Dougs 56 build

[virtanen]

Quite easy to assemble when the donut rubbers are correct and using a puller tool. Baby powder prevents them creak.

_________________
Mika
Split beetle restoration panels
Oval beetle restoration panels
New projects

[Volksvr6gti]

That tool looks like it’s used to just push the inner bushing in, am I correct? If so I was able to get both inner bushings in. It’s just the outer one does it want to go in nicely with the cover plate

[virtanen]

Yes, inner bushings are hard to push in. Outer is usually easier, just place the cap with rubber on. At least was when I put them on my 54 oval, my own made caps and Jacek's rubbers. And nos plates + nos torsion bars

_________________
Mika
Split beetle restoration panels
Oval beetle restoration panels
New projects

[Volksvr6gti]

Well maybe that might just be my problem. Maybe my inner bushing is not in all the way. I thought it was, but maybe I was wrong. I was able to just lightly tap my inner bushing in with a rubber mallet. Also where did you happen to find that tool

[virtanen]

My own production

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2377639
_________________
Mika
Split beetle restoration panels
Oval beetle restoration panels
New projects

[Volksvr6gti]

Ok awesome I may consider those. I have another idea I would like to try first and then if all else fails I may pick that tool up. Thank you for your input. Also I wanted to see if anyone can address if I had the angle of the spring plates correct. This is all new to me and my first beetle build so it is a bit foreign to me. As I stated above I read on the samba that the original ride height is achieved on a 1960 and below beetle by setting the angle of the unloaded spring plate to 17 degrees. I would like the beetle to sit slightly lowered in the rear as I and planning to used the fuch rims and also have the adjustable front beam to help even it out. Thus I decided to set the rear spring plate angle to 15 degrees before loading the plate. I just wanted to see if I am correct by doing this. If anyone has any input on this let me know.

[ernstben]

I set my '56 to 13 degrees after finding a reference somewhere to 12 +- 30 degrees somewhere. I don't remember where I read that, but I'll look around and see if I can't recover that info.

For whatever it's worth, I haven't put an engine back there yet, but the body is back down on the chassis and the rear is sitting about where I'd imagine it should. Perhaps a bit high as I was planning on a slightly larger engine.
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[ernstben]

After clicking all over, I'm coming to the conclusion that I may have inadvertently lowered the rear end of my car. It seems like 17 degrees, 30 minutes seems to be the concensus: http://vw.zenseeker.net/Wheels-TorsionBars.htm (I'm sure you've probably already seen that, but just in case).
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[Volksvr6gti]

thank you ben, yes I did see that link. I also found the 12-13 you had referred to but I feel like that is incorrect info. most of the guys seem to agree that 17 is the stock angle. I figured I would take the mind road and go in the middle with 15 and see how that ends up.... may have to redo but hoping for the best

[Volksvr6gti]

Ok tonight I finally got my rear bushings - spring plates on. I had posted a new thread about them and the consensus was I had the wrong bushings. I had ordered the bushing from WCM product # 111 245 L/R which they labeled on their site as fitting bugs from 1943-1959. My best guess is they have these incorrectly labeled on their website. These bushings are for 1960-1969 bugs. When I received these bushings from WCM the rubber is stamped 111 511 245E. Samba members stated that I needed 111 511 245A, as these would be for earlier bugs. I called WCM about this and they told me they have never had this problem before and it was the first it had been brought to their attention. The guy looked on their computer to see if they had any alternate bushings but stated that these were the only bushings they have for bugs and that to his knowledge they should fit. I advised him that there is no way possible these will fit and it actually started to bend my new spring plate covers from BBT. He was shocked, but still did not have a solution. I ended up ordering bushing 111 511 245A from CIP1 as I needed a few other small parts and got the free shipping vs buying from WW and paying for shipping. The bushings I received from CIP1 came in and were stamped on the rubber WW.

