Empi 2" narrowed beam shock mis alignment

[volksnut]

Well just as the title says, what does one do when the lower shock eyelet is seated on trailing arm and upper eyelet
is well....you see it. If I just angle it outward to fit, upper part of shock hits tower.

[EVfun]

Shocks have rubber bushings for a reason. I don’t know why they chose to push out for just a 2 inch narrow beam, but that (and more of it) I’ve seen on 4 inch narrowed beams. Buying a narrowed beam doesn’t narrow the body sheet metal, and customers expect it to fit.
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[Schnitzelfuss]

Maybe buy shocks that would fit (and function) if mounted upside down? I plan to source a longer upper mount bolt (Mccmaster-Carr), measure and cut a piece of steel pipe for a spacer, run the bolt through the shock, then the spacer pipe, then to the top of the beam. I have a four inch narrowed beam and my shock does not impinge upon the beam when trued vertical. Still banging on sheet metal for now though.

[volksnut]

[ashman40]

That shock in your pic appears to only have the rubber grommet in the upper shock eyelet. INSIDE the rubber bushing should be a steel sleeve. The ID of this sleeve is the outer diameter of the stud/bolt used to mount the shock. These often get stuck onto the threaded stud or bolt. When you remove the shock it leaves the steel sleeve behind. You can tell by installing the proper bolt thru the rubber grommet. Is it a very loose fit? If so, the sleeve is missing.

This steel sleeve is often noticeably wider than the eyelet allowing the shock to be spaced further out from its mounting point. Here is an example showing a much wider sleeve in the upper eyelet (not a VW replacement part).

Even if the sleeve does not provide the needed spacing away from the mount, you might consider adding washers to space the shock even further out. This will require a longer bolt of the proper strength.
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}