TheSamba.com :: View topic - what is the stock ride height of a 62 beetle?

Tue May 01, 2012 10:43 pm

Ok I bought my 62 already lowered and I need to know how much its lowered. What is stock height for a 62 in inches? Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear.

Thanks

Dustin

Wed May 02, 2012 4:42 am

I don't have any actual measurements handy right now, but the factory ground clearance in the owner's manual was 6 inches.

My 62 is all stock on the suspension, but I'd have to unload all the stuff out of the trunk in my 62 and find a level parking lot to take any real world measurements.

Wed May 02, 2012 7:35 am

The problem with the factory ground clearance is not knowing where they measured.

The rear lower shock mounts are probably the lowest thing under the car when it's stock, and if they measured from them to the ground, that measurement won't change as you lower the chassis. It only changes if you go to shorter (or taller) tires.

Wed May 02, 2012 8:54 am

Dustin B wrote: Ok I bought my 62 already lowered and I need to know how much its lowered. What is stock height for a 62 in inches? Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear.

Thanks

Dustin

Mine's stock and has 14 3/4" front, 14 1/4" rear.

Wed May 02, 2012 9:08 am

zundapp wrote: Dustin B wrote: Ok I bought my 62 already lowered and I need to know how much its lowered. What is stock height for a 62 in inches? Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear.

Thanks

Dustin

Mine's stock and has 14 3/4" front, 14 1/4" rear.

Where are you measuring from?

Wed May 02, 2012 9:15 am

From the fender lip level with the axles on my '67 the fenders are 27 inches. The bug was lowered but I hated the ride so I went back to what I assumed was stock height.

crvc

Wed May 02, 2012 9:20 am

Dustin B wrote: zundapp wrote: Dustin B wrote: Ok I bought my 62 already lowered and I need to know how much its lowered. What is stock height for a 62 in inches? Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear.

Thanks

Dustin

Mine's stock and has 14 3/4" front, 14 1/4" rear.

Where are you measuring from?
Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear. :)

Wed May 02, 2012 9:32 am

zundapp wrote: Dustin B wrote: zundapp wrote: Dustin B wrote: Ok I bought my 62 already lowered and I need to know how much its lowered. What is stock height for a 62 in inches? Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear.

Thanks

Dustin

Mine's stock and has 14 3/4" front, 14 1/4" rear.

Where are you measuring from?
Let's say from the fender lip straight up from the center of the wheel front and rear. :)

My car is slammed and it is 21 1/2" in the rear from ground to lip.

Wed May 02, 2012 11:02 am

crvc wrote:

From the fender lip level with the axles on my '67 the fenders are 27 inches. The bug was lowered but I hated the ride so I went back to what I assumed was stock height.

crvc

Thats really high in the rear for a 67.

Wed May 02, 2012 12:54 pm

Yeah 67's should be lower in the rear.

Wed May 02, 2012 2:20 pm

Dustin B wrote: Yeah 67's should be lower in the rear.

I keep forgetting, it's a '67 body but a '73 chassis. The front end was a rusty danger zone so I put in a new adjustable beam and lowered the rear to match. But I never liked the way bugs looked from the rear once they'd been lowered. They remind me of a dog squatting to take a crap.

Then when I tried to go back to stock height this was where the adjustable beam seemed to drive the best. So I matched the rear to the new front end height. It has new shocks, front and rear sway bars.

crvc

Wed May 02, 2012 3:02 pm

I still need the STOCK height for a 62 beetle. I know that ride height differs from year to year do to volkswagon changing the angle the spring plates. So its got to be a stock 62 please.
thanks

Dustin

Wed May 02, 2012 3:22 pm

Dustin B wrote: I still need the STOCK height for a 62 beetle. I know that ride height differs from year to year do to volkswagon changing the angle the spring plates. So its got to be a stock 62 please.
thanks

Dustin

Sorry, I assumed anything from 60 to 67 would be the same height.

crvc

Wed May 02, 2012 5:58 pm

crvc wrote: Dustin B wrote: I still need the STOCK height for a 62 beetle. I know that ride height differs from year to year do to volkswagon changing the angle the spring plates. So its got to be a stock 62 please.
thanks

Dustin

Sorry, I assumed anything from 60 to 67 would be the same height.

crvc

Thanks for the info anyway.

Wed May 02, 2012 6:48 pm

the closest way ,i think, you will get to stock is by adjusting the spring plates to stock angles which for a 62 "i think" is 13deg+- 30 min,this could then vary depending on the fatigue in the torsion bars

Wed May 02, 2012 7:38 pm

Actually, I think the pre-66s are pretty much the same all the way back to the late 50s.

Okay, so anyway, I took all the stuff out of the trunk of my 62 bug and drove it around til I found a halfway level empty parking lot and checked it.

Year: January 1962.
Tires: 165/80R15 on stock rims.
inflation: 18PSI front. 27PSI rear
Shocks - German Sachs, stock oil-filled.

From the ground to where my (aftermarket) fenders meet the body and where the fender welting (originally) curved around - it was about 10.8 to 10.9" These fenders don't fit that well so it's not exactly a great place to check.

My front apron has been bashed up far too much to be a reliable place to check.

Perhaps a better place to check was a the front frame head below the beam. From there to the ground it was about 8.6"

Also, checked behind my right front wheel, from the ground to the bottom of the pan there, it was 9"

Wed May 02, 2012 7:39 pm

The critical specification for the rear end is in terms of a camber setting, which is +2 degree 30 minutes +/- 1 degree. The are charts for the various torsion bars that provide a starting point, however adjustments will have to be made until both sides be with in 20 minutes of each other.

The unloaded spring plate angle for '62 with fresh torsion bars is 16 degree 30 min +/- 50 minute. For Fresh air '64 and later or subsequent setting of ''59 and later, the unloaded plate angle is 17 degree 30 minute +/- 50 degrees. With an maximum unload spring angle of 19 degrees.

Personally I prefer a camber setting closer to zero, and a slightly lower front end to level the car out.

Given the differences in fenders over the years, tire height, and the array of aftermarket parts, it will be difficult to use any vertical measurement for setting suspension. Camber is what is most important, and you can measure that with a bubble gauge or a $50 digital level.

Hope that helps.

Wed May 02, 2012 7:48 pm

Wed May 02, 2012 7:52 pm

glutamodo wrote: Actually, I think the pre-66s are pretty much the same all the way back to the late 50s.

Okay, so anyway, I took all the stuff out of the trunk of my 62 bug and drove it around til I found a halfway level empty parking lot and checked it.

Year: January 1962.
Tires: 165/80R15 on stock rims.
inflation: 18PSI front. 27PSI rear
Shocks - German Sachs, stock oil-filled.

From the ground to where my (aftermarket) fenders meet the body and where the fender welting (originally) curved around - it was about 10.8 to 10.9" These fenders don't fit that well so it's not exactly a great place to check.

My front apron has been bashed up far too much to be a reliable place to check.

That's exactly what I needed. Did you get a measurement of the rear? Fender to ground

My car is to low to measure from anywhere else.

Thanks dustin

Wed May 02, 2012 8:07 pm

ah, no, I didn't check the rear, my rear fenders and apron are like the front, poor fitting aftermarket fenders plus the apron is beat up. (those poor aprons are originals, and this car has around 400K on it) Also, it was getting dark.

The rear end, if you want stock height you'd be best to check and/or reset the spring plates to stock numbers anyway. I don't remember if I've ever reset the ones on mine. I think I did, or at least checked them, when I put a new tranny in there 8 years ago.