How to lower a bus you ask?

[rizzag]

Well, there are requests to consolidate all the lowering info into one good thread, so let me try to empty my head! Lowering a bus is not all that hard there is just tons to know about it and specific parts you need to make it work.

Lets start with the front:

Without making custom welded drop spindles, which will widen your track in the front, 3.5 inches is the standard drop. This means that if you want to lower your bus any less than 3.5 inches you will want to accomplish this with an adjustable beam jeremyrockjock's tutorial, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64301&highlight=beam .

Now if you want to be lowered 3.5 inches, you use drop spindles. I as well as others, as many of you know, build drop spindles... you can get spindles from
Me!- http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=83911
longroofs, here on the samba
wagenswest
wolfgang international
franklins vw werks
and many more!

General info:
there are 4 spindle styles
barndoor, late 55 to 62, 63 and 64 to 67.

Most drop spindle places flip the tierod holes, this makes you run bay window bus outer tierod ends. Busses originally used a fixed (non-adjustable) tierod on the passenger side but in order to screw the late tierod end on the passenger side you will need another driverside adjustable tierod on the passenger side. a little trick that camerod taught me was to just buy two complete driverside tierods, one early and one late then just swap two of the ends. Then you have two new adjustable tierod with an early inner and a late outer. Works great!

If you want to be lower than 3.5 inches you will want a combination of drop spindles and an adjustable beam.

If you want to be slammed and/or run wide custom wheels then you are going to need a narrowed adjustable beam.

If you are running stock wheels then a 2 inch narrowed beam works really well. Naes has a tutorial on that. search narrowed beam tutorial by naes.

custom wheels need a 4 inch narrowed beam. Another one of jeremyrockjock's tutorials http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71084&highlight=beam .

If you want to buy a beam already done, here are some builders
jeremyrockjock
camerod from volksfab
longroofs
butchershop
rustbox
wagenswest
franklins vw werks
KCW
and many more!

When you get real low you start scraping your steering box all the time, here is a thread on how to raise it, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150082&highlight=raising+steering+box .

That pretty much covers the front.

On to the rear!

There are three methods of lowering the rear, reindexing the reduction boxes, straight axle kit, and IRS

Reindexing the reduction boxes is the original way to lower the rear of the busses. This works great if you only desire a small drop, say 1 or 2 outside notches. The problem with this style is that it cambers out fast! So unless you want tons of negative camber / \ then you can’t really go lower than 3 or 4 inches. Also if you get real radical then the trans oil will run back down to the trans and not lube the reduction boxes.


Straight axle kit works great if you want to lower 4 inches or more. Any less than 4 inches and you end up with positive camber \ / . It is scary to drive a bus with positive camber, they are all over the road.

There are three different bug axle lengths
66 and earlier, short axle/short spline
67, long axle/short spline
and 68, long axle/long spline.... this is what you guys want!
*all type 3 swingaxles are also long axle/long spline*

Places to buy straight axle kits are
volksfab
wolfgang international
wagenswest
busboys
and many more!

*This is something many people miss and have troubles with later. Most straight axle kits are built off of short axle tubes. This means that you need the corresponding bearing caps from a short axle. If you use the caps that your long axle trans came with the area that the bearing sits into is too shallow, then you can’t tighten it down enough and the backing plates are loose and floppy!


IRS is nice at any height, it just costs more and takes more time to set up. It doesn’t camber as bad as straight axle or reduction boxes either. You can use weld in tabs then install the bug stuff or buy a bolt in kit. I am not much for permanent custom mods so that is my route of choice.
You can buy bolt in kits from
wagneswest
wolfgang international
and more I’m sure.

The moment I have been dreading!

Rear brakes!

First type three.
Type three are larger brakes, this is your best option if you want better stopping power. 4lug and 5 lug type three brakes have the same diameter so if you can find 4lug stuff you can run that with adapters or you can now buy reproduction 5 lug brake drums and this will work with your 4lug inners!

You can use early 5 lug bug but you will need a spacer under the axle nut and they are thin and wimpy so that is all I will say about them

Bug 4lug
You can use this as well. You would use the backing plates, all inners and drums along with adapters.

You can also use bug 4lug backing plates and inners with machined 63 and older bus rear drums http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=136812&highlight=machining+drums .

Another option if you need clearance from the spring plate is 4lug bug backing plates and inners with thing drums.


General info:

If you are using 14inch stock bus wheels all of these options, except early 5lug bug *should* keep your tire off the spring plates

If you are using bus 15inch wheels in most cases besides the thing drums you will need a spacer http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=154759&highlight=spacers .

You can use your original bus transmission in any straight axle kit, you just need to have the differential flipped by a vw trans guy. You will also need a bus nose cone and hockey stick on any bug trans.
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