A 1967 Baja Bug Build

[Ruger59]

Thanks guys for the support.

With a lot of the welding done on the body I decided to set the body back onto the pan so I could fabricate the mounts for the one piece hood, steering linkage and other things. And if your wondering how tall the top of the car is about 5'10" high.

I just placed the hood on the car temporally and yes I'm going to repaint the hood too.

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

[Ruger59]

I spent the day fabricating mounts for both the one piece hood and the headlights. Stilling working on it but overall I think it looks great.

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

[dustymojave]

I'd call that a K.I.S.S. hood mount. (K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid)

The headlight mounts may need a little bracing to the shock towers to prevent vibration, but otherwise they're good.
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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]

Hi,
Been working on the steering system. Got it to where it turns smoothly and easily. I'm curious to hear what you guys think about my steering system?

I wanted to have the steering shaft lower but at this angle the u-joints are happy and don't bind.

I still wanted to keep a semi-stock look so I cut the original column down.

Than to hide that hole I made a nice cover and welded it into place. Should look nice with a little body work.

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

[Redneckgearhead]

Looks good to me!

[dustymojave]

What keeps the upper section of the column from wobbling?

It looks to me like there is only the 1 original column clamp to the dash. It NEEDS a support for the column tube and a support bearing for the shaft just uphill of the upper u-joint.

The rack looks like it's mounted very high. It SHOULD be mounted so the top of the tunnel needs to have a groove or notch to clear the rack and the tie rods.

Mounting it where it is will cause a lot of bump steer.
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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]

Thanks for the feedback dustymojave I want to get this baja right the first time even if I have to scrap stuff and start over again. Reason why the rack n pinion is so high is to clear the tunnel I've got the beam sitting about 2inchs forward cause of a ball joint link pin adapter. At the base of the column I welded a washer not much bigger in diameter than the shaft to stop it from wobbling and at the top is a bearing.
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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[dustymojave]

[Ruger59]

Thank you so much dustymojave, I took your advice about the steering column and added in a bearing at the base. With a rack n pinon are you suppose to only turn the steering wheel half way and it locks?

Before I start doing any body work I wanted to take the car out for a test drive and I'm glad I did. Holy crap the ride was rough to say the least and here's a list of problems I have so hang on. And any help would be wonderful cause I'm scratching my head.

I have a dirt driveway with rocks and pot holes and the back end was banging when going over any short of bump. Not sure what that's about it's not the spring plats or the shocks hitting any ideas?

Than there's the front end it didn't seem to move at all when going over a bump. Maybe I need to take a torsion leave out cause of the lighten front end? And I have an issue with camber I have combo link spindles by latest range and for the life of me can't correct the camber I measured the torsion arms left was 7mm and the right was 6mm offset so I put the shims in the correct order and still was out of wack so I went extreme and set it to a 9mm offset and it helped but it's still really bad. On my test run I brought the car to about 20mph and the car began to wonder all over the road.

Camber issue

Any help would be great thanks guys.
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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[Third]

The gearing of the rack determines the amount of revolution to lock (as well as steering wheel diameter).

Most common are 1:1 or 1:1.5 (if I recall) on a center rack.

And if you are familiar with the old "quick turn" kits that used to be sold for end-racks, just a little bit of offset can change the sensitivity a LOT.

I admit, my limited knowledge is with rails. I've never done a Bug. But I'm sure I would make a lot of "learning by mistakes" if I ever do.

[dustymojave]

Pic 2 looks like too much negative camber. Good for short course racing. Not real good otherwise. Also looks like some toe-out.

If the camber won't come in with shims, you probably have a bent arm or 2. Or the spindles are bad.
_________________
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.

[pullstart]

Looks a lot like my combo spindles. I haven't been able to shim them correct either... I've been thinking about trying to build a jig and rebuild my stock trailing arms to correct the issue.

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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

[Ruger59]

Thanks everyone for the help. I made a call over to Apple Tree Automotive and the person I spoke to said I should install heavy duty chromoly link pins because there longer allowing me to add in more shims does this sound right?

