1970 Fastback Newbie Restoration Help

[nikyoung]

First off, shout-out to The Samba. I am a complete newb to this whole process, but between some books and this forum, I have managed to figure things out thus far. I've gotten her stripped and pulled apart. Separated the body from the pan last weekend. Now I plan to start with the chassis upgrades/restoration. And here comes my first question. If I have done my research correctly, this 70 Fasty appears to have a modified front beam already. Will post photos below. Can anyone give me some feedback on this? Thanks in advance. Will likely be asking more questions if any Type 3 experts want to follow along and help a newbie out. Thanks again!

[Bobnotch]

Well first off Welcome to the group. Now just so you know, you've got a type 3 beam on it, which means you can raise or lower it by doing a search of the forum. Keep in mind that the links to any pics are probably dead, as they were taken years ago. The front is adjustable just like the rear is, but the rear is more work. Removing the thru bolts at the ball joints on the spindles is the tricky part, as you can wipe out the threads on them very easily. Myself, I prefer to remove the big nuts (30mm) on the ball joints to remove the spring pressure of the torsion bars.
Keep in mind that your car originally came with FI (Fuel Injection) but has been swapped to ICT's (or Chinese copies of them). They're not bad for what they are, but most are jetted a little rich.
It looks like your car is mostly complete, which is a good thing. Keep in mind that rusty sheet
metal is a problem, and about the only new metal is floor pans from Gerson (Classic Fab). Yes there are several people that are selling them too. ISP offers sections for those not replacing an entire pan half. They also offer window seals and all sorts of bits and pieces for type 3s.
I hope this helps.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[nikyoung]

Thanks Bobnotch! Excited to be here. Ok, thank you for the clarification for this newb.
Yes it was! Not much missing. And pretty solid - hardly any rust, and what is there seems to be surface. On the pan, one small pinhole under the battery. Structurally sound overall.

I am hoping to do a pretty complete restoration/renovation. I would love to put an Airkweld complete front beam assembly on it, but as we know they are not currently in production for T3s. I reached out, they suggested I get on a waitlist in case they run a limited production in the future.

I would like to run the 17" BRMs. Looking at Autowerk's Type 1 Conversion

It does! Thank you!

[Ossipon]

I am not a tire/wheel expert. There are some wizards here. But, keep in mind two things and you will avoid more issues. Type 3 wheels and wheel wells and the associated clearance are not the same in any way to Type 1. Do searches on this topic and you will discover there have been those who have gone down this path previously.
Don't just think it should fit. The wheel offset is a trap many first timers get caught.
Best of luck, you look like you have a pretty solid starting point for your Slantback. Others are not so lucky.
_________________
Ossipon
VWs in my life:
Air
Type 1 - 59, 62, 63, 71 Super 68 KGhia/ Type 2 - 59 Single Cab / Type 3 - 64 Notch
Water
GTI 83, Jetta 81, 85, 87, 91 TDI, 98 TDI, 09 / New Beetle 99 / SportWagen 05, 13 / Tiguan 18 / T3 92

[Bobnotch]

[nikyoung]

My preferred set-up would be:

- Lowered (low, but not so low as to cause significant problems. I do prefer the wheels at least beginning to tuck look-wise).
- 17”x7" BRM wheels with 5x205 lug pattern and from what I read that means 5 5/8” backspacing and 40ET
- 215/40/17 on the back, and either the same or 205/50/17 up front.

I'm in conversation with Sam at Autowerks right now to get the front beam situation figured out.

But I'm currently struggling to figure out the rear. From what I am reading, I can simply swap the stock drums for 5x205s

But will this simple conversion allow for the set-up I'm looking to run? Or do I need to edit the rear axle in some additional way to allow for clearance? And if so - suggestions on best route?? Thank you all in advance

[akokarski]

another wheel option is to go with wheels of a 914 like mahles or gas burners. my set bolted right up and has right clearance, mind you I am not lowered.

back tires are way too wide though and can go a side down.

[nikyoung]

[Bobnotch]

Since you're wanting to run 17's, I'd suggest you contact Mark (W1K1 on here), as he's running wide 5 pattern 17's on his red 65 Squareback. He's taken the time to figure out the back spacing and rim widths and tire sizes to run them, as his car is his daily driver, so it has to clear things like man hole covers, rail road tracks, and things like that.
My self I'm down 2 inner splines with a static drop, and it sometimes gets interesting crossing RR tracks and the abrupt edges of some bridges around here. Keep in mind where I live the "pot hole" is the state bird, and they'll swallow a small car. We get patches on patches in some places, so I'm not interested in going super low, as it'll try to rip the front beam out of the car (I've hit hard enough to get a chunk of RR tie caught in the beam before).
I hope this helps.
P.S. you might want to search the forum on lowering, as some have run into the problem where the beam clamps have gotten bent, and others have relocated the clamp ends to gain more ground clearance. Just a heads up.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[nikyoung]

[Bobnotch]

[Rome]

[nikyoung]

Been MIA for a couple weeks, but still making progress one baby step at a time. Trying to fit in a couple hours of body work each week.

Wheels arrived - I went with these bad boys:

I had anticipated needing a narrowed beam to fit these and to lower her, but marchi (Flamer) is running these exact wheels without a narrowed beam. Anyone have any feedback as to why people are running narrowed beams to fit 17s if it isn't necessary? Is it only to go slammed? Or are they chasing the narrowed look? Or am I just lucky with my offset that I don't need to narrow my beam to fit them?

[Bobnotch]