TheSamba.com :: View topic - Building an adjustable beam with Avis adjusters (Tutorial)

Sat Sep 18, 2004 2:42 pm

jesus i would pay $24 for a complete kit!!!!
these kits are £120 here!!
british robbery i'm thinking!
so would i need the ball joint ones? even though my bus is king pin?

Sat Sep 18, 2004 2:51 pm

It's the same kit except for the inside part, which you don't use on a bus beam, so either one.

Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:10 pm

I need to order this setup for my bus... is it a weekend job for a novice? maybe I could hire a helper in the tampa area for the price of pizza and maybe beer for afterwards...

Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:39 pm

So I'm hitting the centre piece with a pipe and a sledge and I get the piece to one side and i go to pull out the pipe and it won't come out. I guess I mushroomed the end of it. I think I have to make a cut for the adjustment and hopefully I can get in there with a grinder to grind off the mushroom so I can get my pipe out to do the bottom tube.
By the way. Those are awsome instructions.
Reminder:Use a a thick peice of pipe because you really gotta smash it.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:23 pm

I got the pipe out and I've bashed the centre back and forth a few times but i can't seem to rotate the centre. Is there a trick to this besides drilling out the dimples?

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:37 pm

dickcharlton wrote: I got the pipe out and I've bashed the centre back and forth a few times but i can't seem to rotate the centre. Is there a trick to this besides drilling out the dimples?

Now you need to make the groove, then put a lug nut in the center piece you broke, pound it up and down. Have adjusters?

Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:17 pm

I've got the groove and adjusters. Do i use a bus lugnut and just bash it back and forth until it slides real nice?

Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:33 am

dickcharlton wrote: I've got the groove and adjusters. Do i use a bus lugnut and just bash it back and forth until it slides real nice?

That is what I do. You can move the center up 3/8", then put your bar in and pound it side to side, that helps free the center up some more.

Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:24 pm

jeremyrockjock,

I'm new to Beetle and have just discovered TheSamba. I was so very please with your tutorial on installing an Avis front beam adjuster.

Very wonderfully done.

Thanks,

Roger

Thu Dec 16, 2004 2:03 pm

Long-roofs wrote: dickcharlton wrote: I've got the groove and adjusters. Do i use a bus lugnut and just bash it back and forth until it slides real nice?

That is what I do. You can move the center up 3/8", then put your bar in and pound it side to side, that helps free the center up some more.

Well I got bolts from Canadian tire threaded one inand hit it back and forth with a hammer until it slid good. So that's the bottom one done. Tommorrow I'l do the top. Thank you very much for your help.

Fri Dec 31, 2004 5:29 pm

So I've got the front beam in the bus but the adjuster bolt on the top beam sticks out too far and gets in the way of the shift rod. The bolt is a 14mm X 1.75 inches long with a nut on it. I also tryed a 14mm X 1.5 inches long but with the nut on it it won't ground out against the leaves.

I thought about using a 14mm X 1 inch long bolt with no adjustment nut on it. Is this a bad idea?

I also thought about trying to find a headless 14mm X 35mm long allan bolt like the original bolt but with the thread of 14mm bolts I threaded in.

What did other people do?
Did anyone have this same problem of not having enough clearance for the shift rod?

Sat Jan 01, 2005 8:35 am

The shifter linkage is a issue depending on where you have the height set. One bus I actually modified the shift linkage to clear the adjuster. On my 58 I machined a nut to recess into the adjuster plate and used a 14mm to 1/2 wheel stud. You have to have a lathe to do that thou.

Sat Jan 01, 2005 2:57 pm

jeremyrockjock wrote: The shifter linkage is a issue depending on where you have the height set. One bus I actually modified the shift linkage to clear the adjuster. On my 58 I machined a nut to recess into the adjuster plate and used a 14mm to 1/2 wheel stud. You have to have a lathe to do that thou.

Jeremy, Do you know if this is a problem on a baywindow also? I'm just assembling my beam after installing the adjusters and it is going back in my doublecab. Just wondering if I'm going to have shift linkage drama.

Sat Jan 01, 2005 4:00 pm

earthmuffin wrote: jeremyrockjock wrote: The shifter linkage is a issue depending on where you have the height set. One bus I actually modified the shift linkage to clear the adjuster. On my 58 I machined a nut to recess into the adjuster plate and used a 14mm to 1/2 wheel stud. You have to have a lathe to do that thou.

Jeremy, Do you know if this is a problem on a baywindow also? I'm just assembling my beam after installing the adjusters and it is going back in my doublecab. Just wondering if I'm going to have shift linkage drama.

The one that I modified the shifter was a bay window bus. I used conduit. I created a peice with a deeper arch. I took the shifter rod and welded both ends to a fixture as to not loose the bolt locations because if you get them out of alignment it won't shift right. Then I cut the center out and welded in the new peice with the the lower bend. It worked good.

Sat Jan 01, 2005 6:23 pm

Well I'll see what happens. Thanks for all the good information. :wink:

Sun Jan 02, 2005 9:57 pm

Anyone else got any good ideas or things they've done.

Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:35 pm

I don't understand about the banging to loosen up the center piece.Do you put the rod down the axle tube or what?

Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:39 am

yes. you smash it back and forth.

Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:30 pm

Nice model!

Could you do a primer on how you draw like that? 8)

Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:38 pm

h simpson wrote: I don't understand about the banging to loosen up the center piece.Do you put the rod down the axle tube or what?

I got a piece of 1 1/4 galvanized pipe with a cap on one end so I would have something to whack. Set the beam up on end and strap it to a work bench so it won't fall over and the get real intimate with a sledge, I would recommend at least 4 lbs. I beat it back and forth a few times, cut the slot, then turned the center retainer a few degrees and then beat it back and forth a few more times. Then once you get all worn out, you get to do it all over again on the other tube. :D