Dumb Newb question

[Kozmic1]

New to Air Cooled so be kind here guys..... I'm working on a friend of my wifes '72 and I was wondering if it is possible to reset the front torsion bars to lower the car about 3"? I'm an old hot rodder and don't have any experience with the bug but I have to admit they are pretty cool.

We don't want to put a beam or anything in there, and if I have to I can rework the front end to drop the thing but was hoping there was a simple way to drop the sucker.

Gentlemen..........

[rostigbug]

Originally Posted by Kozmic1

guys..... I'm working on a friend of my wifes

there are
no dumb questions,only dumb answers,that is my job.

Seriously you need to know if it is a super beetle or a standard beetle.\
they each have a completly different front suspension system.
Either way it is not "simple" to lower the front of a bug.

[rostigbug]

how to tell if it is a super???
the super is a McPherson strut front suspension
look in the front wheel wells & if you see a coil spring it is a super.

[purplemyth]

Std or super?

Std~ Get and install Adjusters. For more drop, add on drop spindles.

Thread in the tech bin on the adjusters.

[Scott76]

OK. Like everyone asked. std. or Stuper?

Your intro states you want to extend the wheel base. You say your a hamb'r so you should know the PA laws with fenders. Yea you can extend it but will have to run fenders. Not trying to bust your balls here but just wanted to point that out to ya.

If its a std. then do waht Purple says. Tech Bin. If its a Super good luck. It can be done (thats all I'll say about them).

[Kozmic1]

This car has gone through some transition since we began on it. She now wants to take a more reserved approach and drop the car, keeping the fenders. What I'll do is split the mounting surface on the front of the stock beam and drop the whole mounting plate 3" using 10ga. This way I'll maintain the stock geometry and won't need to spend any money on it either. I'm going to have to move the tank back 2 1/4" to clear the setup and go with some Borgeson joints in the steering to compensate. These are stock for me and I'm using a different column anyway. The biggest problem for me is going to be getting this bag of walnuts straight enough for the Candy Wine Burgundy flake that she wants and getting this automatic sombitch to get out of it's own way!

Also she's looking for major sound system which means I'm going to need at least a 100 Amp alternator which I'll probably just use a GM for with some custom bracket work. I have a rod shop and have the ability to fabricate just about anything and also know PA inspection and DOT really well. I've already put all new pans and about the bottom 6" of sheetmetal all around and filled a '70's era aftermarket sun roof in. The bug sat in the weeds for about the last 5+ years and rusted pretty much in half. I replaced just about everything on the bottom.

She has sentimental value to this car of I would have said to just get a better example and part this one. By the way it's a standard bug.

I'll post up some pics when I drop the front end. It's pretty simple to do.

As a side note... I'm not really a bug guy but I really like this forum. My kind of people. I spend a lot of time on the HAMB and have a load of build threads and tech stuff on there that might be of use to people on here.

I'll be posting.

[Scott76]

Alot of us go back & forth to the Hamb. There are good threads there and some great ones on here as well.

OK. Let me first say what you have plans for lowering the front is WAY HARDER than just putting adjusters and narrowing the beam. Remember you lower the front (raising the beam) will not be able to steer at all (clearance problems). That is were narrowing comes into play. AND if you are going to narrow (which you have to) its just as easy to weld in adjusters. The adjusters will get you alittle over 2" lower. Then buy 2" drop spindles and update to lower ball joints. WAY EASIER.

I'm not a pro but you have come to the right place to get the info you need. Its not the first bug most of these guys modified. So I would listen to what most of them have to say.

[Jon]

Cut and turn the tubes. Put in adjusters. Buy an adjustable beam.
Bolt on some drop spindles for a 2.5" drop.

Or better yet make it super complex the way you described....

Its easy and we can help you but if you did a search you would be surprised at how easy it is.

Dont cut your frame head and all that bullshit, just cut and twist the tubes. they have an index in the center and it will locate the height where you want. About 10 degrees is good for an inch drop.

Adjusters are super easy, just pull the leaves out of one tube weld one in, then do the other.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzEGMpSp6wc

[Unkl Ian]

"The Wheel" has already been invented.

[Jon]

No Shit.

Educate before you Fabricate.

[metalmaster1766]

Originally Posted by Unkl Ian

"The Wheel" has already been invented.

Well I'll be damned

Guess it's back to another invention




Ron

[Kozmic1]

I have a better idea. The front end looks fine like it is.

Problem solved! I need to come to the reality that most people just don't give a shit about what things look like. ( not the guys here!), I'm talking about owners. I just want this thing out of my sight.

Anybody know what might be a fair cost for srtipping out the interior, replacing the floor pans and up about 8" all around including a new head and just about everything attached, stripping to bare metal, prepping a bag of walnuts and shooting the entire car in monster flake?

There is also a ton of botched up crash work up front that was repaired with at least an inch of Bondo. The shell was 1 1/4" out of square, so I spent over 20 hrs pulling everything back into place. The lady that owns this is a very good friend who I dearly care about, but I think she has some unrealistic expectations about how much time and labor it costs to go through one.

Any thoughts?

[purplemyth]

Let her walk around it, tell her, show her, let her decide.

Have a catalog or printouts from a source online handy to show her what replacement parts (stock interior) will cost.
Or surf samba classifieds.
My car wasn't a rust bucket but it was still $1500 to get it on the road. That was 8yrs ago. It did need body work though.
Pans, paint, brakes, front end, wheels, tires, interior and the doors swapped from other cars we had. Swapped fenders on the rear.
No headliner . Which if you've never done one, is a pita I'll tell ya now after installing one in another car.
But all the little shit added up fast.

[rostigbug]

The lady that owns this is a very good friend who I dearly care about,

forget this project.
you allready know just the parts and materials for a job like this is close to 6000$
resto-customs can run up to 10,000 just for the body & paint.
Then figure in wiring
are you going to put back the old wiring-glass-upholstery-bumpers-door handles-gauges---------
dude just forget it.

just buy her a new ford focus.
P/S,P/W,P/B,A/C,C/C,SRS,ABS & a 50,000 mile warranty
all for 15,000$