Hi all. I assume this has been covered before but I just thought it might be useful for someone who wants to have a go. Just so you know, I've never done this before, and know bugger all about VW's.
I do, however, know how to weld AND have a welder capable of doing structural welds.
I know the basics of what has to be done to narrow a beam and fit adjusters, so me being me, figured the best way to learn is have a go. It's not rocket surgery.
I was going to show how I did my own beam for Sid Vicious the volksrod to be, but he's only getting adjusters, not narrowed. So the beam in this thread is for Jack, the cool little '68 semi auto beetle.
First thing was to clean most of the crud from the top and bottom beams. Fun job that was : )
Dirtbag ·
OK, forgive me if I point out the obvious, but I like to make things fairly idiot proof. I need to, for myself : )
To take the torsion leaves out, you need to remove the grub screw and lock nut from the centre of each beam. This is all that's holding the leaves in when the trailing arms are removed.
Dirtbag ·
Once the grub screws are out you can slide the leaves out of each beam tube. I slid them out about half way and wiped most of the grease off, then taped the leaves together to not only make handing easier but so I could write on the tape - top beam - lower beam -left or right. Again, I like to make things idiot proof, or as I like to call it - Tim proof : )
Seeing as I've never done this I didn't know if there was any difference in the top or bottom leaves, so that's why I've labelled them.
Dirtbag ·
One thing I did learn when I pulled the leaves out is that they're not symmetrical. There are 3 divots drilled into the leaves. One at each end for the trailing arms and one in the middle. One end of the leaves has the trailing arm divots on the same side as the centre grub screw divot, but the other end has the trailing arm divot 180 degrees out. I can't remember which side was what, but because I've labeled the leaves top, bottom, left, right, my useless memory doesn't have to try to remember anything : )
Dirtbag ·
This is one of the trailing arm divots, for locating the trailing arm on the torsion leaves. Because this beam is getting narrowed, I will have to cut each end of the torsion leaves off. This means I will have to re-drill these divots at each end of the torsion leaves.
Dirtbag ·
OK, here's a pic of the 2 leaf packs. You can see the centre divot, and the right side trailing arm divot but the left hand divot is on the other side of the leaves. I didn't know any of this until today, so I'm just going to assume - hope - I'm not the only one who doesn't know anything : )
Dirtbag ·
I've heard of 2 ways to narrow a beam. One is to cut the beam at each end, so as to leave the centre section and mounting brackets untouched.
The second way is to cut the mounting tabs off and remove the width from the centre of the beam.
Seeing as I was adding adjusters anyway, the second way seemed to make a lot more sense, rather than cutting the beam in 3 places.
The first thing I did was make up a jig that fitted snuggly onto the 4 mounting bolts holes on the mounting tabs and sat on the edges of the shock towers. This will make refitting the mounting tabs easy as pie......mmmm........pie......
Dirtbag ·
I think you all know now that I'm new at the VW thing, so don't laugh when I say this next bit. I was given this beam already removed from the car to modify, and I haven't pulled the front end out of Sid yet, so when I made the jig for the mounting tabs, I added this little tongue thingy to line up with that bracket that is for....OK......I don't know : ) Maybe a steering damper??? I don't know!!!!
Anyway, I added a piece to the jig to allow me to re fit this bracket the same distance away from the mounting tab that it is now and at the same angle.
It's kind of embarrassing not knowing what parts are for what, but , meh! : )
Dirtbag ·
Next step is to cut the beam mounting tabs off. I just used a 4 inch grinder with a 1mm cutting disc. A plasma cutter will do the job too if you're lucky enough to have one. Try not to butcher the mounts too much as you will be putting them back on later.
Also, be careful not to cut into the beam tube too much. If you do, just weld it up and grind it down, same as if it were a diff housing on a solid rear axle car.
Dirtbag ·
Measure 5 million times if you have to. Don't worry how many times you measure things, unless you only do it once.
The grub screw holes are in the centre, so that's a good starting point. I then figured out how much I wanted to narrow the beam all up, not just one side, and then added onto that the width of the beam adjuster, and marked half of that figure each side of my centre mark.
I also marked some lines along the beam to help me align the adjusters later on so I could figure out what angle to put them in.
Dirtbag ·
One thing I've learnt in the past building hot rods and playing with 9 inch conversions etc, is that this plastic damp course is the best tube marker in the universe.
