Deebs' 1971 Super Beetle "Refresh"

[Turp75]

Had one of the rear tail light housings that had a broken tab so today we replaced them both. We decided to go with American style since they don't have the amber turn signal lenses.

[Turp75]

Starting to refresh the rear shocks and front struts and give Fireball a little ride height adjustment.

[Turp75]

Springs are off for powder coating and we're kicking rocks waiting on the new shocks, struts, and adjustable strut housings to arrive now.

[Lemons 4 Gigi]

[Turp75]

Thanks!

[Turp75]

Rear shocks are on. Still waiting on the coil springs to come back. Meanwhile considering going black with the rims.

[Turp75]

So we got the new dash in from Jbugs. It's missing the hole for the windshield wiper switch?? I've email Jbugs. Anyone ran into this before? Seems like it wouldn't be too hard to put the hole in it but I'm a little concerned since I've got zero experience with interior stuff.

[kpf]

[Turp75]

Thanks. I assume an exacto knife would be the right way to go about putting the hole in it?

[kpf]

I haven't done that myself, so I don't have first-hand advice.

I found this:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=150

Unfortunately the pictures are gone, but maybe the text is enough.
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1971 Super Beetle

[Michael Ambrozik]

Have a 1971 SB and that is what I had to do. I got my pad from WW, but they all come from the same place.

[Turp75]

Very helpful! Thank you both!

[Turp75]

So the suspension is pretty much wrapped up. I discovered that hard turns or body roll are going to require a little modification on the ball joint studs. Shouldn't be difficult to fix. Surprisingly the car rode really well with the stock suspension pieces that had seen their better days. I'd say the new stuff improved the ride quality but not drastically. In my humble opinion it did drastically improve the look of the car by getting the nose down out of the air.

[raydog]

I had the same problem with the ball joint stud rubbing the wheel during a corner. Just grind off the bottom edge of the stud, problem solved.

[Turp75]

That's the plan. The passengerside is about 1/4" higher front and back than the drivers side. I measured both factory springs at 17" uncompressed so I'm not sure why the difference from side to side on the front. It was equal when I took it off of blocks but after driving and letting the suspension set it changed. Not much but I'm curious as to why. I assume the back could simply be the torsion bars a little out from side to side.

[AutoMechanic]

Nice beetle and garage too . Looks like it’s coming along nicely.

[Turp75]

Thanks for the compliments. Complete interior makeover is next. Hopefully have the last few pieces in the coming weeks and get it installed by May.

[Turp75]

So I've cut the lower ball join stud off about as far as it can be cut. Still having an occasional slight rub though. Only on the drivers side. It takes a combination of turning the wheels sharp left and a little body roll for the rub to occur. I measured both springs uncompressed at 17". The driver side front is sitting 3/8" lower than the passenger side front. Could this possibly be due to one spring being slightly weaker than the other? If so has anyone used a coil Spring rubber booster? Seems like it would work to me.

[Buggeee]

Have you tried adjusting the wheel bearings?
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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

[Turp75]

I did adjust the driver's side wheel bearing. I tightened it until I physically couldn't move the rotor and then backed off 1/4 of a turn.