Also with my lightened front end should I remove the lower torsion leaves while still keeping the upper and run a threw rod? At the moment the front trailing arms hardly move resulting in a rough ride.
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Current Volkswagen's:
*An all original 1959 capri blue beetle nicknamed Ruger
*White 1970's Vert Baja Bug

[dustymojave]

I run stock leaves top and bottom in my Baja. I've never bottomed the front of my Baja out since I modified the suspension. But, at times it could use a little more ride height. I'm thinking of replacing the outer 1/2 leaves with full width leaves for a little stiffer front end. I have a 1-piece fiberglass front end like yours. I've used it damned hard offroad and driven it hundreds of thousands of miles on pavement too.

Removing leaves from 1 tube and replacing them with a through rod is good for a fiberglass buggy for street/show for those who will NEVER take it offroad and want the car to ride nice and soft when cruising parking lots.

You haven't driven your Baja yet. So you don't know how it will work when it's going down the road. Expect it to be a little stiff at slow parking lot speed over bumps. As you go faster over the same bumps, it will smooth out to the point it will feel plush.

HD link pins are a good step to go with the combo spindles and such.

Camber should never be adjusted using more or less shims than called for. That puts the link pins in bind. I still suspect a bent arm or 2 or spindles that aren't straight or are intended to have negative camber.
_________________
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]

Oh okay, just the front end it really rough going down my dirt drive way almost as if I had no suspension up front.

Dustymojave I was worried about the bump steer so I took the front end apart to test it. I was surprised that when I cycled the suspension the steering wheel didn't move. That means I have no bump steer with my current set up right?

And here are photos of the spindles and link pins.

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

[JWHracing]

The steering wheel will not move when you cycle the suspension. What changes is the front end alignment, specifically the toe-in and toe-out.

To check, set the toe at ride height. I like between 1/16-1/8" toe in at ride height. Then cycle the suspension. Check the toe at full droop, and full compression. Anything different than what you started with at ride height is what is called bumpsteer.

The term comes from as you drive the car over bumps, the front end alignment changes and "steers" the car in unpredictable directions.
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65 Baja - Class 5 Unlimited Race Car

2021 STORR Pro Air Cooled Buggy Champion
2019 AZOP Unlimited Buggy Champion
2017 SADR 1300 Class Champion
2016 AZOP Limited Buggy Champion

Currently "retired" from racing

[JWHracing]

As for your camber, I believe the Latest rage drop spindles are build with some degree of negative camber built into them. If you look into the higher price stuff, Woods and Foddrill, there are options for 2 degrees of negative camber added in to help with cornering. My guess would be that latest rage took a set of the expensive ones and made a jig based on them.

Your front end wondering all over the road is likely because of the bumpsteer you have with your rack and pinion angle, not because of camber problems.
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65 Baja - Class 5 Unlimited Race Car

2021 STORR Pro Air Cooled Buggy Champion
2019 AZOP Unlimited Buggy Champion
2017 SADR 1300 Class Champion
2016 AZOP Limited Buggy Champion

Currently "retired" from racing

[dustymojave]

Well stated JWH.
_________________
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.

[Bug-nut]

Any updates on your Baja Ruger?
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Ruger59]

Yeah, there's been some work done to the baja since last time. I bought four new KYB gas adjust shocks and installed them, but the main work has been the steering. Notched the tunnel to clear the tie rod ends and fabricate a plate to add back the strength. Than built mounts to hold the steering shaft in place. I have a mount with a bearing at the firewall than I re-used part of the original steering column to hold the steering wheel and the upper steering shaft. After all the work was done I took the car out for it's second drive down my rocky dirt driveway the bump steer issue has been resolved it does need an aliment because the steering wheel was at a 45deg going straight, but I think that's more of a rear end toe issue. The ride down the driveway was bouncy to say the least, but the car hardly has any weight.

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