Adjustable beam job

[Larry Murphy]

 Ed, Is it possible that your left front wheel is an aftermarket item with less set back than stock VW?

 If you removed leaves to get a softer ride you may need to adjust the ride height to a higher position. If it is lower than before,the shocks may not have been bottoming out. If you want it to set lower ,you may need the shorter shocks.

[edward ericson]

Thanks, Larry. Pretty sure it’s not the wheel. The body is not quite exactly centered on the pan. And it won’t skoot over any ’cause the steering box is already touching the radiator shroud. That seems to be the compromise made by the builder: you skoot the steering box a half inch outboard and you’re home… except then the steering wheel doesn’t line up, etc. I’ll probably fix that when I take the entire car apart and weld up a new pan, which I now understand is inevitable. (hell, probably go to a rack & pinion then too & dispense with this whole steering-shaft-peeking-out-of-the-side look. Chop down the beam too. . . .only money, right? And time?)

As for the ride height, I set it just about zackly where it was before. I liked the height it was at, and thought it looked pretty even, front to back.

‘Course now I understand that the back had sagged two inches (or three?) and so the front was set to compensate. And since I’m not about to re-index the rear torsion bars just now (see above, re: ‘take the entire car apart’), and don’t believe setting the car up nose-high would be advantageous, either aethetically or practically, I’mma go with the short shock. I’ll save the old ones though–nothing wrong with ’em that a few minutes on the wheel followed by a few spits from the rattle can can’t cure.

[chuck schmit]

I had almost the same scenario with my MiGi (no name yet, except Chitty Bang Bang from my housemate).

Car bottomed out the shocks

I got shorter shocks

100% improvement in ride

now had tie rods hitting underside of body

Flipped the tie rod ends

Now have ferder/tire interference

Looking for bottoming out snubbers to go on the shocks and shock extensions to center the suspension travel within the limits of the shocks. The snubbers will limit the upward travel of the suspension which should stop that “smell of burning rubba” when I go over speed bumps!

 I also found that my rear-end was bottoming out and put on gas shocks which gave me an inch of lift which is better than bottoming out on the factory snubbers. It’s pretty good now and I don’t scrape my tail pipe as often. I violated the “No gas shocks on V/W’s rule” and I’m glad I did it!

chuck

[edward ericson]

Boy, we’re a motley bunch, huh?

Meanwhile, over at the Speedster forum, they’ve been debating the merits of this $7k suspension setup versus this full A-arm chassis.

Not many takers, but still, a very different vibe.

I’m glad those guys let us hang around them.

edsnova40582.5582638889

[chuck schmit]

That is one nice set-up!

[edward ericson]

Well I replaced my front shocks with a set of Empi “shorty” shocks.

Looks like they’re maybe 2.5 inches shorter. Had to “jack up” the trailing arms to install them, and when I let the car back down I was worried that the shocks would not have enough downward travel–that is, the suspension would not be able to go down into ruts or potholes enough.

Took her for a short drive this a.m. (beautiful day, mid 50s) and…dang! Those buggers work nice! Drove right into several little manhole ruts, went over a “speed hump” and the car felt completely different from before. No more bone-jarring crunch and rattle. More like a real car! Call it good — though I still have to adjust the angle of the steering box ’cause the wheel feels just a tad bindy and sounds a little squeaky. (No sign of tie-rod-to-body interference though).

I consider this a great victory. Brought the car back home and laid a level on the front fender “shelves” and she’s got just about a .2 or .3 degree rake, with the ass end higher, when nobody’s in her. Can’t ask for more.

Thanks again to Mark (Pink MG) for showing the way on the adjustable beam and lesser spring rate.

[Dale Schumacher]

Good deal Ed – ready for some hard driving on the twisties.

Took mine out for a ride on Sunday w/ Paul Rich ( speedster guy ) and Greg ( another speedster guy I am helping him finish his project after 20 years sitting in his garage ) and had a great run. Looking forward to more of the same.

Glad yours came out like you wanted

[chuck schmit]

I’m with ed on the ride height. It’s gotta be close to level and we’re pretty much stuck with the rear height. I get the smell of “burnin rubba”
on hard right turns, so the narrower front beam would be great!
Are there any wheels avail with more offset to bring the tires in a bit more?
chuck

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