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Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:48 am

Hi,
I've got a 68 bug
I want to get 2.5" drop spindles at the front and I also have disc brakes to go on. How narrow can I go with the standard shock towers without body mods?

Sun Feb 12, 2012 3:20 pm

I think about 3 inches with stock shock towers.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:36 pm

you can go more and just trip and plate the insides of the shock towers.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:23 pm

cage66 wrote: you can go more and just trip and plate the insides of the shock towers.

I'm not sure what "trip and plate" means but do you have any pictures of this process? Kinda sounds like removing material on the "body" side of the shock towers and adding metal on the inside for support. Am I close?

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:38 pm

Sorry, Trim and plate.
I may be able to find a pic or 2 but basically you just need to cut the shock mounts where they would hit the body and weld in a plate to get the strength back in them.
stock shock towers.

Trimmed and plated shock towers.

Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:20 pm

Awesome! I'll give that a shot. Great pics, kinda looks like a second set of torsion tube plates were uses too.

Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:09 pm

bluntlunchbox wrote: Awesome! I'll give that a shot. Great pics, kinda looks like a second set of torsion tube plates were uses too.

After seeing the pictures on a computer screen instead of my dumb phone, no extra torsion tube plates :roll:

Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:15 pm

So I have the 2 inch narrowed beam, and I tried to put the body back today, and it didn't really fit. I was surprised... but I see that that is normal tho? So I guess the easiest way is to cut into the shock towers? Ugh... I'm in way over my head

Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:13 pm

It looks like easiest way is to hammer or cut the inner body metal where the shock tower hits. Some guys make it look pretty clean. I plan on notching the towers to avoid cutting the body.

Sat Mar 17, 2012 1:34 pm

Tried looking though the beam threads but no luck...Does anyone know the distance between end plate seams on the stock b/j beam? Not the shock towers but the seam between torsion tubes. I've got 27" after narrow but forgot to measure before cuts. I know, I know, I will be more diligent on the next beam :)

Oh, also found these in the gallery for notching shock towers. This was exactly what I needed for my 4" beam!!

Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:55 am

Ok so I have just read through this whole thread. Lot of good information in here but still gets a bit confusing with the back and forth on opinions concerning certain things.

one thing I didnt really see covered, and maybe this is just common sense but how exactly do you adjust the ride height with an adjustable beam?

The bug I bought the PO said it had an adjustable and narrowed front beam. Hadn't done anything with the car because I was busy with my Jetta but yesterday decided to start wrenching on the bug. The PO said it was a Puma beam and looking through this thread, it looks like it has the AVIS adjusters. right? I am not really sure if it truly is narrowed or not since I dont have an original one to measure and compare but the shock towers are pretty close to the body. Not sure if non narrowed ones are like that as well. Sorry, new to all this but trying to soak up all this info and learn.

So here is what I did yesterday but I get the feeling I did something wrong.

-took the wheels off
-jacked up the front end and put jack stands under the beam
-loosened the nuts on both adjusters, where once loosened, they kind of bounced in like a central position.
-I then jacked up the wheels higher and re-tightened the nuts on the adjusters
-dropped the car back down and the front apron is like 3in above the ground.

Is that the correct way to adjust them? When I had raised the hubs and tightened the nuts and then removed the jacks, the hubs sunk back to where they were before I had raised them, is this normal?

Sorry for the long post, questions and I am sure what may be dumb questions lol

I dont have lowered ball joints or drop spindles yet, but will more then likely be getting both.

Thanks in advance, seems this is the right site to get help and info and not get flamed for not knowing something haha

Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:54 pm

Is my beam adjustable? I just noticed this bolt the other day when I was lubing the front end. There is another one of those bolts on the top section of the beam too. Sorry for the crappy pic that both is in the center of the beam top and bottom.

I guess my current set up is stock, the front rides a little higher than the rear. I just want to level her out.

If my beam is adjustable Ill need to do more research to figure out now to lower it but if I'm just going to lever it out I shouldn't need new ball joints or shim correct?

Thanks

Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:47 pm

Nope, just stock. The grub screw in the middle is just to hold the spring packs in.

Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:32 am

69 standard, I installed 2.5 dropped spindles & discs as well as all new BJ's ets....eye aligned it, looked ok.. was going to drive to shop for proper alignment. but massive rubbing mainly driver side ..after inspection found that when I get in & sit driver side it goes down ...but down but doesn't spring back up...I can pull slightly on fender & it comes back up without much force...same situation on both sides of front end.

I don't think I installed anything incorrectly....torsion/trailing arms appeared to only go on one way...I didn't touch center of beam grubs..just the trailing arm grubs... but it is almost as though there is zero spring-back. I any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:09 pm

I bet your new ball joints are binding. There have been a number of reports of new ball joints that are slightly too large and crush as they are pressed in, causing binding. I think Hot VW's had an article about this issue and the measurements you need to check before installation. The solution was to sand down the ridges before installation, but I think reading the article would be a good idea before taking any action.
You should be able to move the ball joint by hand.

Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:53 pm

Sounds plausible, this is my first attempt at front end replacement & so far
am really disappointed with the outcome. I do remember these BJ’s being
stiff & definitely not movable by hand or at least not easily.

Hate to do it but, I’m going to pull off drivers side again this weekend & start over. I’ll let you know What I find. Thanks so much

Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:19 am

So far dead a shock for sure, being a newbie sreally ucks. I should've just replaced them to begin with. Trying that first , torsion bars seem strong to me.

Checking, it looks like Driver side wheel definitely sticks out further than passenger side though. Pass side sits well inside the fender , driver side rides close to edge of fender. I know cambers lil off , but this looks like at least an inch or two.

Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:41 am

4dalamo, what size tires are you running in the front? If they are 165r15's, they are going to rub with the setup you put on. Most drop spindles will put the tires out to 1/4 inch past stock and then the discs will add another 1/2 inch making the setup 3/4 of an inch wider on one side than stock. Seeing as you took out the trailing arms, you may have not set them back in all the way also. They grub screws will feel as though they are in their perch when actually they are not. I would not go and pull the bj's out for no reason if in fact they are good.

Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:49 am

Derek Cobb wrote: I think about 3 inches with stock shock towers.

3-1/2 inches is actually the max without any major modifications to the body or beam. When you get into the 4" range and further, you may as well cut the shock towers and run shockless.

Sun Apr 01, 2012 10:56 am

Yea ,165's ...and yess rubbing a lil on drivers side. sounds like I should've spent less time working & more time reading about the pitfalls of dropped spindles. I would have stayed stock, even though I like the look. Tempted to revert back & count it as a lesson learned. After reading another thread, I decided to check & apparently PO swapped the passenger fender ....it looks to be about 1/2 " wider hence th appearance of once side sticking out farther.

New shocks, for now, have raised up front end enough to drive ok.