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Narrowing 69front beam under a 57 body?
Gibbo - August 24th, 2004 at 08:28 AM

Anyone ever done this? I need to know what the max amount I would need to cut out to get a decently clad pair of Empi's under the front wings.

I will be using low profile tyres in the end. Just throwing around ideas atm.

cheers all.


vw54 - August 24th, 2004 at 09:21 AM

I think you will have to trial fit the body to the chassis to determine the amount you can narrow the beam to.


HotRodMatt - August 24th, 2004 at 09:39 AM

You can always cut pockets in the body to fit a very narrow beam.

I can get pics from my garage! Mind you if you go that narrow you also have to modify the fuel tank.


Dasdubber - August 24th, 2004 at 03:26 PM

At a guesstimation around 4 inches would be max with some minor inner fender massaging [ie. beating] (without having to go with pockets like matt suggested) - 2-3 inches without body mods.

Ball joint front ends can go narrower than king and link pin before you have to start worrying about bodywork mods.

As stated already - trial fit and find out - it is easy when it is just a bare shell like you have now (two blokes is enough to lift it on and off easily).


Stanley - August 24th, 2004 at 03:50 PM

VW Trends recently did a tech article on how to narrow a front beam.
I think it was actually done by Berg.
I can dig it up if you want but don't know myself about dimensions


vw54 - August 24th, 2004 at 04:56 PM

On a stock pre 67 with King n Link theres only about 3/4 or 19mm clerance between the shock upright and the inner guard.

If you make plate steel shock towers u can gain another inch or 25mm or so.
trial and fit is the only way.


BiX - August 25th, 2004 at 11:34 AM

Gibbo, you wouldn't haappen tom live in moorooka would you? and just got a 69 pan on saturday?


Dasdubber - August 25th, 2004 at 12:58 PM

Was that you taking off like the clappers last night Drew? I was around Mark's place at Moorooka around 7ish and heard a quick bug take off. MArk (Gibbo) mentioned there was a guy who lived nearby who races out at willowbank!


BiX - August 25th, 2004 at 01:09 PM

mmmmmmmmmmm mabye. It was closer to 730, as I was running late to the VWDCQ meeting. I think the old man popped across the road on saturday when he saw the pan rolling of the tralier and said hello to gibbo, if its the person i was thinking is gibbo.

There is also a lime grren rag top and sometimes a country buggy parked in barford street, the one you use to get to gibbo's street- so many vws so close!!!!

its a small world! its sort of scary to think there was somebody from the forum working on a bug across the road and I knew nothing about it. :alien

[Edited on 25-8-2004 by BiX]

[Edited on 25-8-2004 by BiX]

[Edited on 25-8-2004 by BiX]


Gibbo - September 6th, 2004 at 09:37 AM

Well I did a mock-up again at the weekend (thanks Drew BiX) and found that there is far less room to narrow the front beam without touching the body work.
There was about 15mm between the beam and the body at the closest point.

I will be converting to porsche or wide 5 and having disc on the front too.

Anyone think this will cause issues?

cheers


Unity-28 - September 7th, 2004 at 01:49 AM

Ball joint beam, 4 inches max, without cutting the body. If you cut the the body up to the lip (which is about 20mm from the original open area) you can go close to 5 inches.

N!