You can use masking tape to go around a tube, but it will nearly always have a wobble in it. All you need to do with this stuff is wrap it tightly around the tube in line with your mark. You only need a piece a foot long at most. If it overlaps perfectly in line with itself, then it is a perfectly straight line around the tube. It is too rigid laterally to have a bend in it in such a short distance. Grab a texta and draw around the edge of it and hey presto, a perfectly straight guide to cut along.
Again, I just used a 1mm cut off wheel to cut the beams.
Dirtbag ·
Well here's the deed done. Hope I know what I'm doing!!! Well, no, I have no idea : )
Dirtbag ·
OK. Here's the section of the original beam I cut out. I was given some really good advise from people on this site (you know who you are, thank you all very much) when I posted a question about how much to narrow a beam. One thing to consider is that there is limited room between the body and the shock tower. I think it might differ from model to model, but you're better off asking someone else about that : )
I was told there was 31mm of clearance on a ball joint front end between the shock tower and the body work. I had a quick measure on Sid and it seems spot on. If you want to go narrower, it's just a case of making a recess and welding it into the body for the shock tower to sit in, or remanufacture a different tower altogether.
So, this beam will be narrowed 60mm all up. I added to that the 51mm width of the beam adjuster and 1mm each side of that for welding penetration, so cut out 113mm from each tube.
Dirtbag ·
To assure the beam stays straight it needs to be supported when it's welded. The easiest way to do this is with some angle iron and some decent clamps. I used two clamps on each end of the angle iron to make sure there was no movement, but I'm sure a single one would have done the job fine.
Obviously, make sure the beam tubes are clean and that they're sitting flat on the angle iron.
Dirtbag ·
You can see here there is a gap on either side of the beam adjuster. This is to allow maximum penetration for the weld. I could have also bevelled the edge of the tube, but in this case I felt the gap was sufficient to get the required strength.
Dirtbag ·
Here I've tacked the beam adjusters into position. Before I did that, I removed all the hardware from the beam adjusters and replaced the two adjuster bolts with old random bolts. This is just to protect the threads on the adjuster bolts in case of welding spatter. Plus, the adjuster blocks are alloy, so best kept cool.
OK, so I marked on the beam tubes before I cut the centres out where the top of the torsion leaf pack was. From there I was able to determine where to position the adjusters.
I set the adjusters at their highest setting, then fitted them in place so they were a fraction higher than it was before. That way I know nearly all of the adjusters travel is down. Just the way it should be, but still leaving some higher adjustment should it be needed in a rally or something : )
Dirtbag ·
With the gaps in the tube between the adjusters, you will be able to get a pretty good weld in there. I'm no fancy lala welder boy or anything, but these will do the job.
Dirtbag ·
I did the welding in sections, moving from side to side alternating welds to spread the heat rather than "hot spot" one area and risk bowing. I also was able to rotate the angle iron around the tube to get it out of the way for the next bit of welding. This little inch or so long welds are the only welds I did without the angle iron in place. I quick check with a 1metre steel ruler shows it's all good and straight. Phew : )
Dirtbag ·
Now it's time for the funny little jig I made earlier. I marked the centre of the jig when I made it and lined those marks up with the adjusters to position the mounting tabs. I then took a few measurements from side to side to assure they were in the right spot before I tacked them on. That little jig worked a treat.
Dirtbag ·
Here's my embarrassing little bracket of unsure use : ) In all seriousness, I should go and look at Sid and see what it's for, but I was so busy today doing this AND my proper job, I felt taking the 20 metre walk was time not spent well : ) Anyway, I tacked it into position using my jig as a guide and will weld it fully once I've discovered what it's for and if it's meant to be where it is. I used the beam mounting tabs as my guide.
Dirtbag ·
Well that's the frame all finished except for that little bracket needing final welding and I'll probably give the welds a bit of a quick sand/clean up just for fun.
I didn't get a chance to cut and re drill the leaves due to real work, but I'll try and get that done tomorrow.
Next step will be fitting it into Jack so I can shorten the steering arms to suit.
That's it. Feel free to comment on everything I did wrong : ) It was pretty easy and straight forward and with some care could be done by anyone as long as the welder/welding skills are adequate.
Dirtbag ·
One other thing, this is all I needed to do the beam. I could have made the jig for the mounting tabs much simpler but figured I'd be using it again one day anyway, so made it fairly accurate and strong enough to survive in my shed : )
Anyone want a beam narrowed or adjusted???
Again, a big thanks to all who gave me advice.
Cheers.
Anthiron ·
the tab is indeed for the steering dampner.
bajachris88 ·
what a mad thread!
👍
good stuff.
Special Air Service ·
Tim,
Where do you buy those wizzbang hose clamps from? Are they whats called T-Bolt clamps?
