Z-bar - right/left?

[Corwin]

Hey all,

I have an early '68 Ghia with the z-bar system in the rear and I took it off a while ago while restoring the rear end of the car and puting in a new transmission and engine. I took pictures to remember how if goes back together, but I just realized that the two "tower bars" (the part that runs up from the axle to the conrol arms above) are different lengths.

Can someone tell me which side the longer one goes on? I'd say they're different by about an inch.

Thanks.

[hpw]

[GhiaNut]

Longer one goes on the left (driver) side.

By the mid-60s (66 I think), VW found that the ball joint front end and weight shift of larger engines was causing handling problems. They tried to counter it with a progressive torsion bar (Z-bar) that stiffens up the rear suspension if a large amount of weight shifts to the front end. It's a thin round bar that runs from one side of the car to the other, right over the rear axles. It is z-shaped, with one trailing arm facing forward and one backward. The trailing arms connect to the rear axle tubes through a sliding bushing. The basic idea was that the extra stiffness never comes into play if only one axle tube goes down...but if both tubes go down (like if you suddenly come up over a hill) the z-bar would stiffen up the rear axle and force more weight to the front of the car, where it would improve steering.

They were only around for a couple of years, and went away whaen VW went to the IRS rear in 69.

[Corwin]

Yes, thanks. I actually figured that out already - just had to look at is some more, but the longer one has to go on the left side so it can reach forward further.