Got my early 944 brake/suspention parts!
 

So i snaped up a set of front 944 N/A brake assemblies (from the strut out) and got a whole rear end with the brakes, arms, sway bars...ect and drive shafts. i got it at a German auto salvege place on the way to a VW show and swap meet. costed me $425 US for it all.

so i should have some pics of what i got, with some more direct questions later tonight if i can get out to the garage.

Later
Jonathan

Cool. :righton:

Can't wait to see the pics. :)

here are the pics, carefull now... theres a lot ;)

here are some more pictures

Ok so here are the questions...

- as you see in the swing plate pics, im pointing to the cover... do you just cut this off to the shape of the stock cover and use this, and then use the 944 swing arms/ plates? i want to use the 944 swing plates becuase i think they are adjustable? or am i mistaken?

-for the sway bars, i just weld on mounts the to beetle tube?

- Drive shafts, i would like to use the 944 units, but i notice they are a little shorter than the stock beetle ones, and have a much larger CV joint what output flanges do i use to mount to a 1303 trans? and will the length be a factor?

-for the front brakes, all i need is the Kerscher ball joints... and what do i do about the tie-rod ends? the 944 spindles have the taper mount on the bottom and the beetle has them on the top. when i test fit it on the bottom i hit the sway bar at full extention with the tie-rod.

Im sure i missed a question as its late...but thats what i can think of now.

Anyways, i plan on doing a rebuild (seals and such) for all four calipers if they look alright on the inside. aswell as clean everthing up and paint the calpers RED and the spindles silver and the other parts black or silver.

Thanks
Jonathan

I'll give this a try to get you started, but advise you to do a search on the individual topics you would like more info on. The year of your 1303 and year of the 944 would help. Looking at the pics, I am assuming that your parts were pulled from a 1985 or earlier 944 since the trailing arms appear to be steel.

If this is the case, my understanding is that you can just change the stub axles from your 944 brake assemblies to your vw stub axle and then just use the vw rear suspension. Do a search and you can find additional info. This is definitely the easiest way to go.

"Swing plate" covers (AKA Torsion tube covers, spring plate covers, torsion tube end caps, torsion tube chassis mounts, and other names) would need to be cut if you use the 944. 911 covers do not require cutting, but would require an additional purchase since you already have these. It is the 944 spring plate not the covers that has more adjustments than the VW.

Sway bar will probably not fit if the mounts are just welded to torsion tube. You will need to space it more from what I have seen doing searches. I have not done this yet, so I would suggest doing a search for some ideas on how others have done this.

To convert the drive shafts you would need Thing (type 181) flanges. I couldn't tell you if the length would fit.

For the front spindles, you need to install a flip-it bump steer kit in the spindle to allow you to install the tie rod in the correct direction. You can get this from Topline.

You will also need to grind down the shock towers to provide clearance for the 944 spring plates. Do a search on this for more info.

You will need to determine how to connect your hand brake cables. There are a few different solutions. Do a search...

Good luck with the project!

Super VW..

Up front you may need the Topline Bumpsteer Kit to flip the tie rods.. and a drill press to make the holes bigger.. Finished doing this late summer before the snow started kicking in.. I can't remember if flipping was actually required or if the bumpsteer kit just aligned the tierods better, but there are some posts on this that I referenced..


I noticed that you took the arms off with out effecting the spring plate.. I assume it was not under tension from the torsion bar... I have the same assembly in my basement and haven't touched it due to fear of hurting/killing myself. I am also interested.. since I am at this phase too...
I believe you use the 944 plate with new beetle bushings and cover... but I am not certain.. again plenty of posts to reference.. which I assume you did..

Let me know how you plan on taking out the torsion bars since the assembly is off the car.. I wanted to put the 944 rods in the beetle..

Sorry I can't help to much but I do want to leverage from any responses you get..

Take care and good luck
Alex

Well i took the arms off from the swing plate without a hitch, no tention.... but i have not taken off the plates or really know how myself. not to mention if its under tention or not. so if some one would help us on that, that would be nice. im going to search some more around anyhow so i might just find out today as i have some time to do so.

Thanks all!
Jonathan

I hear you..

There should be some replies, search Loaf and you should be able to find..

Lot of responses to undo plates but its when they are on the car.. I was going to pay a local porsche shop to do it..but If we can get some input I can save and put that money toward some other items..

Alex

Well i got the plates off, the arms i couldent as i dont have the socket for the end that mount to the frame. but it wasent to dramatic at all... lol maybe im stupid but i didnt chain anything up and all went well.
anyways, i was looking at the 944 sping plates and they have two (shown in the pics) bolts that have a thin bolt on the other side(not shown) that seams would hit the stock beetle shock towers.
so im not sure if i can cut the towers or not... seams like it would weaken it. so maybe im just gonn have to use the stock swing plates and not have them adjustable like the 944 units (thats was the idea, to have it adjustable via a ecentric bolt thats also part of the sway bar mount)

also i noticed that i can use stock beetle drive shafts not problem as the stub axles are the same only the 944 units have a larger flange for larger CV's... but i would like to use 944 units as i already have them and why not right? but with only around 120 HP i dont think i would need them anyways and its not worth the trouble of sourcing type 181 (thing) output flanges to make it work... would be an easy upgrade if i wanted to add more power..ect but like i said, might not be worth the trouble at this point.

Also i wanted to ask about the 944 torsion bars... can i use them? they fit and are the same size, only larger in Dia making them more stuff corect? would they be overkill for a Auto-X (solo-2) racer? to stiff maybe?

Thanks
Jonathan

trekker flanges new
 

forged
http://www.vwspeedshop.co.uk/pg/transmission.htm

For my 944 spring plates, I'm going to weld the forward bolt and grind as much as i can safely from the bolt itself, so that i keep as much metal on the torsion housing for structural integerity as possible.

Thats what I did, still had to do a good bit of clearancing work though.

early 944 rear discs/royors
 

are they solid then? - un vented?

Early and late rotors are both ventilated.