Cheers
Brendan
Dirtbag ·
Hi guys glad you like the thread.
I bought the clamps from Porters engineering in Nambour. I've used the same style of clamp for years on a floating caliper mount I made for my down hill mountain bike and I bought those clamps from the local auto store. Not sure what they're called. They're similar to a T bolt clamp only instead of a nut on a T bolt that pulls the clamp shut it has a bolt that goes through a steel block to pull the clamp shut. They're pretty strong. Radiator hose clamps would have done the same job though.
gsa2at ·
certainly is a mad thread - more photos than a japanese tourist
loved the step by step guide = if you hadn;t just done my beam and i wan;t hopeless i might try to do it myself
good job Tim!
Dirtbag ·
Excuse the next couple of photos. They're a tad blurry. To mark where to cut the torsion leaves, I wrapped all the ends in masking tape so they were easier to mark out and will stay together better. Here I've marked the cut line at 30mm.
Dirtbag ·
Once I cut the leaves a had to re drill the divot for the trailing arms. Because I'd taped up all the ends, when I cut them off the ends came off in one piece bound in tape. I used the old ends to measure where to drill the new holes.
I first used a 6mm drill to get the depth I wanted, then used a 12mm drill to make the divot. I sharpened the 12mm drill into a sharper point than a normal drill bit, so it was more like the original divot.
Dirtbag ·
This pic of an adjuster the same as what's welded into this beam shows there are two grub screws in the internal adjuster block. I assume the little pointy one is to replace the original grub screw that was in the centre of the beam. I then had to think how to get the torsion leaves through there as the pointy grub screw was in the way and the leaves wouldn't all fit through.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
matberry ·
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.
Flintstones ·
great thread + build pics
Cheers
gsa2at ·
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
Dirtbag ·
I'd like to be there when it goes in, just to make sure all is well and to shorten the steering arms.
donovan ·
I once had surgery on my rocket
Dirtbag ·
And I'm sure your rocket is all the better for it : )
Mad bastard. You're as crazy as I am.
lohoon ·
Thanx Dude, way cool thread! Well done!
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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?
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
Dirtbag ·
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.
gsa2at ·
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!
psimitar ·
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 😉
Dirtbag ·
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?
psimitar ·
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
Dirtbag ·
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.
psimitar ·
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
Dirtbag ·
Hi Mike. Yes, any beams with torsion leaves you can get your hands on will be useful to me. If you can get the steering arms and tie rod ends too that'd be awesome. Thanks.
i'm an hour north of brissie, just near the big pineapple. If you can get your hands on another beam (I don't mind if I have to pay for it/them) then I can do all the mods to it while your car is still driveable.
Thanks again.
Tim.
psimitar ·
😂 my Bugs in pieces mate so no worries on letting you have the beam for a while.
As for those 2 link beams at the scrappies, do you want me to ask em how much they'd want for the whole beam including spindles, steering box the whole lot or do you just want the beams and steering arms?
The big pineapple? That's past the Mooloolabah turn off heading north right? Been ages since I drove further north than Mooloolabah 😊
Cheers,
Mike
Dirtbag ·
Hey Mike. Yes it's past the mooloolaba turnoff, about 5 minutes or less.
If you dont mind asking how much they want for the whole lot that'd be cool. If it's really expensive just get the beams and torsion leaves.
Do you want the beam narrowed and adjusted or just adjusted?
Cheers.
Tim.
psimitar ·
Hiya Tim,
I shall ring the scrappies tomoro for ya. Mine will need 40mm off it plus the adjusters. That should be enough for the disc conversion I have planned.
I'll let you know the price when I can get onto a computer next as off to Warwick tomoro arvo 🙂
Laters,
Mike
Nickster ·
nice work, really got me thinking about getting mine narrowed and lowered. I love the narrow look on a beetle too.
Your instructions are great, would be very easy to follow, shame I have zero welding skills!!
I'm in north brissie so you might hear from me in the near future if you wanted to do another? When you get time can you PM me the approx. $$ damage and what parts I would need to source so I can get an idea what I need to save/buy first? I've got a '62 running a disc brake conversion kit..
Dirtbag ·
Thanks Mike, much appreciated.
Hey Nickster. Is your 62 your daily transport or can it be off the road? All I'd need to lower and narrow it is the front beam and torsion leaves and the steering arms and tie rod ends. To fit adjusters and narrow the beam and steering arms will be $450 all up, including the cost of the adjusters. I'm hoping to get some link pin beams from Mike (psimitar) so I can do exchange beams, rather than having to leave yours with me, but that's still getting sorted out (Thanks again Mike)
Let me know if that sounds fair to you and if you want it done. I can do small jobs like that pretty much straight away so you wont have to wait for a week or anything like that.
