Hey all!

I've got a '73 L bug currently and am looking at upgrading her suspension.
I don't want it to be like racing upgrades as I don't expect to be racing her any time soon.

Basically just want a smoother ride and better handling overall. I'm also not too sure whether she is an IRS rear end or just struts, I'm pretty sure just struts though. What does this mean I can do to her?

Her current ride height isn't an issue, but I'm not too worried if she's lowered an inch or something.

Seb

That depends on your budget. I've got the adjustable v force front struts as do a few others. The ride is excellent. Richard sure knows what he's doing with them

V-force struts, whiteline/selbys 19mm rear sway bar, type3 square/944 torsions, eccentric caster bushes for front sway bar, brass bush for the steering idler, new guts for the steering box, and if u want more fun for the corners possibly some adjustable tops, solid center control arm bushes and 944 spring plates
-you didnt mention anything about budget

^if you do all that & manage to stick with stock wheel/tyre combo it would be an awesome sleeper, doesnt need to be quick if it can corner

^^

If you're not planing on some crazy wide wheels just some adjustable struts, a urethane bushing kit better sway bar in the front and rear one and some decent rear shocks and a strut brace with a slight drop all round and some good tyres.

Will corner like it's on rails

Ahaha alright, note to self, mention a budget next time.

If I'm only looking at spending say, $500 on it as a maximum, what should I be looking at first and can anyone send me links to stuff online? Needs to be cheap shipping though, preferably Australian,

urethane bushes
http://toplineparts.com/pricelist/pricelist.htm 
sway bars are going to be hard to track down, especially the front however...
K-mac apparently makes some stuff locally
http://k-mac.com.au/pages/newprods/vw/vw.htm 
after that, see the bushing post for nolthane/superpro options if you want alternatives

bushes will be the cheapest easiest most obvious change/improvement you will get

Quote:

Originally posted by STIDUB ^if you do all that & manage to stick with stock wheel/tyre combo it would be an awesome sleeper, doesnt need to be quick if it can corner

easy upgrade

http://www.eshocks.com/bil_Ind.asp?VC=64Q44&SubChar=Q 

57oval, thats a rather handy link, never seen that many options for strut models in one place

sebastian, can we persuade you to get the KW coilovers so they can be compared by to the topline & v-force options locally? pretty please

STIDUB,

Give me the exact link and I'll see what I can do. You don't need to "persuade" me to do anything, if it means she's driving better and feels nicer to drive, then I'm all for it.

Sebastien,

You should ignore STIDUB's request, he just wants someone else to pay for his R&D

Be aware that suspension modifications snowball, and then the cost grows exponentially. If your $500 budget is strict then concentrate on doing what is required to make the car safer, and don't get too hung up on 'performance' improvements until you have a sufficient wad of folding stuff.

Ahaha fair enough!

That is a very valid point, and I'd prefer much more to have a safe daily driver than to have something with more performance.

However, as I am looking at putting back my stock engine (1600tp) I doubt any suspension upgrades would need to be done to cope with that load, as I would assume the stock suspension (if it still is stock suspension) was built for a 1600tp.

I'll continue to do some more research on the matter.

You are right in that stock suspension should be fine with your 1600tp, but after 38 years some of the components might be well past their 'best before' date. My 74 had all original suspension until about a month ago, and it is fair to suggest that the components were, whilst still serviceable (just), not great at doing what they're supposed to be doing.

My tip, take the front wheels off, take lots of photos, post them on here, and wait for the 5,000 diagnoses you'll get. That might at least give you some direction as to where the money needs to be spent before either finding a VW mechanic to help or starting out yourself.

Alright, I'll take the front and rear off and take as many photos as possible and post them up on here.

Hopefully that'll give me a starting point when it comes to what I should be looking at doing.

