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Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:52 am

Thanks Rcooled and yes the PO missed with the spring plates so I need to figure out the appropriate adjustment, however I have another problem I am dealing with which is a clanking noise while driving in second gear and I can’t tell if it is related to speed or the gear.. I only driven the car in my driveway so far but it is long enough to get to second gear 185+ feet
It appears to be coming from the back and very loud. I work alone so I don’t have the option of having someone slowly drive while I listen and look for the noise source.
Any troubleshooting tips to isolate the problem, trans, bearing etc? What would raising the car and going through the gears as the engine is running eliminate? Where the jacks should be placed if I do this, under the swing axle tubes to apply pressure/weight or it doesn’t matter?

On another note, I had the dual dells rebuilt and installed; still waiting for the flow meter I ordered to tunes them.

Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:15 am

congrats on the sweet carb upgrade, a merged exhaust system is somewhere looking for you.

Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:14 pm

LOL Thanks Darrel, those 36 dells were your idea after all :D can't wait to take the car on the road especially since the weather is getting warmer around here.

I have the merged exhaust on my list right after I figure out the source of the circus band music my car is making. :?

Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:00 am

Ok mysterious loud noise is found and fixed, for the sake of preserving my dignity let’s just say it was a two part problem involving the right emergency cable and a loose wheel spinner retainer on the left wheel. #-o

Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:31 am

Long ordeal with the carbs but all is good now, details below :)
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5915707#5915707

Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:12 am

Tackling the torsion bar and spring plates at this point, the PO had the car lowered with less than ¼” of clearance between the tire and fenders. Followed the procedure in the manual on adjusting the spring plate however something is not making sense.
After taking everything apart and measuring the current spring plates angle it is set at 26° the suggested degree settings is close to 20° which will raise the spring plate even higher and in return lower the car even more???
The car is level on 4 jacks with close to 0 degree from the door sill, any idea what I am missing here?

Sun Mar 25, 2012 8:42 am

Adjusted the spring plates to 20° 50' and I still have no more than 1/4" clearance!

almost a zero degree on the door sill, any ideas what I missing here?

Sun Mar 25, 2012 1:10 pm

You need to compensate for the (invisible) variable of metal fatigue on the torsion bars or get a set of new torsion bars from sway a way. The factory procedure assumes that your bars are in tip top shape and haven't been holding a car up for 40 something years. The bars are tired.

So you can:

1. Use trial and error to sets yours at the right height.

2. Get new sway bars (which will be stiffer than stock)

3. Get adjustable spring plates (which are very popular but I'm not very fond of -- seems like too much weight on a small screw . . . )

Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:52 pm

what I don't understand, if my spring plates is setting low then why is my door sill is balanced?

right now the spring plate is about 1/2 off the stop, is it suppose to be resting on the stop?

when I measured it after taking everything off it was set at 26° now it is set at 21° with the same results.

Sun Mar 25, 2012 4:33 pm

I'm not sure but I believe that the rear door gap is affected more by the shock pads than the spring plates. The greater the angle, the more the more torsion bars will twist, the higher the car will go.

Of course shocks also play a role. Did the po use shocks to accommodate the lowered stance?

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=222251

It's how to lower but you only need to reverse. :)

Sun May 20, 2012 12:12 pm

I give up and I need some help locating the source of loud and banging noises while in gear, I am willing to pay for time and gas. I live in south of Dayton. Thanks in advance.

Mon May 21, 2012 12:54 pm

karghia74 wrote: I give up and I need some help locating the source of loud and banging noises while in gear, I am willing to pay for time and gas. I live in south of Dayton. Thanks in advance.

Go talk to the guys at Larry's Off-Road - they are right up the road from you. I went to the University of Dayton and lived by the Dayton Mall, but live in Florida now so I am no help. But, those guys are plenty knowledgable and close by.

Tue May 22, 2012 5:46 am

What size tires are you running? Are those Empi 8-spoke?

Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:38 pm

WOW, nice build. This is a great build. I have been thinking so much of a sliding raptop from scratch.....i dont like the ones on the market but i dont want to cut my roof. . . .grrrrrrrrrrrrr

I love and have always loved the ghia...GREAT JOB,
this Ghia of yours reminds me of mine when I first got it about 4 years ago...
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/997725.jpg

but here is what it looks like now....
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/805101.jpg

I have more pics in my folder as well as on my puter. I dont want to cloud up your post with my ghia....

GREAT JOB ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !