what is the correct height on rear wheels/shell

[flat59]

Hi Folks!
I am rearming the rear suspension , and finally one side it's more low than the other, I haven't references or what is the correct stance on a 69 kübel and can't find any info, can you help me please?

Thanks

[Wildthings]

Don't know the numbers for your rear axle with drop boxes. What you need to do is prep your rig to pull the swing arms and replace the bushing by disconnecting the axles and prying the arms over the stops. Now measure the angle of the arms to the bottom of the tub. You are going to what the angles to be the same on both sides and potentially a bit more than what you have now.

This is a gauge bar I made to set my swing arm on my IRS setup. It sits against the bottom edge of the tub and I can sight along the swing arm to see if the angle matches. Very low tech but just as accurate as using fancier gauges.

[BNMike]

Wildthings, Hermann was lowered before I bought him. I'm going to replace the front beam with a Thing beam I got from Kmann, and bring the rear end back up. If you don't mind, what is the angle on your gauge? Thanks.

BNMike

[mondshine]

In my Thing Shop reprint of the 181 workshop manual, the page was edited by hand (by Larry?) to read 27º ± 30' for the spring plate preload angle.

Quite different from the ~21.5º called for on Beetles and Ghias.

[BNMike]

[Wildthings]

[mondshine]

It could be the difference in body weight, or suspension geometry, or some other factor, but seeing the preload angle scratched in by hand does not inspire confidence.

However, my spring plates are set at this spec, and the car sits right.

Good luck, Mondshine

[Ray Syverson]

Don't assume that it is sitting low on one side in the rear because it has a weak torsion bar on one side, or that adjusting the low torsion arm bar will fix everything. if your Thing ever experienced a major bounce of some kind, like when off roading, its possible the framehead got twisted a bit. Thats the part your front beam attaches to. A twist will make one of the rear sides sit low. To check for this possiblity, get down in front of the vehicle and sight the beam against the floor pan in back. it should look perfectly parallel, the beam against the pan. If not, the frame head is twisted. I found out this sad situation on a beetle I had, and luckily was able to wrench it back to normal.

[Ray Syverson]

Don't assume that it is sitting low on one side in the rear because it has a weak torsion bar on one side, or that adjusting the low torsion arm bar will fix everything. if your Thing ever experienced a major bounce of some kind, like when off roading, its possible the framehead got twisted a bit. Thats the part your front beam attaches to. A twist will make one of the rear sides sit low. To check for this possiblity, get down in front of the vehicle and sight the beam against the floor pan in back. it should look perfectly parallel, the beam against the pan. If not, the frame head is twisted. I found out this sad situation on a beetle I had, and luckily was able to wrench it back to normal.

[Wildthings]

[mondshine]

Ray makes a good point, but keep in mind that when adjusting the spring plate preload, the specified angle is only a guide. It does not account for the wear or condition of the torsion bars on any particular car.
As an example, if 90% of a car's use was with a 200 lb. driver and no passengers, it's very possible that the left torsion bar will need more preload to level the car.
The ultimate "test" will be how the car sits after the preload is adjusted, and it might require 2 or 3 minor tweaks to get it just right.
Also, consider a 4 wheel alignment to complete the job.
Good luck, Mondshine