Getting ready for summer

[oprn]

[oprn]

I got the 944 donor suspension out and home today. If I was starting from scratch with a fresh pan, this whole thing would get welded in. What a sweet setup! Complete with a sway bar. Just need to add a front transaxle mount.

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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Well, look at that! The EMPI jig doesn't fit the 944 pivot bracket!

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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

More issues. The park brake shoe linings have failed on one side.

The 944 brackets are much narrower than the EMPI brackets.

The 944 through bolts are smaller.

And this end is completely different.

So... do not let anyone tell you that the 944 control arms are a bolt on. They absolutely ARE NOT!!! Can I make them work? Yes I believe I can. At this point though I am thinking seriously about abandoning the EMPI brackets that don't fit the 944 control arms anyway and cutting the brackets off the 944 torsion tube to use.

As for the EMPI jigs... waste of time and money! They don't fit. I believe I can get it closer using the 944 control arms as jigs.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[joescoolcustoms]

I understood the bushings had to be changed to beetle in order to fit.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[slalombuggy]

Unless those rotors are way above minimum spec they are junk to. Now I remember why I never swapped out the rear for 944 stuff when one was given to me. Good luck with the swap.

[oprn]

My brake machinist has the rotors done already. I just need to pick them up.

I plan on changing the brackets to match the 944 stuff. I think it will be simpler and quicker.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Beetle to Bus IRS conversion flanges arrived.

... seems... according to the Dr... I have torn my right rotator cuff. Don't recall doing anything that would have caused that but here I am in the middle of this project with the usual spring chores and activities and I am all gimped up!

Frustration is setting in...
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Comparing some more parts, first is the torsion bars. Not interchangeable, two different lengths. I suspect the IRS Beetle would be the same though but the swing axle ones are shorter. No problem as I wanted to use the 944 ones anyway for more load capacity with the heavier type 4 engine.

The rubber bushings are different too but it looks like I can use the Beetle ones on the 944 parts.

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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[joescoolcustoms]

What are the diameters of the two torsion bars? Just curious. Typical Beetle short bars are either 21 or 22 mm.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[oprn]

The Beetle's are 21mm and the 944 has 23.5mm bars. Same splines on the ends though.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Moving on to the torsion bar retaining caps. There is a significant difference here too! I suppose I could have cut down and filed the 944 pieces but modifying the Beetle ones is simpler. I do believe the IRS Beetle caps would have been a direct bolt up but that is not what I have.

First impression was to cut the spot welds and punch out the cap in the middle... didn't work! On closer inspection they aren't little center caps, these units are two separate stampings just spot welded with 4 tack welds.

Plan B is to machine out the centers instead.

Fits nicely!

_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

I am quite surprised that someone has not piped up here with their Beetle/944 swap. I talked to a chap I Saskatoon about a couple years back. I saw a Baja Bug behind his shop that had this swap done. "No idea," he said "it belongs to a guy who used to work for me." When inquiring on this site a while back it sounded like it was a common thing.

Well, if I am a pioneer here, so be it. Maybe someone in the future can benefit no matter the outcome.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[BIGMIKEY]

I have 944 torsion bars and spring plates on my Deserter with 1969 chassis. I had to cut the 944 bushings off. Beetle bushings do fit. Some clearance grinding was needed to the VW shock towers for the adjusting nuts on the inner side of the torsion spring plates. But my chassis was CV joint type so not sure if you will need to grind that area on the swing axle type chassis.

Mike T
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BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[oprn]

There we go! Thanks!

Yes I will watch for that. I am looking forward to that extra adjustment the 944s had. And yes those rubber bushings are hanging on pretty tight. I might have to cut them off too.

Did you fund the bars changed the ride very much?
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[BIGMIKEY]

I used a coarse twist wire wheel to get the remains of the bushing off. Works slick. The buggy is still under construction so haven't driven it yet. The Deserter has an 84" wheelbase vs 80" for most other buggies. I figured it will be somewhat heavier especially with my 300lbs carcass in the seat. So I hope the extra spring rate will be OK. Preliminary test drive should be this summer. But you'll probably know before I will how it rides. Enjoying your thread. I oughta do one for my build I guess.

Mike T
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BIGMIKEY

Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=

1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue.

[oprn]

No more progress, we have 3 grandsons here on spring break so... teaching them to run the wood splitter (after digging it out of a 5 foot snow drift). No personal agenda there of course! Then I taught them how to tap trees to make maple syrup. Yesterday we spent most of our day shooting gophers. Sounded like WW3 but in the end there was a few dead ones.

Today we will break out the sand rail and the remaining bluebird nest boxes and have a morning of learning to drive a stick between hanging the boxes.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[slayer61]

That actually sounds like MORE fun than working on the buggy. A fine weekend indeed!
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[oprn]

I had a dig around in my junk yesterday and found something I had forgotten about. A pair of early 944 trailing arms. These do appear to use the same inner mount bolts as the IRS Beetle!

These trailing arms were free-be's, looks to me like someone used the stub axles and brakes for a project and discarded the arms. It also appears that the brakes have a very different mounting system than the later 944s.

More research needed. Company coming for the weekend...
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Maple syrup run is finished, company gone I am trying to get a bit more progress on the Buggy with gardening season looming...

I have been on a Porsche forum asking questions. It appears that these "early 944" control arms are actually Beetle control arms! Oh well, they were free... and have badly rusted up wheel bearings. I now have a good pair of Beetle stub axles...

I also found out the the '86 944 aluminum control arms are not wider than the early steel ones. '87 and on are so that is good in the fact that it will help to keep the tires under the fenders where they belong. I ordered a set of 225-70-15 tires and theory tells me that will give me 3000 RPM at 68 mph. Nice cruising gearing compromise I hope!

So start the day with swapping out the winter tires for summer ones on the Jetta, it is now the first of May so not too much of a chance for a snow storm now. Then on to important things!
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)