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Sun Jun 27, 2004 2:12 pm

How can a swing axel be replaced with a Irs rear end???

Sun Jun 27, 2004 5:23 pm

Cut in and weld in the side brackets from a later model (69 and up) or buy the Type 1 swing to IRS conversion kit, which also needs cutting and welding. I think you're gonna need a T3 IRS rear end on both conversions, but for the first one for sure.

Sun Jun 27, 2004 5:47 pm

Or add the forks to an IRS rear subframe (bolt in replacement).

Sun Jun 27, 2004 7:41 pm

Hot VWs covered this about ten years ago. They completely removed the swingaxle subframe, bolted in an IRS subframe, then fabbed a rear mount. Seemed like a lot of work.

On my 67, I just attached IRS brackets to the torsion tube. I went even further by mounting those brackets on a moveable fixture. Now my rear wheels are adjustable for camber--I can raise or lower the rear and my camber can always be set to factory specs. Yes, it was a little more trouble than just welding on the brackets. But I've saved enough in reduced tire wear to repay the effort many times over. Get better handling as well.

Sun Jun 27, 2004 10:36 pm

GjMan wrote: ...On my 67, I just attached IRS brackets to the torsion tube. I went even further by mounting those brackets on a moveable fixture. Now my rear wheels are adjustable for camber--I can raise or lower the rear and my camber can always be set to factory specs. Yes, it was a little more trouble than just welding on the brackets...
So why haven't I seen this before :?: Dude, jeeze!, take pictures, explain what you did, how you did it. Sounds very cool :D

Sun Jun 27, 2004 11:29 pm

You can also just swap the sub frame then add mounts for the rear engine hanger (or use bumper brackets).

Mon Jun 28, 2004 10:22 am

Gjman

tell us exactly what you did. sounds interesting.

Mon Jun 28, 2004 4:34 pm

I think the Bus Boys (are they still in business?) offered a similar feature on their swing to IRS bus kit. It was essentially a tubular clamp which fit around the torsion tube, tightened by two bolts, to which the IRS brackets were welded. To adjust camber, the clamp was loosened, moved either up or down to get the desired camber, then retightened. Mine is pretty much like that, and is well within the capabilities of anyone with a welder, or a friend with one. Since it's just about mandatory to remove the subframe to do a simple weld-on of the IRS brackets anyway, you may as well add this feature while everything is out of the car

It was necessary to do a little clearancing on the outside of each frame horn where the torsion tube passes thru it--but you'd have to do that just to do a simple weld-on of the brackets. I heated the area with a torch and used a hammer to make an indentation for clearance. I did the same where the horns pass under the CV joints, because I'm planning to install larger T2 CVs at some point.

I don't have a digicam just yet, nor a scanner, so I can't even post a drawing of my set up. But it looks like there's enough interest in this mod that I will try to get something posted with the help of more computer-savvy friends. Please stay tuned.

Mon Jun 28, 2004 8:55 pm

That all sounds to good. Does anybody know if the inner bodypanel (The area with the bracket where the engine mounts to it in a IRS axle) has the same shape as the earlier (66) ones? Because I dont like to cut one out of a 69/70 and find out that the panel shape is different and wont take the engine hanger bracket.

Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:07 pm

You can cut the rear mount fixtures from a donor IRS car and weld/bolt those fixtures to your swingaxle body, but a little clearancing is necessary for them to fit. I would also retain the stock swingaxle rear mount on the upper fan housing for a little more strength and security--the conversion I did does not seem quite as solid as the stock IRS mounting, so keeping the fan housing mount gives me a little peace of mind.

Thu Jul 01, 2004 5:16 pm

The A-arm mounts come off surprisingly easy, grind the weld away a little on the top and bottom and then use a cold chisel from the inside - they'll come right off.