Anyways long story short, the new bushings fit like a glove. They were much easier to install and I was able to do so using baby powder and not grease
Few pictures for reference 111 511 245A on top and 111 511 245E on bottom:

The bushing ending in “A” is the same height as the one that ends in “E”; however, it is thinner which allows it to go on much easier and then when you install the spring plate cover the bushing get squeeze and fills in the voids.
Here is a picture with the bushing just placed in the cover

You can see the slight gap that it has, but once the covers get wrenched on it forces the bushing to expand and take up that gap. Like I stated above I used baby powder for the install and I started by putting it on all the bushings and surfaces that the bushings would touch:

I then installed the inner bushing

I coated the outer bushing and put it in the cover and then slid the cover and bushing onto the spring plate

Next I installed the spring plate and was able to just use a rubber mallet lightly to tap the entire spring plate on until it hit the lip. At this point I had my plate angle set at 15 degrees and then use the specialty tool to raise the spring plate up to clear the lip and used a heavy hammer to knock it into place (it’s still not fully in the seated position as it was getting late and I did not want my neighbors to start complaining.... hahah Jimbo) but I was able to get them in far enough to make it over the lip and then get all 4 original bolts of the spring covers on. Unlike a lot of people who stated to they had to use longer bolts and then switch them out to the originals, I was able to use just my originals.

You can see from this angle where I still need to drive the plate on further to get it fully seated

Another day of forward progress. Hopefully it won’t be a pain to get both plates pushed in that last 1/4 inch

[VW_Jimbo]

Me and the wifey were both laughing at that!

I like the foot wear!

Looking great! See, they are not that bad to install!

Do not over torque the bolts. I know that the Bentley manuals have the wrong foot pound number written in them. Not sure which book it is, but it states like 80 some Ftlbs. Dont do that. I think it is around 25 Ftlbs.
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Volksvr6gti]

Hahaha I knew you would get a kick out of that. Yeah it’s flip flops for me 365 days a year i do recall in someone’s build they were stating the same thing about the torque specs. I think you are tight about the 25ft lbs. I’ll double check. Hopefully this weekend I can get a little more time in and try to beat those plates the last little bit to make it fully onto that lip. I don’t like it being right on that edge....unless it’s supposed to be like that?

[Volksvr6gti]

Well just did a double check in my photos from before disassembly and found these, which show the same inner gap between the towers and the spring plate.

They both show that same gap and the plate sitting on the edge. So I might be good right where I am at.

[66brm]

I wouldn't stress on it too much, it'll all move around as the weight of the car increases
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Aust. RHD 66 Type 1
Aust. RHD 57 Type 1 Oval

[Dan22]

I would expect that to grind and squeak against the outer cover if you do not beat it back into the center. It was not designed to sit that way. JMHO.

You could use some longer bolts and a simple but thick plate/bar to press it on further, in case you don't want to beat on it.
_________________
1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Volksvr6gti]

Well I took the rear spring plates off today and then re installed the torsion bars made sure they were all the way in (just incase I was off a tad the first time). They were fully seated touching each other in the middle. I measured to make sure the end sticking out was even on both sides and they were. I took the bushings off the spring plates and just put them in without bushings and without tension to see how much further I could get them in to make them clear that lip a little better... and it is exactly the same as my pictures above. They will not travel inwards any further. So I put the bushings back on and this time set my angle to 17 degrees... I figured why not stick with the stock ride height (17 is what I read of a few peoples post as the stock height). That’s all back together and I figured once the tranny and axles are back in maybe it will pull the end of the spring plate back in a hair and clear that lip a little better. I also got the rear tranny bracket mounted and the rear shocks on today. Here is a few piks from today, first two show the the torsion bars are seated and equally spaced and the third pik is the other stuff that got thrown on today:

[Volksvr6gti]

I was also looking last night at torsion bar lengths and saw that things and type 3’s had bars 24 11/16 and that beetles should have 24 9/16. I began to wonder if my bars may have ever been swapped out for some reason for the longer bar... that 2/16 of an inch on each side could really help in achieving getting both spring plates over the lip. I may take one out today and measure it and see to rule that out.

