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currently own a 1988 subaru brumby and want to put a good set of 15" or even 16" alloy wheels on it but because of the unique stud pattern on it i can find any.

looking on information on how to do it and parts that i would need?

thanks sam

do a search on the forum or have a look at crossbredperformance

http://www.crossbredperformance.com/

Or a 6 stud. Then you can put some land cruiser/ patrol sunraysia's rims on it.

Three options:

1. Crossbred kit.
2. Import a set of XT6 hubs from the US (rare as hens teeth)
3. Redrill to 6-bolt pattern.

If you can live with Pug 505 15" alloys there's no cost (be careful of metric Pug wheels, 390mm from memory, which isn't 15"). The offset is about the same for a Brumby. Crossbred you're looking at about a grand all-up, XT6 close to the same, and redrill you can probably do yourself or send to a machining shop for $150 or so. The only problem with the 6-stud is finding wheels with the right offset.

You can also get some alloys custom-made but again you're looking at about a grand upwards for cheap ones (made of chinese soda cans).

dfoyl wrote: 3. Redrill to 6-bolt pattern.
The only problem with the 6-stud is finding wheels with the right offset.

And its also illegal

can you remove the hubs for redrilling without disturbing the bearings? or is it all one piece?

Dean.nabbe wrote:can you remove the hubs for redrilling without disturbing the bearings?

Yes

Front: Undo the 36mm axle nut (big breaker bar/extension pipe) and tap the drive shaft with a soft hammer or block of wood, should break the cone washer free. The front hub is bolted to the brake disc with 4 bolts so either undo them or unbolt and swing the brake caliper out of the way

Rear: Rear hub is basically the brake drum. Undo the big nut and just pull the drum off the stub axle. Might get stuck if there is a step worn inside the brake drum.

awesome... i'll give it a go..

thanks.

it will certainly make finding 15" rims that fit a whole lot easier..

btw... does anyone know if it is legal in Victoria?

Not legal.

Would need to machine down some new hubs that are blank - then drill what ever stud arrangement you want... This would be legal, but it's certainly not cheap!

Cheers

Bennie

What would be the legalities of having the original stud holes welded up, the surfaces machined to flatten the welds, then re-drilled.
Provided the welds are done to an engineering standard, this may be a cheap way out.
I guess it also depends on where the holes are drilled vs casting ridges, although that can be welded around, with the right tools.

Dont know the rules on this one, its just a tempting though????

with that much work it'd be easier to get new hubs made. I don't think welding them up would be good, the structural integrity wouldn't be good as the original metal is cast I think. Paul (RSR555) can do new hubs (to suit L series, but with 5stud) for you I believe, just like the cr0ssbread ones.

Someone tell me if the hubs are cast iron or cast steel? You can't "weld" cast iron. Wouldn't think they were made of that though...Couldn't see a problem with welding and re-facing them in a lathe, if the weld was nice and hot there wouldn't be a problem with strength. Getting the holes perfectly concentric with the middle would be important though, I would do it on a mill with digital readout, then you can center the machine in the center of the hub and just pitch your holes at whatever PCD you want.

If I had free access to the machines and plenty of free time, it would be no problem. But I hate staying late at work because the traffic gets so bad

The thing everyone is forgetting about is the likely hood of your Subaru getting pulled over and a cop checking your hubs for this/ realizing whats been done and that it's illegal. Unless your driving like a dick/ something obvious for them to defect you, the only way you will get picked up is when you go over the pits.

Cheers Cam

Good point Cam, you could drive around with welded and re-drilled hubs for years and not get picked up (I'm sure many people have) The cops around here anyway are more interested in lowered slammed to the ground type cars, and the ones that do drag races at 3 in the morning. I think the new hubs I'm getting have been welded and re-drilled but they're still 4 stud and no cop is gonna know they're not factory PCD.

Precisely! However eastern states may have to go over the pits yearly for RWC but i'm sure they know how to get away with illegal mods haha.
No officer I don't have a perma-shim LSD, I just broke a shaft and haven't been able to replace it yet... Or my favorite for most mods like HID's, Sorry sir, didn't know it was illegal, this is how I bought it. Haha

>>Or my favorite for most mods like HID's, Sorry sir, didn't know it was illegal, this is how I bought it.

<<DIVERSION ALERT>>
The problem with this one is the sellers on eBay/Gumtree who are listing these HID upgrades for cars that can't legally have them fitted, and when you ask them they say sure they're legal until you start talking about auto-levelling systems and our insane ADR regulation for leadlight washers, and then the seller says oh no, they're not legal for ROAD use, only for OFF-ROAD use.

People who fit HIDs and then drive around with them AND their fog lights on during the day are Darwin Award candidates. Actually, anyone who drives around with fog lights on falls into this category (fog lights are NOT DRL's).

<<DIVERSION / RANT OVER >>

HIDs should have never been allowed in Australia - or any blue tinted forward facing lights anyway!

As for the welding of the holes - I'm sure it's been done before. It'll only really be one a problem if your vehicle is involved in a stack and they look into the vehicles involved with a fine hair-comb so to speak. Otherwise I reckon you'd be fine - but that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things does it?

Cheers

Bennie

I read a post on the us forum where the poster described a process where the 4 pcd140 studs were removed, and replaced with "Plugs" that were pressed in and then shaved/smoothed with the hub face . The post recommended that the plugs were cooled/frozen before pressing in, and that while the hubs could be warmed up slightly , not to put a heat gun on them as it could damage the forging and turn them brittle. This "de-forging" was the reason that the post claimed that welding was a very bad idea.

Personally while I clearly see the point of avoiding welding an already heat-treated metal suspension component like hubs, I'm not so certain that heating it up to (say) 40 deg centigrade before pressing in a cold plug would be an issue.

After the hub was smooth - then the new stud holes were drilled at the pattern spacing desired.

You can weld cast iron with cast iron rods, you just need to heat the hub so its a cherry red before welding. I welded up a cast iron engine block in a ferry in Fiji 10 years ago and it's still in service. If you machine the drum down to make a hub the holes aren't there anymore anyway.