I figured out a simple way to get the beam back together, and I hope it's right. If not, please let me know.
I pushed some leaves through the beam tube into the adjuster block so I could turn the adjuster block (with the adjuster bolt removed) 90 degrees to reveal the pointy grub screw. Simply unscrew it and set it aside.
With the grub screw out, re fit all the leaves into the beam. Make sure the divot in the centre of the leaves is facing where you took the grub screw out, as the grub screw will be going into that divot. Also make sure you have the leaves the right way around, as the trailing arm divots are on opposite sides of the torsion leaves. I had mine marked from when I took it apart, so it was Tim proof. I found it easiest to push them through separately rather than try to get them all through at once. It didn't take long to do each set of leaves. Maybe a minute or two. I might have had beginners luck too : )
In the pic, through all the grease, you can see the centre divot is lined up with the grub screw hole.
Just so I'm clear, as I didn't know any of this before, this is the grub screw I'm talking about that locates the leaves into the adjustable block in the beam adjuster. It's at a 90 degree angle to the adjuster bolt that sticks out through the slot in the adjuster, so the bolt has to be removed and the block rotated 90 degrees to get to this screw.
With the divot in the leaves lined up with this grub screw hole, the screw itself should go in a fair way. If it doesn't, then the leaves aren't lined up and the screw will stick out past the edge of the adjuster block and you wont be able to turn the block back the 90 degrees it needs to go. Sorry I'm not very good at explaining things, so I hope this makes sense.
I took this photo just to show the two holes in the adjuster block. The top hole is for the adjuster bolt that sticks out through the slot in the adjuster, and the bottom hole is for the grub screw that locates the torsion leaves.
I didn't have any trailing arms lying around so I used multi grips on the leaves to turn the adjustable block inside the adjuster back and forth as needed. It would have been easier to just stick a trailing arm on though, just so you know.
So with the grub screw in place, I turned the leaves back 90 degrees so I could see the other hole through the slot in the adjuster and refitted the nuts, bolts and alloy block that go on the outside of the adjuster. Do all this to the other beam and the job's done.
The next bit will be fitting it to the car and shortening the steering arms to suit. I'll try to get pics and ad it to this thread if anyone is interested.
That's it.
Great job mate.....those welds look great
One small point, you may notice the grub screw has a point where the original has a flat on the end, a grinder will fix it so it aligns the leaves correctly and doesn't work loose.
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
great thread + build pics
Cheers
lookin great tim
made sense to me and i am well known as incompetent with these things
i will definitely get some photos of the beam going in - maybe you should be there to assist with this bit seeing as it is your baby
jack the beetle rides again !!!
I'd like to be there when it goes in, just to make sure all is well and to shorten the steering arms.
I once had surgery on my rocket
And I'm sure your rocket is all the better for it : )
Mad bastard. You're as crazy as I am.
Thanx Dude, way cool thread! Well done!
Hello again. Sorry for the delay in finishing this thread but too bad : )
Whatever amount you cut from each side of the beam has to also be removed from the steering arms.
Glen has already cut the 30mm off the end of the steering arms for me, so I just need to re thread the arm and get it ready for the clamp to go on.
Here's one of the arms cut.
Next step is to put more thread inside the steering arm. There is still some in there seeing as there's only 30mm cut off, so starting the tap is easy. The tap needed is a 14mm x 1.5mm thread.
I ran the tap into the arm further than the tie rod end could reach, so I know there is maximum adjustment available for wheel alignments.
This photo shows how long the tie rod is compared to the tap I used. This now makes the previous picture make a bit more sense as you can see how far in I tapped the thread. Does that make sense?
Once you've run the tap through the steering arm, there are a couple of simple things that need to be done for the clamp to go back on. Firstly you need to cut the slot back into the steering arm, so the arm can grab the tie rod as the clamp is tightened.
The second thing to do is grind the small recess into the arm as the bolt that goes through the clamp wont fit through without the clearance this recess gives. Simple.
You can cut the other end of the steering tube if you want, but double check for left/right handed thread before you cut.
When it's all done it should look something like this.
The tie rod end shouldn't have to go in this far, I just wound it in that far to check that it could.
When tapping things like this I always like to use a decent cutting compound. I have a liking for moly cut paste and/or tap magic liquid. Makes the job a lot easier and when tapping holes with a really small diameter tap makes for a lot less broken taps.
Glen has fitted the beam to Jack the beetle with the help of Lindsay. He had to do a little bit of tapping with the hammer on the inner guard to clear the shock towers, but as you can see it's nothing too major. Narrowing the beam any further would result in having to recess the body to make room for the shock towers to sit inside. Again, not a huge deal, but it's definitely easier to not have to do that.
Well here's the beam fitted again. Seeing as this is the first beam I'd modified, I was happy to know it all fitted up properly and that my jig was accurate in getting the mounting tabs back in the right spot.
Thanks have to go to Glen for letting me try this out on his car.
Here's a pic of Jack before I did anything to the front end.
At this stage he has a stock beam and 2 1/2 inch drop spindles. The growth in track from fitting the spindles meant the tyres rubbed on the guards even in a straight line.
The first thing we tried was cutting the centres out of the front wheels and altering the offset, so the rim sat further inboard. This helped a bit, but wasn't the proper fix, hence the narrowed beam.
Now here's Jack again with the altered front wheels and narrowed beam. A fair bit more clearance now. I love the look of a VW with a narrowed front end, even when it's only subtle like this one. I can't wait to see Jack on the road soon, he has a lot of character.
Well here's Jack again and that's about it for this thread. If there is anything I can help you with in regards to this stuff feel free to ask.
Cheers.
Tim the Dirtbag : )
Father of Sid Vicious the Volksrod.
Thanks Tim - not only for the beam narrowing but for the excellent photo documentary of the process
Jack is happy - tomorrow we will work on getting him closer to roadworthy so he can come visit Sid
cheers mr bodgy - great job again!
jack the beetle rides again !!!
Excellent thread dude. 🙂
Hope you don't mind if it's a few months before I have the funds to do my beam? Really should get the pan done first 😉
madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍
Hey psimitar, no worries. Whenever you're ready. What sort of beam was yours again? I might be able to do an exchange one with you if that's any easier?
Dirtbag wrote:Hey psimitar, no worries. Whenever you're ready. What sort of beam was yours again? I might be able to do an exchange one with you if that's any easier?
Hiya dude, mine's a link pin beam so has the straight shox towers. Exchange works for me, just let me know what you need from me? Thanks, Mike
madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍
Hi again Mike. I only have a ball joint front end here for kombi. Yours is a kombi right? Sorry, but my memory is shocking. Can you let me know exactly what year/model yours is so I can place a wanted ad to try and get a beam to do an exchange for you? I also have a ball joint beetle beam if you know anyone wanting one of those modified.
Cheers.
Tim.
Hiya Tim, no worries. Mine's a Link pin Beetle. There's actually two link pin bug in a scrappies near me if that's any use to you.
I'll see if anyone wants a BJ beam when at Warwick this weekend 🙂
Let me know about those beams. Also how far up the coast are you from Brissy? If not that far I can always drop mine off with ya or come up and give you a hand 🙂
Laters,
Mike
madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍
