Old school 61 baja project

[Mickey bitsko]

Will you be removing the skidplate to change the oil?

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Needed to bend up this front portion of the plate this morning.
This'll work for now.

Got some fresh hardware too.

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Did a few minor things this morning.
Replaced a leaky boot.
Topped up the gear oil.
And some new bump stops.

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So this last weekend I decided to reindex the rear spring plates.
I can honestly say this has got to be one of my least favorite things to do!!
After thinking about it for a while I figured one notch on the outside should give me a hair over 2 inches.
Well unfortunately for me it didn't work out that way, it's way to stiff and basically sitting on the lower stops. UGH I really hate myself right now.
Now I had to do my least favorite thing over again.
This job gets a lot harder to do when you're a step under 60
And doing it twice is killing me.

[DHale_510]

As a rule of thumb, each spline is worth about 15% in ride height, plus each torsion thickness is worth about 15% increase in stiffness, so you could change the torsions and not preload the bar to rest on the stop and get the same rise with some good suspension travel. This is why there are so many choices of torsion bars. Maybe an offroad application will want torsions 2 or 3 mm thicker.
Most who complain about stiffness really are feeling bottoming on the stops, at which point there is no suspension at all, and that is both rough and noisy and will destroy the lower stop and/or jump off the stop and cause extreme camber instability.

Also the boots last much longer if you orient the seams at 2 o'clock instead of high noon.

Dennis

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[DHale_510]

I was reviewing this stuff for another fellow and found my notes on this subject.
With a normal 1" spring plate the outer splines work out to 5.5mm each at the axle. That's 1/4" each. I have no idea how you got 2" unless you twisted the inner splines a bunch, they adjust at 6mm per spline.

Dennis

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To avoid fumbling around with this anymore than necessary I decided to just go with adjustable spring plates.
I know for real off roading it's not the best idea but I have to keep myself in check with this build.
It's not a race car and will spend most of it's life on the streets.
Had to make a new set of spring plate retainers for these but that was the easy part.

I'm super anal about the ride height on all my cars, if it's off a 1/4 inch on one side it will bother the crap outta me, this was the best option for me.
Been driving and adjust it for the past week and I got it just where I like it . . . for now. LOL
I'll clean and spot paint the area soon.

[Ceckert64]

Dude it looks awesome! That lasts pic is great!
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1964 sunroof Beetle Restoration "Herbie"
“Joann” 1970 Elm Green Squareback
1972 Sierra Yellow Tin Top Westfalia Camper
“Fitz” 1971 Westfalia Poptop

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Went for a little canyon cruise with some friends today, Angelica put together this video clip on Instagram

Hope the link works

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoazLqkvL3K/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

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[Buggeee]

I love that opening scene with the gentleman's sedan beetle cruising along the road in refined glory... and the old-school baja bombing along the dirt road in a dust cloud right along side! So cool.
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

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I know it's been a while since the last post but stuff happens.
Been plagues with a shoulder injury that keeps coming back, plus other projects take priority and you know the rest.
Anyway I been fiddling around with a new engine combo and finally found a really nice front bumper to match the rear.

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Was gonna fit the front bumper this morning but first I gotta swap out the clutch disk. Going from solid to spring disk because I'm lazy . .. . LOL
Feels a lot better now.

[oprn]

I prefer the spring discs too. Easier on the drivetrain and easier for other family members and friends to drive when they are not as "stick" savvy as us old timers.
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

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Did some test fitting of the front bumper,. Looks like it isn't gonna take much to get it where I like it.
Found it at Irwindale for 20 bucks.
Relocated the holes for the beam bolts to get it up higher, cut off the old upper mount because it was from a ball joint car.

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Fixed up some old upper mounts I had, needed to extend them a few inches to make lining up the bumper easier, I know they ain't pretty but it'll be inside the top tube and fully welded when done.