GermanLook Forums  

Go Back   GermanLook Forums > General > Project Builds

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old December 2nd 2010, 16:12
1302 S 1302 S is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 6
1302 s

Hi, everyone
Here is my car, a -72 Superbeetle. My grandpa gave it to me back in -89, as a first car. I restored it in the style of a Cal looker and developed the car until -97.
Then I had children, bought house and got married and the car became more or less garaged for some years. Around -05 my interest woke up again when I saw an article in a VW mag about a race beetle. Since then a step by step process has begun to convert it to a street- and track beetle with no restrictions (only the wallet).





Two years ago the car was so completed I could test it for the Swedish “TUV”. It was approved and it’s now street legal with semi slicks, up to 140kW engine and rebuilt suspension. Until I find the right concept the beetle is running as a testbench for improvements. My intention is to find out how competitive an old VW could be on street and track.
Here is my recipe so far:

Engine/gearbox
Engine: Typ1 69x92mm. CB Street Eliminator 42/37mm valves, 284 degree camshaft, Dual IDF 44 Webers, Mahle forged pistons/cylinders
Gearbox: typ1, late type -75
Driveshaft: 944 N/A

Suspension/Brakes:
Front end converted from -72 to 73- front with late track control arms and stabilizer bar
Front: Homemade coilover to fit 944T steering knuckle, 4-piston calliper. Ventilated disc.
Rear: Al rear arms 944T (-85), 4-piston calliper. Ventilated disc.
Increased track width 1450/1480mm

Wheels
Rims: BBS 16tum 7 ½” and 8 ½” low ET.
Tyres: Toyo R888 215/50-16 and 225/50-16

Other mods:
Widened fenders: Front/rear 60/100mm (2,4/4 inch) each side
Fuelcell lowered into the spare wheel space, Mallory fuel pump
Macrolon windows all except front window
Light weight battery
Instrumentation Autometer Nexus and C2 series

For next season following mods will be performed:
Rear suspension: Inner ball joint
Rear suspension: Outer bushing in low friction filament wound bushings
Rear: “cup” brace

Front suspension: track control arm with inner ball joint and 17mm outer ball joint

Typ 4 engine

Last edited by 1302 S; December 3rd 2010 at 08:07. Reason: Add pic
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old December 2nd 2010, 17:52
scourtaud scourtaud is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 19
Hi,

That sounds like a nice car... Do you have some pictures?

Seb
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old December 4th 2010, 11:39
1302 S 1302 S is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 6
1302 s

Here are some more pictures.
The front end suspension is now in parts and new parts to replace them.
New rebuilt track control arm with inner rod end (Hirschman) and 17mm outer ball joint from Golf II, easy to change if I hit a curb too hard.



The rear suspension is also going to be rebuilt. I have made the drawings for these pieces and got them made. The uniball is Rodobal MTE series.


Last edited by 1302 S; December 4th 2010 at 14:17.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old December 5th 2010, 17:53
Xellex's Avatar
Xellex Xellex is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Posts: 274
Nice work on the control arms! I'd buy a set if they were available..
__________________
www.vw1303s.com
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old December 5th 2010, 18:21
Wally's Avatar
Wally Wally is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 2,552
Indeed very nice work on the suspension parts!
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old December 5th 2010, 19:18
1302 S 1302 S is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 6
Thank you Xellex, sorry I dont have the possibility to make another pair, but I can place some more pics, how I made them.

The reason I made the arms this way is that I want to control camber with lover arms and steering knuckel and caster at the top of the strut. So these arms are just a part of a bigger plan.

