I have finally finished my car.

LLVWGL · #1 February 5th 2008, 16:57

Great car!

How did you make the rear bumper fit so well with widened fenders?

yetibone · #2 February 5th 2008, 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by LLVWGL

Great car!

How did you make the rear bumper fit so well with widened fenders?

I just trimmed the bottoms of the ends before I painted it, and made sure I installed it as far back as it would go. I didn't end up with much room between the ends and the fenders though. There may be 2" clearance from the fenders at both ends.

Mathias · #3 February 6th 2008, 05:45

Nice one! Love the look of it.

yetibone · #4 February 6th 2008, 19:49

Thank you for all the complements, and kind words fellas. It was a bona-fide pain in the @$$ getting the car to this point, but the last month of driving, and dialing the car in has been duly rewarding. It drives so much different than it did on New Years day, it's unbelievable.

I squared up the suspension without adjusting anything to a specific setting, except the toe. All I wanted to do was make both sides equal, but with the correct toe angle for a Superbeetle, so the front camber is -0.6 degrees, and front caster is +2.9 on both sides. It feels like there's no real center to the steering. If I turn a few degrees either way at highway speed (like passing on a four lane road for instance) the steering wheel will stay there. If I'm driving straight, it stays straight, so there's a 'won't return' area in the center range of the steering wheel. I'm going to increase the right front caster to +3.0, or +3.1 degrees to see if that will center the steering against the crown in the road surface.

The rear ended up at +2.3 degrees camber, and 1/32 toe in. I also raised the ride height at least 2" in the rear, which made a very positive difference in the way the car drove. It feels so much more stable at speed. Totally the opposite of what I expected, but I guess having my car so close to the bumpstops didn't give the torsion bars enough working range, and bottoming out on the bumpstops upset the back end to much. I'm certain the chassis can truly outperform the aerodynamic capabilities of the car. Kinda scary.

**flat** · #5 February 6th 2008, 21:40

Great car!

May I ask how you are measuring your caster? I've been looking at purchasing a bubble style gauge, but would appreciate some feedback or suggestions.....

Lanner

yetibone · #6 February 6th 2008, 23:26

I have use of Hunter P411 at work. It's a great situation for me because I can make adjustments, and relate the driving difference to the measurements on paper.

I haven't looked into finding a bubble gauge. Does any tool mfg still make those? I remember my Dad had a Bear hub mounted bubble gauge, slip plates, and toe pointers maybe 15+ years ago.