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  #1  
Old June 18th 2008, 21:51
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Xellex Xellex is offline
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'89 porsche 944 spindles Will they work or not?

Hi guys, sorry for starting another thread, but I searched on and on and still can't see the light:
Will the thicker, cast aluminum, with non removable cast ball-joints from an 1989 944 bolt (and work good)on a '74 1303 or not?
If they do, will they work with maxx struts or what else? I understand the guys at LA Performance make a special strut for these spindles. Is it true? Do they make them anymore?
Found a 944 donor car but I'm not sure what to do...
Thanks in advance, Alex.
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Old June 19th 2008, 07:57
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Anyone? Superman? From the VdubEngineering site I would understand that they would have to work (if using the kerscher balljoints) and camber adjustment bolts. But what about the strut issue that I've been reading about? Can maxx struts or any other aftermarket struts be used in this combination? Oh, and another question (forgive my ignorance): if the balljoints are cast into the spindle, can you use the kerscher one on them?
Thanks.
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  #3  
Old June 19th 2008, 08:21
2443TT 2443TT is offline
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Ive got 1988 944 turbo suspension under my vw on the new custom chassis. 1988-1994 is all the same on the turbo's and non turbo S models. The only diference is the spacing for the caliper bolts to support the larger 4 piston brembo's on the turbo's.

Im using the alloy 944 alloy A-arms, spindles, brakes etc up front. I can take some measurements if thats any help to you... Just take a photo of what you want pics of and post it up, and i'll be sure I measure the right thing.

Cheers,
Ian
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  #4  
Old June 19th 2008, 12:16
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well this is the thread that confused me:
http://www.germanlook.com/Forums/sho...+late+spindles

I found an '89 944 NA and I want to buy complete trailing arms and complete spindles off it. It's not that often that you find a parts car Porsche around here, and I don't want to miss the oportunity. But the thread mentioned above got me thinking I won't be able to use the spindles.
Did anything change since 2003? Are there struts that can be used on this combo these days?
Basically I'd want to use maxx struts on them, and whatever else needed.
So what do u guys think?
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  #5  
Old June 19th 2008, 18:37
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The late spindles, all those other than the 83-85 944 NA, have a wider bolt spacing by a few millimeters and the knuckle (the part of the spindle that fits inside the strut) is a few millimeters thinner. It's the 83-85 944 spindle that will bolt into the 1303 suspension, the use of the later spindle would require the modification of the strut and/or spindle to accommodate those aforementioned few millimeter differences.

The use of any 924/944/951/968 A-arm and ball joint would require a major modification and alteration of the Superbug's suspension and chassis, it is far cheaper and much simpler to just use the Kerscher ball joint on the 1303 control arm.

EDIT: forgot to mention that the 83-85 spindles have the hole for the speedometer cable and the 1303 cable will fit, the late spindles do not have this hole because the later Porsche's speedometer cable was hooked to the transmission.

Last edited by Superman; June 19th 2008 at 18:45.
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Old June 19th 2008, 19:40
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Thanks, ...so in other words "do not get the '79 spindles!" right?
I wasnt eaven thinking of using the A-arm from the 944 too.
But you were saying in a thread around here that you managed to make a custom strut for this application. Did it work? I've also read that the guys at LA Performance in UK make custom struts for this. Is it true? Does any1 have them? And do they still produce?
In that case, should I buy these late 944 spindles?
And can the Kerscher custom ball-joints be used on these late spindles too?
Sorry for assaulting you with questions, but it's been talked about so much, and it still looks unclear.
Thanks, Alex.
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  #7  
Old June 19th 2008, 20:07
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Have a look at this tech article that retrofits 944 brakes to a 924, it applies to the Superbug because the early 924 used the Superbug brakes (with a 4x108 mm bolt pattern).

Take all the information is in this article but use the Kerscher conversion parts (ball joint and e-brake adapter) and you're ready for the brake upgrade.

http://924.org/techsection/9brakes.htm#3 - Brake Conversion
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  #8  
Old June 20th 2008, 19:25
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Ok, I've read the article a few times but it looks vague, and it looks like he's installing early 944 spindles on the 924, not late ones. And he used the 944 a-arms too I think. (maybe I'm reading it wrong)

On the other hand, it looks like LA Performance are making the strut to fit the late 944 spindles on 1303 suspension. They just answered my e-mail. But is there anything else I should worry about?
Let's say the combo would be this:
'74 1303 bug (not rack and pinion steering).
'89 944 Aluminum spindles (complete with hub, rotor, disc, caliper).
Kerscher 17mm ball-joint.
LA P. custom strut.
Probably those (cip1 I think) camber-caster adjusters.

Will these things fit together? Am I missing anything?

Last edited by Xellex; June 20th 2008 at 19:27.
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  #9  
Old June 20th 2008, 19:35
Superman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xellex View Post
Let's say the combo would be this:
'74 1303 bug
'89 944 spindles
Kerscher ball-joint
LA P. custom strut
Yes, that will fit, but the point I'm trying to make is if you'll use a 83-85 944 spindle then you won't need those struts. You can save a lot of money by just getting the correct spindle in the first place.
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  #10  
Old June 20th 2008, 19:44
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yea, but it all depends on where you live, I guess
Out here, I know of about 5-6 germanlook fans all around the country, and a parts car Porsche appears only once every 2 years or so :P
It would cost me much more to buy the complete early spindles off the web, from Germany or some other western country. I'm sure of that. Adding the risk of scammers and bad deals, it makes more sense to get what I can... in this case the late version spindles.
And the price for the LA Perf. struts is indeed bigger than the maxx struts but close to the other aftermarket european struts. It seems reasonable.
I'm open for more ideas and thoughts.
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  #11  
Old June 20th 2008, 20:09
Superman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xellex View Post
it makes more sense to get what I can... in this case the late version spindles. I'm open for more ideas and thoughts.
Well, I'm out of suggestions for you but I'll leave you with this comment...

it would be 10 times cheaper to ship a pair of spindles than a pair of struts and the spindles would cost 100 times cheaper than the struts. You'll end up spending and extra US$500+ on the conversion for not just using the 83-85 spindle.
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  #12  
Old June 23rd 2008, 03:04
2443TT 2443TT is offline
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Xellex, Ebay is your answer... The early 944 spindles come up from time to time there as well. I am in the same situation in australia where everything is way over priced if it has a Porsche part number on it. I priced some alloy trailing arms, and they wanted $1200 AUD for just the arms.

Instead from Ebay and a seller in the US (paid for by paypal so it was safe), for $1500 i got rear trailing arms, front A arms, spindles, hubs, stub axels CV's and drive shafts. Everything i needed for my car in one go.

Good luck,

Ian.
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  #13  
Old June 23rd 2008, 14:50
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Here you go............ our late struts for late 944 spindles.............



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  #14  
Old June 24th 2008, 07:09
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What do the struts cost????
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  #15  
Old September 5th 2008, 01:53
piledriver piledriver is offline
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More than just out of curiosity, are Mk1 Golf struts compatible with the early 944 spindles etc? (and is the converse true? I could also go for reasonably priced Mk1 Golf lowering struts, I'm pretty sure its close...)

I'm stuffing all this on a 1302, so I'm digging around for all that info, I know it's here, somewhere.

My son and I scored front/rear ~everything including the struts, R&P (just in case) /axles/trailing arms/brakes/sway bar off a dead 84 944 I spotted coming in the other day, $100 score. Gotta love U-Pull-its.

Now I have to look for 1303 stuff...

Last edited by piledriver; September 5th 2008 at 01:55.
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