Comments to the pictures
-Ball joint was found through www.sidem.be they list car model and dimension, realy good site.
-Bushings in PUR and NBR (different hardness) I will try which works best. POM plated steel wachers with lubrication pockets.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSC05501.jpg (77.3 KB, 39 views)
File Type: jpg DSC05513.jpg (82.6 KB, 41 views)
File Type: jpg P1010020.jpg (63.8 KB, 37 views)
File Type: jpg DSC05502.jpg (79.3 KB, 37 views)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old December 5th 2010, 20:17
onixbonilla's Avatar
onixbonilla onixbonilla is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Puerto Rico
Posts: 173
Great! I really,really like your work! Some neat ideas! More pictures please!
Brakes, coilovers, trunk, interior, gauges, undercarriage pictures!!
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old December 7th 2010, 13:41
1302 S 1302 S is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 6
ok here is som more pics
I replaced the fueltank with this fuel cell. And moved it into a lower position, like 911. Many typ1 owners here in Sweden used to put a sandbag in the trunk in the winter, to get better grip for the front wheels. In my case I want as low CG height as possible and more weight direct over the front wheels for better grip. The upper lid is now where the bottom was before.



A safety device. A rollover switch for the gas pump. Its from a Ford Scorpio, originally mounted back above the gas tank in the Ford.



Mallory fuel pump. Its a gear pump and gives less pressure pikes and works more quiet than a Holly pump. The Holly pump is a vane pump (4 vings).



Here am I going to mount a light weight battery 7kg from Odyssey. A high power switch is mounted to be able swith the car off, remote via cables. The installation is not completed at the picture.



Some interior pics. Both seats are going to be replaced. Hopfully during this winter. (The shell seat has shrunk ). The panels have I made from alu sheet.



Front suspension pics. Classic combination of Golf dampers, Porsche 944T lower part, homemade ...

Last edited by 1302 S; December 7th 2010 at 14:23.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old December 8th 2010, 13:29
evilC's Avatar
evilC evilC is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: UK Where Leics is more
Posts: 644
Hi, Nice work but a couple of queries:

1) Front suspension. Why control the caster from the top of the strut? The anti-roll bar controls the caster and locates the TCA via a squidgy bush that doesn't allow any anti-dive to be built in especially if you lower the suspension. With the accuracy that you are initiating with the inner heim joint having the bottom of the strut potentially moving around via the AR bush seems counter productive. The classic way of adjusting caster and tightening the whole assembly is to use a tension or compression strut. I prefer the idea of a compression strut as the inner pivot can be adjusted to amend the anti-dive. The AR bar can then be detached so that it can become adjustable. Its a win-win system.
2) Front suspension. Are the front struts Golf or is it just the inserts?
3) front suspension. Are the top mounts solid?
4) Front suspension. I think you should consider a brace bar and then look to cross brace the front of the hammer head to stiffen the whole body and therefore the suspension pick up points.
5) Front suspension. Consider dropping the inner pivot on the TCA to lower the roll centre to increase the roll couple.
6) Front suspension. Whilst lowering the tank lowers the front weight distribution I have kept ours as the standard tank in situ to improve the roll couple and keep the weight within the wheelbase to help with polar moment of Inertia. Similarly the battery remains in the VW position for the same reason.
7) Rear suspension. Are you intending to run a full coilover suspension i.e. removing the torsion bars?
8) Are you fitting a full cage? Its worth linking the cage to all the suspension pick up points as well as multi-pointing it to the body to increase the torsional rigidity.

Clive
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old December 9th 2010, 17:28
1302 S 1302 S is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 6
Hi, Clive
Many questions you got. Realy nice to get responce and share thoughts.

Coilovers are homemade. Lower mount from 944T. Thinn wall pipe and threaded end from a 944N/A. Shockabsorber is golf inserts. The spring and threaded sleeve is bought separately.

As I wrote the TCA rebuild is only a part of a larger plan. I will build new towers for a adjusdtebly pillowball top mount. Adjust the basic angles, so they better fits a lowered car. To be able to increse caster. The top mounts will include supports for a brace bar.

