1500 rear tuck in

bigdave Officially Full-On Dubber

329 posts · joined Aug 2006 · 31 May 2008, 9:30 am

#649102

The 69 Beetle I am restoring has some serious rear wheel tuck in. Will this lessen to a certain degree once all the parts are put back on the car - as it is basiclly a shell at the moment, but motor and gearbox are still in place? It has a compensating spring or arm - is this adjustable? I am assuming that this model has what they call a swing axle? Will the later IRS setup bolt straight up to the existing 69 gearbox and backing plates ect.?
Cheers
Dave

Matt Ryan Fahrvergnugen

890 posts · joined Jan 2006 · 31 May 2008, 3:14 pm

#649142

Wheels will tuck in if the car has been jacked up and will stay tucked in when lowered back down. Weight alone is not enough to settle the angle. The car needs to roll a short distance, a few feet forward then back should do the trick.

Regards,

Matt.

http://portvwforum.freeforums.org

david777 Officially Full-On Dubber

307 posts · joined Mar 2005 · 31 May 2008, 4:53 pm

#649152

Dave,

I agree with what Matt said.
The rear torsion bars can be re-set to make the back of the car sit lower, and reduce your positive camber (where the top of the wheels stick out further than the bottom). To make the front end of the car lower, you need adjusters welded in.
But before you do anything dramatic like that, you could check what shock absorbers you have in the rear.
Some brands (like KYBs) are fairly firm and will make the car sit higher up. It may be changing to softer shocks you car will sit lower. Not much point working too much on this until you have the car weight back to normal.

There are heaps of things you should read onlike on this forum and elsewhere before you go making changes -be they mild or wild.
http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/handling.htm

bigdave Officially Full-On Dubber

329 posts · joined Aug 2006 · 31 May 2008, 7:17 pm

#649187

Thanks chaps. Ok then, I will worry about it when it is all back together. Not looking at lowering at this stage. Interesting about the shocks though. At present refurbing the rear brakes, bearings ect. Up front has all new rotors, calipers and bearings ect. Ready for paint next month - all going well.

Cheers Dave

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 31 May 2008, 10:21 pm

#649216

Gas shock are pressurised and will lift the rear end...

the 68-69> beetles did have softer rear torsion bars
so they usually settle down after a while

I know of people who have actually adjusted the torsion bars UP as they have sagged over the years..

I'm waiting for mine to sag... lol
although autos had the IRS rear end..
so no positive camber...

LEE

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---