As for things you'd need to buy - if you wanted to replace and of the tie rod ends or swing arm bushes now would be the time I guess, but you don't need to get anything for me to do your beam. Does that make sense?
Cheers,
Tim.
Nickster ·
Thanks Tim, yep all is clear and $$damage sounds ok. I'll be in touch soon to organise something, will probably be towards the end of the month. Can you PM me a contact number and I'll call you when ready?
👍
Nickster ·
oh and the old girl isn't my daily driver so no worries there.
Dirtbag ·
Sounds good Nickster. Number is 0423 818180 or (07) 5441 5991. Look forward to catching up.
Cheers.
Nickster ·
Tim, now it's on my mind I had to take a trip out to the garage with a cold one to study the front beam (to figure out how I will approach taking it off etc).
I noticed that my shock mounts don't match those shown on Jack, nor do they match the pictures shown in my trusty Haynes manual. I've attached some pictures below to show you what I mean... the shock mount actually appears to be touching the inner guard so it looks like I cannot narrow it unless I cut into this guard, but the fuel tank is behind this bit.... any suggestions?
Nickster ·
another view (geez that 60 second gap between posts rule is a pain in the ass!)
Dirtbag ·
Interesting : ) I think there is a simple way seeing as you said you only wanted to go 40mm narrower all up. See in the second photo, the shock tower is 2 pieces joined via that seam. I can cut the tower back to the seam, removing the half of the tower closest to the car, or cut the seam off too, fill the whole remaining tower with a piece of 10mm plate plug welded in, then a piece of 3 mm over the top where the seam was. If I drill and tap through the 10mm and 3mm plates you wont need the nut hanging out there either. There's your 40mm. The other thing I'd like to know though is how far away from the inner guard is the fuel tank? It's hard not being able to just see it in font of me. If the lower shock mount can be fiddled with it might be easier to make a whole new shock tower that comes away from the body like a ball joint one does???
Does anyone know what's involved in just changing it to a ball joint front end? I assume it's been done a million times before? Help anyone?
psimitar ·
Hiya Tim,
The most you can narrow a link beam is 20mm each side. This will bring the shock tower within mm of the inner wing. There Shouldn't be a nut on the inside of the shock tower as the boss welded into the shock tower where the shock mounting bolt goes is threaded for the correct size bolt, M12 I think.
If you wish to go more than 20mm each side then for pre 60 bug you can cut a notch into the inner wing as the tower sits below the petrol tank, i think, 60 onwards you will have to notch the petrol tank too or you replace the shock tower with 10mm steel plate and crank the tower around the inner wing. Seen this done in the UK.
PM sent regarding the beam price from the scrappies.
Laters,
Mike
Dirtbag ·
Thanks for the handy info Mike. I'm learning stuff every day on this site. It's excellent.
I haven't received a PM, can you try again?
Thanks,
Tim.
General_Failure ·
Excellent writeup.
What sort of welder were you using? I'd love to put a set of the toothed adjusters on my bay to give it a bit of a lift (what. I want it high) and wasn't sure if what I had is up to the job.
Dirtbag ·
Hey Tristan. My welder is a 240 amp Unimig. It's been pretty good. It's done a lot of work and is on it's second handpiece, but it has some balls.
psimitar ·
Tim,
New PM sent. Hope it works this time. I'm learning all the time too 🙂 These types of forum are great sources of help when needed.
Laters,
Mike
Dirtbag ·
Cheers Mike, it all worked this time. I've sent a PM back.
General_Failure ·
Dirtbag wrote:Hey Tristan. My welder is a 240 amp Unimig. It's been pretty good. It's done a lot of work and is on it's second handpiece, but it has some balls.
Next related question. How hard did you have to push it go get the right penetration? I have a 185 amp Weldmaster MIG and I'm curious if it's up to the task of welding the beams. I suspect it is well and truly as those beams aren't mega thick.
Continuing minor derail 😉 I'm considering getting a pair of those solid steel shock towers at some point which are sold by CVD I think? I'm assuming they'd have significant strength advantages over the OEM units. How I haven't snapped a tower yet I don't know.
So yeah it'd be good to have a feel of what is needed. If only I could get my hands on a spare beam for just in case...
Are you going to document any other suspension mods etc? I really found your writeup useful. Thankyou!