CRAIG! shhhhh!!!!!! im curious, ive seen the other options, now the KW's seem accessible/comparable price wise at least, curious what bang for buck you get from them

$$$ wise, is precisely why i said bushes, 99% certain they will be on their last legs & possibly original, its cheap & easy to press the old ones out & push new ones in, possibly get new bolts for the control arms too since they are usually buggered/rounded out & some of them ive seen use glenloch? nuts (1 use only)
after that, consider ball joints & tie rod ends, changing stock ones are a pain unless u have a press or similar to wedge them in so they dont spin while your doing up the nut, rattle/impact gun may work but i like hand tools more personally, aftermarket/replacement stuff usually has an allen key head in the thread to stop it spinning - makes life 10000x easier come reassembly time.
fresh bushes & balljoints/rod ends did wonders for mustards L bug, i know 1st hand, also a decent alignment too, done at home with spanners, eyeballs & tape measure, camber wear is a little excessive but it handles VERY nicely, the rear is untouched & it shows, 19mm swaybar helped with that though but inner irs arm bushes will help that come time/interest on his part

thoroughly recommend bushes & joints as a minimum though, possibly some new inserts for the stock struts too if yours are stuffed NOT from pedders etc though!!!!!!!!!!!!
order some decent inserts specifically for supers from somewhere that knows what they are & get them assembled wherevers convenient -cheaper than a full strut swap, especially if you do the labour on the car, easy with a little downtime for the car, basic tools & a free day or two to rip apart & reassemble

Alrighty,

Looks like I'll try and get my hands on some urethane bushes.
Then from there, I'll see what I can do about some new ball joints.

I don't want camber however, as I want to be able to run steelies. Basically want to have a car that looks completely stock (hence why I'm getting rid of the taillights and so forth) but has the capability to take off and corner better than a stock L bug!

I'm also seriously considering, when I get my 1600tp, to do an EFI conversion. But that, that is for another thread.

perhaps the dual carbs off pete from cvd could be a suitable upgrade for the 1600 to give it a litte more budget poke to match the budget handling upgrade?
treat it to a nice set of pads/discs up front to match next?

That does sound very tempting, although for a daily driver, a dual carb setup will be a lot more demanding at the pump!
Although that doesn't really bother me, I could definitely see a dual carb setup going onto the 1600tp. Would be a lot nicer.
I'm just worried about these cold mornings we're having, she really doesn't like ~15 degree nights.

As for the front disc brakes, I'm pretty sure she already has them. But they will most likely be in dire need of a new set, as like everything else, I don't think any suspension upgrades have been done in the last 30 odd years.

precisely, a set of nice pads, not empi spec and some new slotted discs would do wonders, same with fresh fluid in the system, its probably 1/2 water, combine those little things in a few areas & you would have a very comfortable daily driver, kinda wish i had that these days

interesting thing with the front discs, measure them with verniers, the front right will be more worn than the left, i assume its from the fluid having a shorter distance to go but not sure, 4 super front ends ive demolished have been like that though, and if not new discs get them machined if its possible

Aha alright, I'll give it a shot.

What brand front discs do you recommend?
I'm thinking that my budget is too low, specifically if I want to do a new swaybar, strut brace, new discs up the front and struts, it'll probably more around the $1k mark.

The main thing that I want to accomplish is that of a sleeper. From the outside, it looks completely stock. Underneath, it is something that'll scare the pants off someone.

you have pm - shortly

stidub is right.
but your budget is evaporating very quickly! i think you just imagined over $3,000.00!

I think similar to Sti, focus on getting a good condition standard setup.

Replace the bushes - biggest bang for buck on a super
Check all ball joints and replace is required
Replace with good shocks front and rear if not new
maybe new std or sligthly lower front springs,

that will use up your 500 without a problem.

from there as above, v force struts, near torsion bars, sway bars

Just give the brakes a good going over. new pads, new soft lines, new fluid and if required new calipers or cylinders.... and it will stop well enough.

hey its this guy^^^
coming back to aus anytime soon? laugh if my bug is rego'd before your back
is the bug feeling lonely yet? i know a beetle guy that will bug-sit while your gone hehe

be back for 6 weeks in September, got to start the next generation of dubbers. Have 3 weeks leave in there, so should get some more work done on the dub. will come and visit when I am there.

We will see who gets there first. If required I can take mine out any time and race it..... just doesn't look presentable for the more toffe nosed events like hillclimb....

My father is happy minding the dub, though he does have to put pillows on the seat to see over the wheel and reach the gear knob...

cant hurt to ask huh?
september... guess that makes you an action day entrant