I will also look at the inner mountings for the TCA. They looks very weak and mounting point is not adjustebly.
Droping the inner pivot on the TCA is not a good idea. Dropping it would cause the angle between TCA and strut to increse.
On MacPherson strut-equipped cars, the wheel will gain negative camber under roll as long as the lower control arm is positioned
less than 90 degrees relative to the strut axis. Beyond 90 degrees, the suspension will gain positive camber instead of negative
as it compresses, significantly compromising grip.

I see that you and I have different oppinion about weight transfer. In my experience and what a learnt, I try to minimise the weight transfer.
I try to place parts as low as possible and they should be as light as possible, all to reduce the influence of the torque arm (both lenght and strenght) that that virtally apperes between the gravity of center of the car and roll center when the car turns. I also have increased the tracktion-width to decrease the weighttransfer (the main reason I choosed P-parts for chassie). This make the suspension work in a smaler range and the weaknesses of the MacPherson design could be less.
To adjust the couplung between front axis and rear axis I will rake the car in different degree.

Rear suspension. The rear end bushings will be replaced with the parts you see. Its practically the same change Wally made but I have constructed the kit myself. I hade to make a outer plate to hold the bushing in place. I hope that the bushings and balljoint will decrease the friction and give better response.
I would nerver use alu arms in a full coilover solution. The reason is that the alu arm isnt made for it and you change the stress points in the chassie.
First all the rear weight of the car from the torosionbar (spring) via springplate mount is moved to the to the lower coilover mounting point.
Now the lower point of shockabsorber mounting, has to deal with both the force from damping forces and the weight of the rear end
of the car. The lower mount is single sided and the increased load will sooner or later breake it due to overload and/or fatigue. In the upper
end of the shock the unsupported mounting have to take all the added force. On 911 p-cars they brace and reinforce the upper mounting points to avoid cracks and deflection.
If I do a coilover mount I should mount the steel arms (compare the lower mounting points, both sides) and connect the upper mountings to a
to a multi point brace or even better rollcage.
In my case I will see how far I could take the "standard solution" due to make it more exact and smother and it will be combined a 5 point brace.

I probably end up with a full roll cage. Its true as you said that it will improve the handling the chassie could never be too stiff.

//Anders
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old December 10th 2010, 05:48
oasis's Avatar
oasis oasis is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: timonium, md usa
Posts: 1,290
Impressive work. Nice presentation for us, too.
__________________
(2004-2008): 1971 1302 w/2056
Searching for a new project ...
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old December 10th 2010, 13:33
evilC's Avatar
evilC evilC is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: UK Where Leics is more
Posts: 644
Hi Anders,
I'm enjoying this debate.

I appreciate that the caster can be controlled at the strut top but the range of adjustment is limited by the body shell. A compression strut has the advantage of potentially more adjustment. Also, the loads are fed back into the strongest part of the chassis and it gets rid of the anti-roll bar locating the axle.

I agree the inner mounting for the TCA looks weak but having looked at the forces involved they are well up to the job. I would only beef them up for rallying where inpact damage was a possibility. The inner TCA mounting bracket on ours has a lower pair of slotted holes that I used to provide the pivot point.

I agree in general with what you say about camber change but my reason for doing it was that the roll couple was increased that then loaded up the outer front wheel in the turn to improve grip. Also, the front roll centre was lowered by doing this so that the couple in dive was increased to again load up the front especially under braking in the turn. the actual camber change is relatively small with mine being set statically at -1.5* that should give a 0*- (+)0.5* at full roll.

I understand now your rear suspension however, don't dismiss the strength of the alloy arms as Porsche used the same technology and layout in their 935 long distance racers with a uniball rear and coilovers. The coilovers were racing spring rate with their heavy 6 cylinder rear end. My concern was not with the lower bolt, which is M14 high tensile but with the top mount in the beetle which is only M12 and desperately needs the cross bracing afforded by the 5 bar cup brace

The rear end bushings are now explained for me - thank you.

Keep us all up to date with progress.

Clive
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
1302s, race


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 22:53.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
© www.GermanLook.net 2002-2017. All Rights Reserved