A 1967 Baja Bug Build

[Ruger59]

This morning I went out to the garage armed with a tape measure to check the alignment.The rear is spot on and made some minor adjustment to the front toe which greatly helped out during the 3rd drive. On this drive I went a longer distance which allowed me to give it the gas and reach 3rd gear. Really couldn't be more happy. The front end is bouncy when going over rocks and the trailing arms hardly move. I am thinking it's cause the front end is so light that having both sets of torsion packs is to much? Would you recommend removing the top torsion bars and install a threw rod?

Also I can't thank you enough for your support and help, the steering especially. I've learned a lot from you guys.
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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[pullstart]

Do you have aftermarket springs, or stock? My 6" over beam came with HD leaves and they didn't budge a bit. I modified my adjusters so that they are sort of progressive spring rate, the weight of the buggy is pretty much on the lower pack, and the upper pack is at about 0 spring rate... until I get into the bumps. I also cut down two stock packs and tossed the HD springs, that was the real improvement.
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4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[dustymojave]

Look at my avatar. That buggy had stock torsion leaves then when I was winning a championship racing with it and after many years of using it for play it still has stock Bug front torsion leaves.

Then there's my Baja Bug. More of the sort of weight on the front of your Baja.

Stock leaves with over 800,000 miles. Not too stiff for even my wife. We've put many tens of thousands of miles on the car as a daily driver.

However, if the trailing arm has urethane bushings that might be too tight. The KYB shocks like mine aren't going to cause trouble with it being too stiff unless this is how you prefer to offroad

EDIT 1/31/2017:
Apparently somebody felt the picture I posted just above was not VW related. It most certainly applies to the conversation at hand and was used to convey a specific message. That image has been deleted form the gallery. This sort of "Big Brotherism" is one of the reasons why for well over a decade I used an outside image storage service instead of using Samba Gallery. Big Brother sure has lots of cousins, doesn't he? So much for a "free" society, huh?

Anyway, the image was one of an elderly man sitting on a dirt trail on an electric scooter.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Ruger59]

I really appreciate all the help you've guys given me.

My original idea for the body was to give the car a nice bed liner exterior and a single stage interior paint job, however with funds being tight I decided the next best thing would be to at least get it in primer. Make it a running, driving car and hit the trails. Also Bugorama is coming up here in phoenix so I'd like to be able to drive the car there. I've already order a rebel wiring harness and the weather seals.

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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[heywebonya]

Looks great! Very nice build, get out and enjoy it.
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If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy!

[cbeck]

We can call it the mock up stage
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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[dustymojave]

[dustymojave]

The Baja is looking pretty good so far. I certainly don't expect posters on here to go spending money on their Baja Bug like they're drug lords. I see there are still lots of things to do to get the Baja to where you want it. It can take time. Enjoy it while you can.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Ruger59]

Getting closer and closer to being able to drive the baja. All the glass have been installed with new rubber seals, PRP seats installed. Just a couple smaller things and it's ready to go!

Making my fathers beetle look like a low rider compared to my baja.

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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[Bashr52]

Making my fathers beetle look like a low rider compared to my baja.

[/quote]

Is it just the angle of this pic, or is there some serious camber on your front wheels?

[cbeck]

He's not the only one lately. Seems to be built into some aftermarket parts?

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My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[dustymojave]

Seems more of a toe issue than camber. MIGHT be about wide angle lens on the camera, but maybe not. Seems a bit of positive camber on the shock mounts too.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[bajabob60]

what did you dip the Gear Reduction boxes in to clean them up? looks great!

[20valve]

Looking good! I did the same on my 67 off road using small nut RGB’s. I fabricated my own copy of the Johnson no hop kit.

[20valve]

Looking good! I did the same on my 67 off road using small nut RGB’s. I fabricated my own copy of the Johnson no hop kit.

[veeweeman]

This is how I fixed the clearance issue

Its just a piece of 1 1/2" angle....with this mod you will still have to raise the rack a little.
Also take note of the 1/2" grade 8 through bolt upgrade, more stout than the 17mm bolts.

This is the only solution.

Nice baja
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Never be a follower...Do your own thing, make it your own!

[veeweeman]

[bajahabug]

The current way the Baja sits. Bought it 4 months ago and have had it driving around town for a month. More posts will come when I redo the gear reduction mounts

[Ruger59]

WOW! You've done a lot of work and the car is looking fantastic. I'm loving the new paint job you gave it. I put a lot effort into that car and to see you add on and make it better is so rewarding really makes me happy I sold it to you. Keep it up!
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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[Dark Earth]