Hi guys, does anyone have any advice on who to take a 71 Beetle 1300 to, to have it lowered (front + rear)?? Don't wan't it to be panscraping low, but definitely low enough to tidy it up.

Also, what sort of cost would be reasonable to expect??

I live in NSW (rural) but don't have a problem with taking the car anywhere in NSW or even in Victoria if necessary.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kris.

Canberra VW Centre is probably closest to you in Wagga. Give them a ring on (02) 6293 1941 and ask for quotes.

What's wrong with the stock ride height?

Barney , like a said, get a premade narrowed adjustable beam and bring it to me!!!

If your new rims increase the rear track at all you will find that the rear suspension will sit a little lower. (I assume it's a swing axle)

Yep - but the new rims are still same size as originals.

Its more the front end that sits a little high for my liking.

This looks nice and tidy, but not excessively low (IMO).

Love this photo ... reminds me of holidays with the beetle ...

Nice ride height too (IMO)

Here are before and after shots of my rosie, i had the front lowered by two and a half inches





I had the guys from RAW install drop spindles and readjust the rear

Now thats noice!

dropspindles were approx $300 and i paid approx $200 for labour.

It is also important to get the tire combination right as well i have 195 x 65 x 15 on the rear and 175 x 65 x 15 on the front.

The front tires are rubbing on full lock but hoping once i put decent shocks on the front it will improve

I'd call that red 1200 beetle on gas burners excessively low

thats a 2 spline drop at the back, without notched spring plates a shopping trolley would have more suspension travel than that thing.
Doesnt mean it don't look hot though

dont hack the springs what ever you do lol nothing but dramas

Just an update the boys at RAW installed gas shocks on the front and adjusted the camber and no more rubbing

The cheapest way to drop the front would be to get a set of drop spindles. This will drop the front 2.5 inches. It is an easy job if you are mechanically minded.
The rear end is also pretty simple as well, again if you are mechanically minded. You can either move the spingplates a couple of splines on the torsion bars or get adjustable springplates. It only took me an hour to drop the rear end on my 66.
If you do go for a new narrowed beam. I would only get a two inch narrowed one. Anything narrower, you will need new tie rods and you may not be able to run shocks on the front.

hey jonny b your about 8months late with that post.

Last time I checked quality dropped spindles were far from cheap.

Cheapest way to drop the front of a beam bug.

Remove front end

Find a mate with a welder

cut and turn anchor points

weld back together

profit

Yo Dudes. New to this forum and although I only visit every now and again, though I needed to register and comment.
A '71 beetle is a 1302. Meaning it has a strut front end and independant sus at the rear.
What happens with these cars is the rear torsion bars sag over time but the strut front end does not.
This is a real problem because if you're cruising at freeway speeds, the air gets under the car, lifts the front end and the steering gets too light. Very dangerous.
My advice. Lower the front springs. It is illegal to cut springs, so I would advise against that. Be sure to cut the springs from the top where the coils are bunched. The obvious way is the spread out end but that is the progressive end and if you lower from there, the suspension will become very tight and bumpy.
Leave the rear alone it will be just right after the front end is lowered. In fact, your car will have a wedge type shape against the wind. That will nail it against the road.

My Beetle is the same. '71 Superbug.

Cheers

Could be wrong, but I thought bugs handled better when the nose was a bit higher than the rear....

This is my 1974 1500 beetle which is ball joint front beam and swing axle rear:

... and this is my recently sold 1966 beetle that is ball joint front beam and swing rear:

The cheapest way to lower the front on either a ball joint or link/king pin front is to cut the beam and turn it. If you can weld it will cost you only time.
If you can't weld and you have a ball joint beetle then the dropped spindles is probably cheaper than adjusters as they are a bolt in part. On a link pin/king pin front it is expensive to fit them and you will probably need to get it done as the king pins need to be reamed and pressed in with an hydraulic press.
This is the video of the top one I recently lowered: http://youtu.be/D6jj4xvoiEw