[Volksvr6gti]

Today I pulled the passenger torsion bar just to rule out having the wrong length bars. Sure enough my bar measured 24 11/16. From my understanding beetles should have 24 9/16. I believe this might be my issue with not being able to clear the rear lip with my spring plate. I guess I will be on the hunt for some new bars. Anyone know why or benefits that previous owners may have put the wrong bars in? Maybe just didn’t know there were different sizes

[Volksvr6gti]

Started working on the freeway flyer today. It should be good on the inside. It only has 1200 miles on it. I started by draining the tranny fluid, nothing noted on the magnetic drain plug. I did not that the second drain plug that is closest to where the tranny mounts to the chassis (away from bellhousing) looked like a magnetic drain plug; but did not contain a magnet.... I hope that magnet did not come dislodged from the plug and is in there somewhere lol.

Anyways here is the tranny when I started.

I went ahead and cleaned the outside up and degreased it and shot it with some flat black to bring it some prettiness back

I decided to start only on the drivers side axle tube for now and will attack the passengers side another day, once I have the drivers side put fully back together. This way if anything gets out of order or anything weird happens I still have the passengers side for reference.

So on to the drivers axle tube. I removed it, cleaned and degreased. I gave it a fresh shot of flat black. I next brought a pot of water to a rolling boil, took it off the heat and put my axle boot in it to let it get soft. Before tossing the boot in the water I made sure to flip the boot inside out, as this is the way it needs to be when you got to slip it on the axle tube. Meanwhile i lightly sanded the edge of the axle tube that the boot would slip over. I cleaned that really good and then put a good amount of grease on it to help lubricate and allow the boot to slip over smoothly. I let the boot sit in the hot water for about 25-30 minutes and clamped the axle tube down to a solid surface to work. I had two long screwdrivers at the work station to assist in getting the boot on. Next put some gloves on as the boot will be hot. I grabbed it siloed the boot over the greased end of the axle tube, making sure that the seamed end of the boot was pointing straight up as to not stress it when using the screw drivers. Once it got it a good way on I slipped the two screwdrivers in on the small end of the boot and used them to assist in getting the boots fully on. Went on way smoother than I had expected.

Here’s the tube and boot before:

And here is the tube cleaned, sprayed and new boot

Lastly I took the above and below pik in the order in which all the bearing, seal, gaskets, etc go in:

[Volksvr6gti]

Yesterday I made some progress buttoning up the rear axles and getting the brakes put back on. Started with cleaning and putting the wheel bearings back in.

Next I cleaned the axle tube end plates and added permatex gasket sealant to them and slapped on some new gaskets. I put the sealant on both sides of the gasket to help ensure there will be no leaks...we shall see in the future lol.

Once I got the caps on, I moved onto the rear brakes and bolted them up.

Slapped the rear Fuchs on and proud to say I am back to a rolling chassis.

Also, I’m just going to add a few torque specs below that I used just for my reference in the future if needed:
Rear 36mm axle nuts - 217 ft lbs
Rear disc brakes to aluminum plates - 24 ft lbs (per CB Performance)
Rear axle end plate - 24 ft lbs
Shift coupler - 20 ft lbs
Transmission brace 27mm - 166 ft lbs
Axle tube to transmission (6 bolts) - 15 ft lbs
Rear axle to spring plate - 87 ft lbs
Rear shock - 43 ft lbs
Rear spring plate covers - 28 ft lbs
Rear disc brake caliper to carrier - 24 ft lbs (per CB Performance)
Transmission mount to chassis (at nose cone) - 18 ft lbs
Transmission mount to bell housing and to tranny brace - 14 ft lbs
Engine to bell housing - 22 ft lbs
Starter to bell housing - 22 ft lbs
4 - Front beam to chassis head - 35 ft lbs
Front shocks to beam - 14 ft lbs
Front shocks to lower control arm - 25 ft lbs
Steering damper to beam - 29 ft lbs
Steering damper to tie rod - 18 ft lbs
Front torsion arm/ torsion bar set screw - 34 ft lbs
Front torsion arm/ torsion bar set screw nut - 34 ft lbs
Front brake caliper to spindle - 29 ft lbs
Steering box cover 4 - bolts - 14 ft lbs
Steering box roller shaft adjustment nut (top lock nut) - 18 ft lbs
Steering box to beam - 20 ft lbs
Steering box worm adjustment nut (large thin nut front steering box) - 36 ft lbs
Steering box pitman arm - 50 ft lbs
Front torsion arm to link pins - 32 ft lbs