Chassis and rear suspension upgrades

[tomsbuggered]

I am currently swapping a 1971 IRS transaxle and suspension.

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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[tomsbuggered]

Brackets for rear trailing arms welded in and painted
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[KTPhil]

New trailing arm front suspension, too?

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Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[tomsbuggered]

Ha, stock front suspension for now, maybe with disc brakes.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[KTPhil]

Should be a great project when done. Best of old and new!
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Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[tomsbuggered]

Today will be a day of loading the torsion bars, while I wait for bearings and other suspension pieces.
Maybe even a garage clean up!
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[tomsbuggered]

I'm in the process of modifying a 1971 rear axle IRS assembly into a 1956 Oval frame. I've mounted the brackets and trailing arms of the IRS , and currently trying to maintain using rear drum brakes from the 71 and the 5 x 205 bolt drums that fit the 56 rear backing plates. I have looked at buying custom wheels for the IRS, but is there a less expensive option that utilizes the backing plates, brake drums, and stub axles from the Oval on the IRS rear trailing arms? Any options and guidance are appreciated. Thank you.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[tomsbuggered]

Looks like the 1956 backing plates and drums fit front snd back.
Now onto the brakes.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[tomsbuggered]

I have been working on front and rear brake installation. Drums, shoes, etc front and rear. After parts installed I can't get drums on, I removed all my work to keep the chassis moveable.
I've spent time lately on painting the interior, sound deadening. Today I masked all the window openings to keep interior cleaner. Yesterday I painted the front boot, and gas tank.
Not a lot of progress but it has revealed issues to resolve.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[tomsbuggered]

I'm working on swapping a 71 Beetle transaxle into my 56 Oval. I've searched the forum and have determined I need to swap nose cone, hockey stick and front transaxle mount all from 60- 67 bus.
Will this be a bolt in or will I need to cut and weld? I've already fitted up and welded mounts for the rear trailing arms.
Thank you, I'm leary based on recommendations from suppliers on brake parts, after replacing front and rear with aftermarket parts so my front and rear drums don't fit now.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[VW_Jimbo]

[tomsbuggered]

Thanks Jimbo, that's what I wanted to hear.
I'm guessing the nose cone will raise the transaxle by an inch or more, hopefully that doesn't cascade in to 1600 engine clearances.
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June 1956 VW Oval Beetle

[Bruce]

The Bus nose cone doesn't raise the front of the trans. It makes the hockey stick align with the hole in the pan when the trans is at the right level. Without the bus nose cone, the front of the trans will be tilted down, making tail pipe clearance to the rear apron a problem. With the bus nose cone, there is no conflict there.
There is one small job you need to do to accomplish the conversion. You need to drill the divot in the hockey stick for the coupler. The way to do this is to shift the trans into 1st gear, then install the hockey stick & nose cone with its tip in the 1-2 shift rod. Now mark the very top of the hockey stick with a scribe so the scribe line is exactly at the top, neither left or right. Rotate the hockey stick in the play to make sure you get it centered. Once you take it apart and mark the distance from the end, centerpunch and drill a tiny hole in your drill press. Re-install and check that it's still centered.

Here's the drill bit I use, custom ground with a long taper.
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[Bruce]

[tomsbuggered]

[RLFD213]

Hey tom not to be the Debbie downer on this. Get rid of the red urethane bushings. They won’t last. Since you’ve gone this far to modify the suspension are you putting bigger bars in and adjustable spring plates? Both are worth it for handling and tuning. Nice work on the retrofit with this. Looks good