Thing Drums into a bus??

gezuvor · Post by **gezuvor** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 4:49 pm

Okay, not sure if this is feasible or if it's been beaten to death, but I hear that front 181 drums are bigger than type 2 and I am interested in boosting my stopping power w/o leaving the VW family for a kit.

Any ideas, suggestions or pointers??

~Rich

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 9:01 pm

What year bus are you hoping to improve?
The master and wheel cylinders are more important to stopping power than shoe size alone. So tell us some more and perhaps we can help. Chances are that a type 3 will be of more help to you than a 181 because the Thing uses bug shoes and cylinders but a different rear DRUM. Woven rear brake linings have a higher friction rate than regular. Have you considered converting to discs. This is most common now with various kits available.
Good Luck. Bob Ingman

[This message has been edited by Bob Ingman (edited 07-01-2002).]

gezuvor · Post by **gezuvor** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 9:25 pm

Hi Bob, thanks for the comments.

My bus is a '60. I want to keep the wide five and not screw up the offset by going to an Old Speed (or similar) kit. I have yet to do the late MC update, but wanted to investigate this as well.

I got some 181 drums as part of a Lemmerz wheel package I bought at OCTO and wanted to see if they were indeed better and how much more hardware I'd have to buy to make it work.

------------------
Rich | 60 DD Panel | 75 Rabbit | 97 "DE" GTI

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 9:56 am

The Thing drums may or may not be of help to you in this . The thing has the same drums and brakes as a bug. The exception being that in 68 and later the rears were widened a bit when the switch was made to the four hole bolt pattern. To keep using the bug parts VW came up with a wider drum for the rear that keeps the wide 5 bolt pattern. Thus the 181 only rear brake drum.
I`d say that since you have a very early bus there is a good chance that this swap could work for you. You`ll have to be able to compare the linings you use now with those from a 68-73 bug and see if all lines up but the width. E-brake and retainer pin holes ect. If all matches then it just might work for you .
Keep us posted on this one. Also ask around over at the bus barn to see if anyone is familiar with this. There are a lot of bus savy guys over there. Good luck. Bob Ingman

gezuvor · Post by **gezuvor** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 11:53 pm

Thanks Bob, I'll check the barn for more info and update everybody if I pull it off...

lastsafari · Post by **lastsafari** » Sun Jan 19, 2003 7:22 pm

swing axle bugs have narrow brake shoes and drums. Things have differente patern drums than Safaris but same width.
It is a very common case that since Thing brake shoes were not longer available then swing axle bug shoes were used instead. In Mexico about 5 % of Safaris if that much are still running with Safari brake shoes. Now, if the braking action is performed by the area of contact between shoes and drums, and you reduce the brake shoes to beetle's size even if you have wide Thing drums you will get beetle's braking results.