Suggested front end upgrades(brakes, suspension, etc..)

[cubangt]

We are working on a 71 bus, and while the motor is being built, want to look at other areas we can focus on.

Front brakes look original, so would like to look at new components and/or upgrades.

Recommended site/source for such upgrades? And what to look for if doing upgrades?

Suspension upgrades worth the cost.

Ill try and post a picture of the current front brakes and such.

[airschooled]

Howdy! What are your goals for the car? Is it a pop top camper or an empty van?

Thicker front sway bars make buses feel numb and dull, just like a modern SUV. An alignment that favors caster over camber makes the car much more stable and predictable in high speed winds. If you’re having trouble finding 71-72 brake caliper parts, the 73-79 retrofit kit is excellent with the new calipers available from Wolfsburg West. The stock brakes are excellent, though new boosters are not as good as rebuilt original boosters.

Load rated tires make buses feel better than any bolt-on upgrade, and correct inflation pressures are in the owners manual, not online.

Good luck!
Robbie
_________________
One-on-one tech help for your vintage Volkswagen:

www.airschooled.com

https://www.patreon.com/airschooled

[busdaddy]

No VW magazine that's advertiser biased will ever do a story about you Robbie, all this crazy talk about stuff you don't have to buy or how VW already figured it out, madness I say!
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[SGKent]

Robbie - one thing that you have done quite successfully is to show the world that a mostly stock VW bus is reliable and fun to go places in. 1971 is a great year, and I am sure there are a lot of good original parts out there if someone digs for them a little. Why people buy them and immediately want to turn them into the SUV they didn't buy is beyond me. Get one of each.
_________________
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." - George Carlin

[cubangt]

[KTPhil]

When were the flexible rubber brake lines replaced? If you don't know, replace them now while it's easier, and flush the system with new fluid.
_________________
Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[RLFD213]

Check over everything g up front and since parts are still affordable change them if you suspect they need it.
Steering disc, tie rod assemblies, drag link, steering shock. Remove the grease or oil from the steering box and put corneas grease in it. Change the shift rod bushings and grease the shaft. Change the coupler to a good one also. Brake wise change the hoses and it’s a little pricey but GoWesty has a really good brake kit. Also you can put an electric vacuum pump on and have vacuum assisted brakes. Suspension stuff: good shocks like KYB, make sure the ball joints are ok and atleast grease them if not replace them, grease the beam and if you can repack wheel bearings.

[aeromech]

My first bus was a 1971 I purchased in 1979 and drove for 26 years. Ived owned several and currently have another, similar, 1971 bus for about the last 6 years. All that said, I have over 50 years experience both as a VW owner and a professional mechanic. I’m 68.

My first point is that I think I know what I’m talking about. My second point is that VW magazines and vendors make their livelihood off selling stuff and sometimes have no problem leading the uninformed down a long, wrong, expensive path of unnecessary “upgrades”.

In my 50 years I’ve made several mistakes. Unless you want to repeat those mistakes I recommend that you listen to those of us here with your success in mind rather than those with a target on your wallet.

Lastly, the internet has a million different opinions and if you want to hear a particular result, keep searching because I’m sure after a while you’ll find that guy that backs up your preconceptions no matter how misinformed they are.
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[W1K1]

[Wildthings]

[SGKent]

the bus will get pushed around in that kind of wind. I can remember one time driving my 1971 into a 60 mph crosswind and the steering wheel was turned 3/4 of a turn into the wind. Quartering gusts will really push you around like an aircraft. Head winds can take 25 miles off your top speed, meaning that if your bus can do 75 - 80 mph flat and level, 50 - 55 into a wind is tops. Maybe even 45 mph can be a challenge in a really stiff headwind. Enjoy.
_________________
"Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it." - George Carlin

[NASkeet]

[dodger tom]

[wrxnofx]

[Abscate]

Real inspections here in NY, annual. Wheel has to be removed and documented.

Nothing like MOT in UK though, much less stringent
_________________
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[W1K1]

[poundman]

[Wildthings]

I have a buddy who is the shop foreman at a small independent business in Virginia that does inspections. He does the inspections himself and it takes him about 5 minutes a car including the time to bring the car into the shop, remove the old sticker, and when done apply the new sticker. Unless the owner tells him that there is a problem he pretty much does nothing most of the time outside of reading whatever self diagnostic the vehicle has.

In Oregon the state doesn't have inspections so the onus is on the owner to make sure his vehicle is safe. Comparing the two states, twenty years ago I would have said that Oregon had the safest cars of the two states even though their typical car was something like 3-5 years older than the average car in Virginia. In Virginia due to the road salts owners historically didn't expect their cars to last so they made little effort to maintain them, doing just enough to get another year or so out of them before the maintenance needs became overwhelming, whereas in Oregon cars will last for many decades (my Dodge truck is now 53 years old and unless wrecked should last me another two decades if I am still driving that long).

Living in Oregon where it was fairly rare to see a vehicle going down the road with a headlight out, 20+ years back when I would visit my parents in Virginia I was always surprised to see how many vehicles were being driven with only one headlight, maybe as high as 10%. The use of better electrical plugs and LED lights has largely fixed the problem with the headlights in Virginia today though.

I do have one friend in Washington State that could benefit from mandatory inspections though, she is blank about mechanical things and in the 30 years I have know her and never done much besides clean second homes for the rich and pick berries, mushrooms, and such for sustenance, she house-sits for one or the other of her customers and lives in her truck when the customer shows up for a weekend. Her mini pickup that must be 40 years old and when driving it down the road a few years back a tie rod end came apart. It must have been showing signs of failure for years before it failed, but she never questioned the noise and the poor steering.