narrowed beams

[nicolas]

OK, i have to admit i feel a bit stupid even asking this question, but here it goes anyway.

how do i narrow a front beam and fit dropped spindles on a balljoint beam to get the original width again. and second will this clear the fenders? i don't plan to run is really really low, it's not a rat look.
also do you cut the leaves and how do you re-drill the dimple for the locking screw? i thought it was hardened.

[Wray]

Nicolas

I have this old link on my works PC for the beam part!

http://www.vwtrendsweb.com/tech/0407vwt_beam_narrowing/

Cheers

Wray

[Donny B.]

I narrowed the beam on my '66 just 2 inches.  I needed to do that to clear the fender lip with my welded dropped spindles and the Flat-4 BRMs.  The width is pretty much stock looking with the tires clearing the fenders.  I feel the only reason to narrow the beam is to allow for tire clearance.

[nicolas]

thank you both. that will point me in the right direction for sure. totally forgot the VWTrends article.

[Cornpanzer]

I recommend pullling a couple of the small leaves out when you narrow it.  By shortening the springs, you are increasing spring rate.  If you retain all of the leaves, you will have very stiff suspension.

[deano]

Just don't run gas shocks...

[Zach Gomulka]

Just don't run gas shocks...

Can't agree with that more!!

Mock it all up with the standard beam, only take out what's needed. I haven't tried it, but I like Dave's idea of removing some torsion springs. Also, I would try to fit the stock sway bar back on, you may be able to clamp it to the sides of the trailing arms (instead of the bottom) and not have to narrow it. Mounting to the sides will also give you more sway bar ground clearance.

[Donny B.]

I have over 100K miles on my narrowed front end and I never removed any leaves.  I am also running KYB GR-2 shocks.  The car rides just fine with no issues.  All of the shocks on my car are soon to be replaced with Konis that I have had sitting on the shelf for a while.  Don't get carried away doing stuff you don't need to do.  All that said my wife's '61 with KYB gasadjust shocks on all four corners rode better than my '66 ever did.  I just think link-pin front ends work better.

[javabug]

With a two-inch beam, the increased stiffness caused by shorter leafs may not be significantly noticeable. My beam is narrowed three inches, with full leaf stacks, and I always "thought" it rode fine. However, this season I planned to try pulling the small leaves as a test. The job hasn't been done yet, but I'm confident with improved dampers and a little less spring, it should improve things.

I second mocking things up to see how much you really need to cut. I did my beam before I really knew what end result I was planning on, and now I don't like it because it didn't need to be so narrow.

[Cornpanzer]

Springs support the weight of the car and are the primary contributor to ride quality. Shocks are designed to be dampers and that is all.  With that said, an overly stiff shock can hurt the ride quality.

Fact: When you shorten a torsion bar (or stack of springs in our case) you increase the spring rate and stiffen the suspension. There is no way around this. you may not notice the difference with a 2" narrower stack of springs, but the spring rate was affected...its math folks. 

This is why our resto-cal friends who narrow their beams 4+ inches can get away with no shocks. If you have no movable suspension, you dont need a damper.

[deano]

Could it be the older you get, the more concern you become over the quality of the ride? Just saying that as so many young guys (me included back when...), were more interested in having the tires smashed into the fender wells, and could care less if it rode like a tank. When your butt comes completely off the seat, is the suspension setup right? If you can't see clearly out the rear-view mirror, is the suspension a bit stiff? If your CD player skips to the next song every time you hit a painted line, are you ready for a change? I have to admit that my current '67 with -3" beam, dropped spindles, Koni adjustable shocks turned all the way to soft, running lower tire air pressure than back in the day, is the best ride I've had on a lowered Bug.