Lowering a 73

[chocolatetoothpaste]

I have a 67 vw I am mounting on a 73 frame. I want to lower the front, and I am wondering if anyone can direct me to some tech articles or even just give me some advice so I don't screw it up. One thing I have heard mention is about suspension travel. if you lower it you lose some, but what do I need to do to eliminate the "pogo stick" effect? Thanks.

[stevethefolkie]

I assume you're using a standard '73 chassis and not trying to graft a body onto a superbeetle pan - IF that's the case you've got a couple choices.

1)Calculate the amount of drop you want, figure out in degrees of rotation how much the beam would have to rotate to provide that amount of drop.
Mark the beam (carefully) with a starting and ending point for rotation - this is on the upper and lower beam.
Remove the spindles, remove the trailing arms, undo the fixing bolts and remove the spring packs from the beam
Make two cuts on each beam - about 6" out from the center on each side of the center.
Line up your "where it started" line to the "where it ends" line on the upper and lower beam.
Weld the center sections (the parts you just rotated) into their new location. What this does is to change the starting position of the leaf springs - (there's a square section in the middle of the beam - where the fixing bolt goes - which is what you're trying to move)
Re-insert the springs, re-assemble the trailing arms and spindles, put the beam back on the bug and you'll have a dropped front end.

2) purchase a beam that's had the surgery performed by someone else (look for ads in VW A/C rags) - transfer your springs, TA's, spindles and the like, bolt it onto the front of your bug and you're done

3) buy a set of "drop spindles" - if they're still available

For 1 and 2 you'll also want to modify your bump stops to give you enough suspension travel.

None of these will reduce your suspension travel - unless you move the bump-stops OR don't either extend the shock towers (to accomodate stock shocks) or buy shorter shocks -

The real stone-axe method was to pull three springs from the spring pack - which dropped 'er down on the bump stops but gave a lousy ride and beat the hell out of the bearings and stuff -

[db]

More info here from our friends at SAMBA http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/arc...-143095--.html