TheSamba.com :: View topic - Installing 2.5" Drop Spindles On A '64 Bug With Drums

Wed May 25, 2011 8:06 pm

I spoke with the local bug shop and with the cost of the spindals and the labor to reinstall my bushings and link pins it was about the same price as having adjusters installed on my stock beam so which way should I go?

Thu May 26, 2011 7:14 pm

Anyone have any ideas?

Fri May 27, 2011 8:18 am

My suggestion is to go with spindles. They reproduce the stock ride with shocks and are a little heavier duty than the origionals. Mine work great.

I also have adjusters but do not use them for now. All kinds of other things to consider with adjusters like new shocks, Wedges, bumpier ride and you always find things wrong.

Fri May 27, 2011 9:50 am

tb03830 wrote: My suggestion is to go with spindles. They reproduce the stock ride with shocks and are a little heavier duty than the origionals. Mine work great.

I also have adjusters but do not use them for now. All kinds of other things to consider with adjusters like new shocks, Wedges, bumpier ride and you always find things wrong.

Thanks for the advice. I will probably go that route. I just thought it would be cool to be able to adjust the ride height.

Fri May 27, 2011 11:21 am

Will the tires rub with a stock width beam and drop spindles?

Fri May 27, 2011 2:07 pm

s1b wrote: Will the tires rub with a stock width beam and drop spindles?

Stock size tires (165R15) on stock rims will rub when cornering with dropped spindles. Even with 145R15 tires you'll still get a bit of rubbing... at least I did on my '65.

Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:27 pm

Thanks for the post this helped a lot in doing mine. :D Also I was not as brave and bought mine off widefive.net already done they were just plug and play but the other info you posted as far as removal and such helped greatly. Thanks again.

Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:58 pm

I wonder if you can get a front Beam with the adjuster and lower a bug 2.5.. also if you can use regular tires. my 135's are hard to get..

Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:16 pm

mykidsbug wrote: I wonder if you can get a front Beam with the adjuster and lower a bug 2.5.. also if you can use regular tires. my 135's are hard to get..
You might look here in these two threads they help me along a lot as well as this one.Good luck with your project.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143094&start=0

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=247735&start=0

Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:48 pm

Hey guys sorry for bringing up an old thread but I was wondering if running dropped spindles on a stock width beam would rub. When i bought the car it had some torsion bars pulled so its not stock height. I have empi 5 spokes and 135's in the front .

Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:56 pm

jims65 wrote: Hey guys sorry for bringing up an old thread but I was wondering if running dropped spindles on a stock width beam would rub. When i bought the car it had some torsion bars pulled so its not stock height. I have empi 5 spokes and 135's in the front .

They might with some of the torsion bars pulled. You would just have to try it and find out in my opinion. And if it dose then start adding the bars till you get what your striving for. Mine is a stock frontend and just drop spindles and I am running 145's and have not had any rubbing issues even with a front passenger. Both of us 220 each. Good Luck!

Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:22 am

Jean Michel wrote: I just want to say that for those wanting to do this modification to their bug and want to fit the Porsche 356 brakes, that it can be done with the early 356 A Brakes only (small modification to the spindle or backing plate required) Dropped Spindles will not work with 356 B brakes as the backing plates for these are very diffrent to the 356 A brakes, which are diffrent again to the early 356 A Brakes! The B brakes are 1 cm larger in diameter to the A brakes and drums and backing plates can not be interchanged!

Not sure about that at all....I took my CB spindles to my extra set of 356B brakes, the front fits fine on the backing plate...I do have to figure out the bearing issue however. The Porsche bearing has a bigger ID than the VW bearing. Hoping I can put VW bearings in the Porsche drum.
My bug now has 356B brakes on it already, just don't remember what I did about the bearings..plus I'm putting a 4 in/2 1/2 spindles/BRM's on it this time around.

Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:11 pm

I need your advice :D I got my 1960 bug, and its already lowered and the beam shorted. I would like to rise it up a little bit from the front because its very low and diffecult to put it on the trailer. Could I loose the spindl and take off the two arms that connected to the spindel and the the beem, then move the two arms one step down, and then connect the spindel again? is that going to risa the car a little bit? and is it going to work?

Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:04 pm

Focker wrote: bugdozer wrote: ...Do you have any rubbing after installing the spindles?
Yesterday I decided to lower the rear one notch (outer spline) just to level the bug. It's a simple task unless your E-Brake cable is short like mine...PITA. Some guys I know had longer cables which allowed them to swing the rear drum back and out of the way.
I think I accomplished the goal of leveling but what I didn't expect is that the rubbing up front was cut down to less than half (In my experience). I zipped around some of the same corners that I had rubbing issues and it was a lot less noticeable. If I end up running 145's up front (165's currently) it should be even less. My concern is that the "Rake" from the smaller tire diameter will cause the tires to rub again since they will be up inside the fender more.
I'm sure there is some kind of Physics involved that explains the whole thing...Obviously I'm no Biologist. :lol:

Here is a new comparison shot...Starting with the lowered front.

Here is after the rear was completed...Yes I drove around and let everything settle.

did you get those 145s on? A little rake was great, and should be back with smaler front tires.

Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:27 pm

Just been looking at some dropped spindles for the front of my bug and I'm a bit confused???? How do I know if I need a Link pin set or ball joint set???

http://www.limebug.net/product/view/1630/t1-beetle...-joint-559

http://www.limebug.net/product/view/1755/t1-beetle...nk-pin-357

All though my bug is a 66 its been made up of all sorts of parts including 4 stud hubs

This pic might help ??

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Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:31 pm

You'll need a pair of ball joint spindles netsniper.

Sat Apr 20, 2013 3:18 pm

Thank you

Fri May 03, 2013 3:59 am

What tools do I need to fit spindles on my bug

Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:17 pm

11 month old thread, but I started this project tonight!

Sat Apr 05, 2014 1:15 am

I've done mine now and it was very easy.