Great information. Thanks! ----- Original Message ----- From: "marc vellat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 5:55 PM Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Type 3 or Thing front end into a Beetle question
> Thing is basically the same as Bug, just with slightly > heavier springs - the big difference on Thing is the > spindles are different, and all 4 ball joints point > down for more ground clearance - not really what > you're after. There's some reinforcement of the shock > towers and additional braces from the outboard ends to > the pan on the Thing beam too, but those are there for > off-road rigidity and don't really do much for load > capacity. > You can buy 15% stiffer-than-stock torsion leaves to > add some capacity to a Bug front end, but more than an > extra couple hundred pounds up there is too much. For > 700 pounds you'd need to graft in a Bus beam - that'd > be do-able but quite ambitious. It'd be a similar > major fabrication project to make a Type III beam fit > and that wouldn't gain as much. The next point of > failure would be the chassis "frame head". If you can > put most of the battery weight right behind the front > seats it should be feasible to do this based on a > stock pan, but a purpose-built chassis would be > better. > And if it's a SUPER Beetle, I'd look for a different > car - their McPherson strut front suspension is > marginal with NO additional weight on it. > > Brakes should be upgraded too - you can use > Karmann-Ghia components or an aftermarket kit to fit > discs to the front. Disc rears can be done with > aftermarket stuff or Porsche 944/924T parts (some > modification is required and they take 5-lug wheels). > Type III rear drum brakes should be sufficient though, > and they're a straightforward bolt-on (even the > e-brake cables hook right up). > Rear torsion bars from an IRS Squareback are 23.5mm > (vs 22mm for the Bug) which should be enough, but > again aftermarket springs are available. Torsion bar > spring rate is proportional to the diameter raised to > the fourth power, so 23.5s are ~30% stiffer, 24 ~42%, > 25 ~67%, etc. > > http://www.swayaway.com/VWLeafSprings.php > (note that these do not have the grubscrew divots in > them, there'll be additional expense involved there). > > http://www.swayaway.com/TorsionBars.php > (IRS takes the 26-9/16" length). > > > > > --- Dan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> I have been contacted by someone doing a electric >> conversion to a kit car >> who wants to put some batteries up front....like 700 >> lbs worth. I'm >> thinking he will need a heavier duty front end. >> Will a Thing or Type 3 >> front end fit on a Beetle chassis? If so are they >> heavy duty enough? What >> are some other options? >> >> -Dan > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better friend, newshound, and > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > > _______________________________________________ > vintagvw site list > [email protected] > http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1403 - Release Date: 4/29/2008 > 7:26 AM > > _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
