pity, was a nice easy way to get more access to rims.

Jordan.

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:04 am

Hi Joe
The brumby is a great little car for a learner driver. It is very forgiving & handles well. Just keep you foot away from the clutch when not using it. They are expensive little suckers to repair.
My 16yo is learning to drive in my L series. I just hope that he doesn't take too much of a liking to it, because I like it too.

I covered the "stupid looking wooden thing" with fine stick on carpet & it looks OK. I have used the same type of carpet to re-upholster a dash that had been ruined by the sun. It looks a lot better then cracked plastic & is cheap.

Some puegoet (not the correct spelling) 14" wheels fit & have the correct offset. I use a 185/70 tyre with mine & they work better then the 13" wheels for highway work & 4wd. They do make the speedo pessimistic which can be a trap when going through a Radar.

cheers
Kev

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:11 am

If you want "mags" for your Brumby, other option is go to the wreckers and look for Pegoet 504 with mags, there is a couple of them there, they can be either 14" or 15" and they'll bolt up straight away on Subarus.

Cheers
AP

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:52 am

AlpineRaven wrote:If you want "mags" for your Brumby, other option is go to the wreckers and look for Pegoet 504 with mags, there is a couple of them there, they can be either 14" or 15" and they'll bolt up straight away on Subarus.

Cheers
AP

But for a kid with modern tastes, ALL 4X140 wheels look ugly. A hub redrill is the only way to get anything new on there.

Fang · Post by **Fang** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:32 am

tim_81coupe wrote:But for a kid with modern tastes, ALL 4X140 wheels look ugly. A hub redrill is the only way to get anything new on there.

I have seen a few 4x140 S/H mags that dont look too bad on eBay recently. Its going to be to his personal taste I suppose. I think he should also be warned about the legal issues of redrilling hubs.

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:35 am

Here's some photos.

This is the old wagon, its the only one I could get accurate wheel measurements on.

This is the bolt to bolt measurement, exactly ten centimetres.

This is the center to bold measurement, seven centimetres.

I put some lino onto the head unit fitting, turned out nicely.

New CV joints I bought, about 350 each. (Brand new.)

joe_ritson · Post by **joe_ritson** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:42 am

And, this is probably the most fitting rim I've found.
http://www.speedywheels.com.au/images/z ... nmetal.htm
With those specs, do you reckon it would fit?

bluesteel · Post by **bluesteel** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:47 am

on you hubs at the moment... not a chance

can either get the hubs redrilled to suit a different stud pattern (Probably Illegal)

can get adapters made up that bolt onto your hubs and have new studs coming out to suit a different stud pattern (probably illegal)

or you can buy bratgeebah's kit when its all done and do it properly (comes with engineers cert)