Dave's new 1969 mild GL build...

[owdlvr]

Hows this for "made in america" quality?! Car hasn't been parked outside for more than 45min and the dash is already cracking!

Originally Posted by DORIGTT

Owdlvr,

When you say you machined the ends of the upper tube, does that mean you shortened the tube to 'suck the upper arms in' which increases the amount of available negative camber?

If so, how much shorter did you make it, and how much negative camber are you able to get compared to the standard beam?

Okay, so car went in for it's second alignment today, and they were able to get the whole car within the spec that I asked for. Only problem is I arrived right at closing to pick it up, so I don't know how much camber we actually have in the front until morning. My instructions were that I need a minimum of 1.5deg negative, but would prefer to see 2deg with a maximum of 3deg. As the passenger side is the problem, I suggested they find the maximum it will do, and if it's within my spec simply make the driver's side match. I'll post up the numbers when I get them.

When the car left the first alignment both wheels were set at 0deg (as per the printout). The passenger side was at it's maximum adjustment, and the driver's side had room. I swapped out the eccentrics, and could measure 3.5deg of max negative camber on the driver's side using my digital angle finder (not a precise way of doing it!). I pulled out the beam, upper spring pack, and flipped the pack so I could redimple it. I put the passenger side dimple in 3mm from where the original dimple was. I then machined 1mm off the end of the housing. I could get a max of 2deg negative on my gauge, pulled the pack a second time and this time used my grinder (gasp!) to take off roughly 0.5mm off the end of the housing as I wasn't fully into my new dimple. Now I could measure a max of neg 3 deg, and figured it wasn't worth pushing any further.




Mounted the front spoiler, which involved trimming it to clear the oil cooler fittings and drilling two holes to pass the oil lines through. I've mounted it with six aluminum button head bolts. It's definitely more rigid than the Rally Bug's setup, but I may want to put some supports out to the fenders on each end. Lots of debate on my social media about whether I should go body colour with it, the front end does look very 'heavy' now, but I definitely prefer the ease of maintenance with the black. Rally Bug spoiler simply gets a fresh coat of spray-bomb every now and again.

With the carb tune relatively dialled, and the alignment set, tonight the car got it's first extended run. Only about 100km, but good for a first run! The car is excellent. All of the power of the Rally Bug, the handling is solid, and I could actually talk on the phone through the bluetooth while cruising! The suspension is definitely stiffer than my other cars, so less weight transfer into the corners, but stickier tires compensate. An excellent first impression though.

Good thing it was only 100km, I had some light leaks from the oil cooler fittings and it seems both inner CV joints have puked out a bunch of grease. I wonder if I missed the "check CV torque" item on the list :P


Tire rub is an issue on the driver's side. If CSP would actually get back to me with a shipping quote, I might bite the bullet and get some 4cm wider fenders. The other option is to mill down my spacers from 18mm to 13mm to see if that will do it.

Funny enough, I actually miss the 5spd from the Rally Bug way more than I thought I would. My 5th gear is the same as a stock beetle 4th, so it's not about highway cruising...I miss the options in the mountain corners! This car is also lacking any cupholder, which needs to be changed asap. All of the "VW" options from our parts suppliers suck, so I need to fabricate something I'm happy with. Lastly? I really miss the Rally Bug shifter. Mark Hargett isn't making any of the Porsche units I modified...so we may just need to reverse engineer one for this car...