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High school kid buys 74 bug
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youngbug74
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:09 pm    Post subject: High school kid buys 74 bug Reply with quote

I joined the samba about 2 months ago which is right around the time I bought my beetle. My beetle is my first car I paid 2,500 cash for her on the spot. My current issue is my suspension which is raised in the back and lowered in the front I have empi coilovers in the back and I just bought the tool to lower them with (hoping that works) I hope lowering the back brings up the front a little the front is a torrision bar and I'm not sure how I could adjust that. I just don't want my tires to rub especially because this car will be a daily driver! Here's some pics of my suspension
Here you can see the rear suspension

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Here's the front torrision bar and shock
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for those of you who are interested in my bug and what I have done/plan on doing to it see my next post on this thread below
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Northof49
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I doubt lowering the rear will have any significant effect on the front height. We need to determine why the front is low, and how it was lowered. There are at least 3 options:

1. Drop Spindles
2. Adjustable front beam
3. weakened front torsion springs.

Can you see if it has either 1 or 2? Maybe its adjustable.
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youngbug74
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My engine bay. (I know I need to relocate my fuel filter) you may notice my new empi carb I installed to correct an idling issue (adjustment screw on old carb was broken) I also installed a new black ignition coil. And I put on new rubber intake boots. My future plans are to replace the three heater hoses, relocate fuel filter, replace the deck lid seal, and I also need to get a hose for my crankcase breather. Long term plans may be to transition to a dual carb setup


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Here's my interior its in great shape Iv cleaned it very throughly, installed new front seatbelts, and a new handbrake rubber boot

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Here's the bugs butt...I installed new bumper rubber and end caps (I know the muffler tips are sideways I think the muffler may be installed wrong)

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Before I bought my bug the previous owner replaced the floorpan, tires, master cylinder, rear window, hubcaps, and a few more things...Iv also fixed my parking brake, installed a aftermarket windshield washer pump (had to for state inspection), and put in new stop light switches. I hope everyone enjoyed hearing about my bug I hope someone has some advice for me and feel free to ask me anything if you think I can help you
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OLD VW NUT
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is ZERO reason for you to post the same question twice in the same forum. You've already gotten good advice - use it! If you have a problem with adjusting those shocks use the same thread.
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youngbug74
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OLD VW NUT wrote:
There is ZERO reason for you to post the same question twice in the same forum. You've already gotten good advice - use it! If you have a problem with adjusting those shocks use the same thread.


I decided to start a thread specially for my car and I thought I should mention what I was currently in the process of doing
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fatdog
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adjusting those will make it ride a little softer but won't lower it, the springs will still hold it as high just not be as stiff on bumps. Stock style shocks will sit it lower and ride better but as last post said it won't help the front sit higher, need to figure out whats been changed to address that.
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Northof49
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We need some details on the "too low" front end. Can you get a picture of the exact center of the front beam. From a low angle. Perhaps it has an adjustable front beam?
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Last edited by Northof49 on Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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youngbug74
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The passagener side sits higher so I think if I put stock shocks on it it would still sit higher?
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Aussiebug
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Temporarily remove those coilover shocks to see how the rear sits on just the torsion bars. These ARE adjustable to set the correct height and even up the sides if needed ( procedure is on our site at www.vw-resource.com/rearaxle.html), and then fit stock single acting hydraulic shocks, they give a better ride too.

As noted above, getting the rear down to correct height won't do much for the front suspension but it might bring the front bumper up a few mm.
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Bob Brugge
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clean little machine.
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LeftSatisfied
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OLD VW NUT wrote:
There is ZERO reason for you to post the same question twice in the same forum. You've already gotten good advice - use it! If you have a problem with adjusting those shocks use the same thread.


Wow, what a grump! Look again, he didn't even ask a question in this thread. He shared the same picture and mentioned his current plans for his suspension. Why do you feel the need to jump on this kid? You are in the wrong here Mr. Thread Nazi!
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Bashr52
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I could give you some advice, ditch those empi shocks as fast as you can and throw them far, far away. Even at the softest settings they are way to stiff and will make your car ride like shit, ask me as I know. Rolling Eyes
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Mikedrevguy
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take a pic from the side (passenger and driver) so we can see what the stance issue is.
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pb_foots
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mikedrevguy wrote:
Take a pic from the side (passenger and driver) so we can see what the stance issue is.


From the OP gallery.

Holy crap kid, throw the shocks in the trash. The back end of your car is dangerous. This thing has got to handle terribly.

You don't need coilovers on a bug, get some stock oil shocks before you do anything else.

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Chochobeef
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Those shocks definitely aren't doing you any favors. I am betting the PO put those on because they didn't know how to re-index the rear spring plates cause they were sagging. You could try and put those "coilovers" to there lowest setting, but as said above that is not safe to be driving the way your tires are sitting. Yours look like \ / when they should be | | or / \.

There are a couple different types of shocks you can get. Can get the oil filled (soft) type or the gas filled (stiffer) type. I have the latter in the form of the KYB GR-2 shocks. They are great for the rear, but I also have them in the front and they are a bit on the stiff side since there is hardly any weight up front.

Just do your research as with anything and then come ask for opinions in your thread and see what the response is. You can either take the advice or not, its that simple.
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youngbug74
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here are pics of each side of my bug and one pic of the front shock I do not think it is adjustable
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


My plan is to remove the rear coilovers and see if that corrects the problem of the passenger side sitting higher than the drivers if it does I agree stock shocks are the way to go as I want a stock height. If this does not correct the problem Im not sure what I will do for the suspension. As for the front I need to raise it somehow I hope these pics help
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Floating VW
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:11 am    Post subject: Re: High school kid buys 74 bug Reply with quote

youngbug74 wrote:
My beetle is my first car I paid 2,500 cash for her on the spot.


My, how times have changed. I only paid 250 bones for my '74 back in 1988. Of course, that was back in the day when they were still considered as disposable cars.
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Aussiebug
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

youngbug74 wrote:

My plan is to remove the rear coilovers and see if that corrects the problem of the passenger side sitting higher than the drivers if it does I agree stock shocks are the way to go as I want a stock height. If this does not correct the problem Im not sure what I will do for the suspension.


As I already said in my post above, here's how to reset the ride height of the rear suspension. Www.vw-resource.com/rearaxle.html
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Being a most likely broke high school kid, you can probably remove the springs from those coil overs leaving you with maybe acceptable oil shocks. Unscrew the top, without pointing it at your face, and the spring should violently come apart. Go find the top of the shock that shot across the yard and put the shock back together without the spring. After you do both of them check the dampening by putting them back on the car. Bounce on the back bumper, it should go down and then come back up smoothly without any up and down bounce.
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Floating VW
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You mentioned you don't want your front tires to rub. Did you mean that they are rubbing now, or that you're worried they will rub in the future? The reason I ask is because your front end looks lowered, but not slammed. In my opinion, dropping the front down an inch or two (or three) is a good thing - as long as the tires don't rub. If yours aren't rubbing now, I would leave the front alone. If you post a pic of the middle of the beam, we can tell you of it has the beam adjusters or not, and if it does, you can crank the ride height up or down as much as you want (well, within limits).

My '74 always seemed to sit a little cocked on the driver's side as well, but I was never really sure if it wasn't just an optical illusion, since the lean wasn't exaggerated enough to notice unless you looked at it long enough. Handling wasn't affected by it and it went away after I installed a set of anti-sway bars, front and rear (also a good thing, in my opinion), so I never worried about it too much. At any rate, I don't think it's fair to say yours has this problem until those coil-overs come off and you can see what's really going on under there.
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