THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pinzgauer-1972- ... 1817280891

looks like a lot of time and money into this one!

It is a nice riding truck, has EFI and a Disk brake conversion. I did some of the work including installing EFI and some of the brake conversion.

What donor vehicle was the source of the brake components?

The ebay auction seems to have ended already at only $15k. The ad for it says:

"New ML Mercedes rotors with 5 aluminum rims with tires (ML & GL Mercedes wheels will fit) 12” Wilwood disc brakes"

I figured Jim must have known the truck and did some of the work. It is interesting that Jim is not enthusiastic about disc brakes though - maybe if we read between the lines it hasn't work out so well?

The only negative on the truck I saw was the wiring to the fuel injection computer and accessory fuse block looked like a rats nest... probably work of the owner I would think.

It would be interesting to hear more about the conversion to disc brakes and why the ML discs were used - they have a smaller bolt circle than the other Mercedes models such as the Sprinter vans which share their bolt circle with the G-wagen and diesel Pinzgauers. Seems like a bigger bolt circle would make the switch-over / modifications to the drum brake setup easier?

The hubs are custom and Mercedes Rotors and wheels fitted, Willwood calipers are used as well as other mods. I don,t like modifying backing plates, they are rather expensive. I recall the (So Ca Pinz) build on this truck(including paint and new factory desert top) was between $45,000-$55,000.
All gearboxes and diffs were done(ex2 front and rear).
I over saw some of the project and also worked on several components/systems.
As a side note, I do have 5 custom steel rims that fit this truck.

I've seen this one on Ebay and was questioning why such a high list price, Jim just cleared that right up for me!

Looks nice, would hate to scratch it up on a trail though...

Interesting. Seems like a lot of work though, though maybe someone found discs with the same bolt centres as the petrol Pinzs.

Nothing exists that will work with stock hubs and wheels.

"Nothing exists that will work with stock hubs and wheels"

Thanks Jim, you just saved me from wasting some time. Not that I'm in a hurry to get discs as my drums have been really quite good.

But I have had it in the back of my mind to one day go and check out some Transit van discs at a local wrecker. I'm guessing from your last post that Transit's don't use a hat type disc?

Transits use a hat type disc but with a plate on the top which has the lug nuts - so it will not fit over the Pinz 710/712 wheel hub that the brake drum attaches too.

I just made a deal for it, now have to figure out the logistics of getting it up to Washington.

If anyone has experience with a shipping company they recommend for that I would appreciate the lead.


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I spent years (on and off) researching fitting disks to my 712 and whilst I came to the conclusion it could be done it was expensive and a bit of a compromise at best.

Now I have a 718 and have had the chance to fully disect it all, I see the factory obviously ran into many of the same problems and I'm guessing that's (partially) why they redesigned the stub axle setup etc.
They also use a "unique to Pinzgauer" brake rotor to overcome some problems and this part is damm expensive for what it is!

I suppose the availability of 17 inch wheels would make it easier these days - very little room in the stock steel wheels for discs and calipers. I know that the Trail-Ready wheels are huge in comparison. Even the Ford Transit rims I recently got have a lot more room in them as they don't taper as much internally so they actual center of the wheel is much larger in diameter - at least an inch larger.

I wonder if those ML mercedes wheels are 16s or 17s?

The "other" big problem with the 710/712 is the large PCD of the wheel stud pattern and hence the large overall diameter of the wheel stud flange.
This means that as the disk rotor has to fit over this flange and inside the wheel the resultant swept area is minimal.

The TD's have a smaller diameter stud pattern/flange......the same as a G Wagen.

Yes - All true... I think switching to the G-wagen's bolt pattern made sense for Steyr-Puch to do - the 710/712 Pinz pattern is large and is a bit odd being only shared with Hanamogs, Ford Transit vans and Maharinda pick-ups...

Could you give me an idea of the rotor diameter for the 716/718 rotors? as well as the inner diameter if possible - just want to add them to a spread sheet I have that includes other vehicle's disc setups. Are the pads/calipers on the rear the same as the front? (I realize the front are dual caliper and the rear are single caliper).

Thanks!