Dirtbag ·
Hi Tristan. Yes, your welder should be well and truly up to the task. My welder has a power dial that goes from 1 to 8, and I only use 6 to get the good penetration in the beam. When welding tube I find it easier to do it in sections. Get in a comfy position, start the weld at the top of the pipe and run the weld down as far as you can reach, then turn the pipe and continue. Does that make sense?
As for the solid shock towers, I don't know anything about them. I have seen other threads of people doing narrowed link pin front ends and have used quarter inch (6mm) plate to make the shock towers, and they say it's strong enough. I guess anything that's at least as thick as that should be fine. I guess it also depends on how high you're going too. If the shock towers need to be extended, they might need to be thicker.
I hope to be doing a link pin front end soon for Mike (psimitar) as he wants it narrowed and adjusters fitted. I'll post another thread on that one if you like as it'll be a bit different to the ball joint front end.
Can I ask why you choose the avis style adjusters over the sway a way style ones?
It's a pity you're so far away, it'd be fun to do a raised beam with massive shocks on it : )
I'm glad you found this thread useful.
If you want info on the back suspension, Joel posted a really good link on how to lower a beetle. I know it's not what you want to do, but the process is the same.
Cheers.
rocknrob ·
tristan if you want to raise your beam and not narrow it you don't need to cut the beam you just need to weld the adjuster plates on and cut a slot. go here for detailed instructions: http://www.bus-boys.com/instruct-beam-pg1.htm
mitchellgolds ·
Awesome thread Tim! I cant wait to get to the beam in my new single cab, low and narrow is definately the look im going for.
Cheers Mitchell
psimitar ·
General_Failure wrote:Next related question. How hard did you have to push it go get the right penetration? I have a 185 amp Weldmaster MIG and I'm curious if it's up to the task of welding the beams. I suspect it is well and truly as those beams aren't mega thick.
Continuing minor derail 😉 I'm considering getting a pair of those solid steel shock towers at some point which are sold by CVD I think? I'm assuming they'd have significant strength advantages over the OEM units. How I haven't snapped a tower yet I don't know.
So yeah it'd be good to have a feel of what is needed. If only I could get my hands on a spare beam for just in case...
Are you going to document any other suspension mods etc? I really found your writeup useful. Thankyou!
Technically speaking your 185amper should be good for welding 4mm steel. How many settings does it have? hopefully 6 or more. On 6 settings level 5 should work but you may have to go to 6. on 8 setting the top two again.
Always play with scrap metal first to check the penetration and for thick butt welds you will probably have to bevel the edges to be welded and leave a 1mm fill gap but really depends on the welders balls.
Those solid towers are only 10mm thick steel plate if you have access to some hole saws or even better a plasma cutter you can make your own 🙂 As you in NSW try performance VW or is it VW performance. They are good at sourcing VW parts and may be able to help you out.
General_Failure ·
Sweet. To be honest I'd love to add towers strong enough for coilovers if I wanted them. If I understand correctly the main issue with adding them is the OEM towers aren't strong enough for that (or even some rough times with normal shocks).
Been doing some welding practice on the trailer. I have a long way to go, but at least I fixed some of the broken bits on it in the process. It also helped me find the lower limits, Gasless I can easily do 1mm. Probably 0.8mm, and I fillet welded some 5mm or so plate. Admittedly I didn't get much penetration but that was on purpose. It was for a jockey wheel bracket that I'll probably end up cutting off in the future.
Having the potential to do some of the mods I have been wanting to do has got me all excited 🙂
psimitar ·
Gasless is OK for 0.8 bodywork but for the thicker stuff the gas works much better to help with the penetration then what the fluxed gasless wire does.😉
Keep practicing as remember, this is suspension you are dealing with so it must be good and strong 🙂
The 100mm plate towers would probably been great for the coilovers too.
Nickster ·
Tim - I've finally got my front beam off and am now searching for the right spanners to get the steering arms off!
Man I got filthy getting it off, so much crap and oil to wipe off (of me and the beam!)
Hope to be in a position to bring it up either next weekend or the one after, is that okay with you?
Nick
Dirtbag ·
Hey Nick, that sounds fine. Just give me a quick call/sms on 0423 818180 to double check when you know when you'll be coming up.
Gotta love getting covered in crap hey : )
See you soon,
Tim.
Dirtbag ·
Hi all. I'm going to do another post on how to do this to a link pin beam, if you're interested.
It's in the same Tech talk section and it's called "Second timers guide to beam modification". I know, pretty original huh? : )