Good luck with the power steering. I hope it works out :)

ABS next? :lmao:

It looks twice a good already with that stance. Well done!

Hi Xellex,
It occured to me this morning that if you had power steering then there was no real limitation on the amount of caster that you could run. Have you thought about setting it up with say 9-10deg caster? That would provide very stable straight line running together with better loading of the outsde wheel in the turns? Also, I would be expecting better feel to be generated compared with the normal caster setting.
With the weight to the rear and the centre of aerodynamic pressure too close to the centre of the wheelbase, the bug needs all the help it can get to track straight at speed. The higher the speed the worse it gets so with the limitations on the amount of caster that would be acceptable on a manual steering the compromise is in favour of poor high speed stability. With power steering there will be no real practical limitation on how much caster you can dial in.

So, does anyone know what the 911's run caster-wise? They later ones are quite stable at speeds :lmao: and might have power steering as well?

Well that's an interesting idea, and I think it might work, but what are the bug's possibilities of caster/camber setting?
I haven't seen too many custom stuff either, designed for this thing. Other than those flanges somebody was selling at the Hannover meeting this year.
I wonder if those are adjustable, or they only have a (higher) preset angle?

What about something like this?:
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/produc...ode=MSLABTM001

Xellex,

I believw GWD in germany use to carry them.. Not sure if they do anymore.

I am not sure if they were GWD orginal, or Remelle or other, but I was also interested in them for my car, but never was able to get a definitive answer..

I was trying to look at the pic, but who was the vendor that is carrying them now (at the show)
VR
Alex

I didn't take that pic, dirk.Gysbrechts did, and I "borrowed" it from the Hannover 2009 topic. Indeed it was the GWD table. I stood there, looking at those fine parts for a good period of time, wanting to get them. But with a limited budget, and something else in mind, I had to pass on those.

Anyway I used my old bug upper flanges on purpose for now, and didnt get new stock ones, because I really intend on getting something with more adjustability.

evilC, the ones you posted are more than interesting, but it looks like you would need some fabrication to install them in the bug. Is anyone here using them?

Xellex,

Looks like I need to talk to a buddy to see if he made a new run..

Thanks for the heads up..

VR
ALex

I don't see why? The plate goes ontop of the strut in the luggage compartment and you just rotate it to select the correct holes for the geometry you need. There is even one quoted for a MK1 Golf (Rabbit) that IIRC uses the same strut as the '03.:)

No, not the same. Nothing shares the super strut tops, only the '74 models 412 do.

I stand corrected - thanks. It is however, as I see it a very easy solution:
1) Either the holes match the three stud strut tops OR
2) Use an alternative strut top like the 924S/944 one I'm using and drill two new holes for the 4 stud unit.

(I elected to go with the 944 strut tops as the rubber seating is slightly bigger than the '03 super ones and I reasoned that the fact that they support a relatively heavy front end normally that would present a stiffer strut top than normal)

well the way I see it, these bearings listed on that website are only a part of the whole.... because looking at the GWD ones, I think you would have to fabricate a thick flange in the shape of the original beetle top mount, and mount these custom parts on that flange, that way making the whole piece. And the way you mount these 2 separate parts together, gives the different suspension angle.

I really don't think you could just bolt that "spherical bearing" onto the bug body, matching it to the 3 stud top holes.

Maybe you could just fabricate that "flange" out of some old original strut mounts, removing the rubber core and drilling some holes in that circular pattern.

I made a quick drawing, maybe it will help understand what I'm saying.

Oh, and guys, please use less abreviations on the forums because it's hard for a non-english native like me to keep up.


And choosing the right one is a question of the inner diameter of that spherical bearing, where the strut rod comes through. The Golf one is probably good. Can someone confirm that for sure?

My (Golf1) shocks have 14mm diameter if that helps?

Nice drawing BTW (By The Way) :D
Oh, and IIRC stands for 'If I recall correctly' ;)
Well, as always, YMMV (your milage may vary) :lmao:

Hehe, I know the usual ones like BTW or IIRC or IMHO but you guys are using technical abreviations too and I always have to check on google or something, like the thing EvilC said earlier:
"Strut tops OR". What's the OR for? :confused:

later edit:
Ahaha I think I get it! It was Solution 1 OR solution 2... :lmao: :lmao:

And it was not an abreviation (abbr.)!

hehe yes, I realised that a bit too late.

Ok I finally got the bug on the road after exactly 1 year since I started working on it. I did more than 1000km during the last week-end. I went to one of the very few romanian aircooled meetings.
The bug worked perfect with the new steering and suspension, everything was great, I am extremely happy with it.

Oh, and I finally got widened rear fenders too, and I also got a nice original leather VW sports steering weel :D

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

Nice looking car! Does it have the power steering you were looking at? If so, let us have some feedback>>>>>>.

Clive

Nice ride.:thumbup:

Great pics!!!

Always good to see another project car hit the road. It's a great looking car. Job well done. Keep us updated.

Thanks guys!


It has everything installed, but the electro-hydraulic pump is not as simple as I thought at first. Normally there would be a sensor inside the steering rack, that "feels" the movement of the steering wheel, and turns on the pump, to assist you while you steer.
What we have to do now is to adapt a (probably hall effect) sensor somewhere on the steering column, to get the desired signal for that pump.
That's too complicated for me, but luckily I found somebody who can do it.

Otherwise, the steering is great, I did almost 1500Km with the bug now, and I can say I didn't notice ANY bumpsteer at all (and believe me, romanian roads are full of holes, craters, and bumps of all sorts :angry: ), everything seems very precise, there is absolutely NO play in the steering, and it takes just a bit more than 2,5 turns of the steering wheel from lock to lock.

So far I'm happy with it. The only thing I'd like to do is to beef up those rack mounts, just to be safe.

Hi guys, check this out!! I just won this original Riechert cooling setup on ebay! I'm so happy, I had to tell somebody :D

Now I hope it arrives safely to my home, and I really hope I didn't bid against any of the people here on the GL forums.

Now if you put it under the motor you will be able to suck yourself down onto the road.:lmao:

Clive

Well done! Looks like a very complete set-up.

Today it finally arrived, and everything seems to be ok. Now I have to start writing down a list of stuff to do in order to get the type4 engine working.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

And in the mean time I wanted to do something better with my headlights, so I ordered another HID kit, I bought 2 secondhand FK Golf headlights, for the clearglass, and I did this:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

and this:
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

Hi guys! Time for a quick update: A few days ago I bought and installed a pair of koni yellow adjustable rear shock absorbers.
I am so happy with these, that I can say for the first time since the porsche conversion, my car has rear shock absorbers! The old ones, and the porsche 944 ones that I tried for a while were not doing absolutely anything.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

And I started polishing the porsche cooling system. I want it to look good at least the first time it's on.
Slowly I'm trying to gather everything needed for the type4 engine, and to get to a definitive set-up, but i'm gonna need all the help I can get, since it's my first ever engine build. Hope it will turn out ok.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

Looking good. Keep chipping away at it.

Good to see cars like this in the "neighbourhood" (I'm from hungary), congratulations. You should visit one of our VW meetings!

I sure will! But this year I've been a little short on money.
A few friends of mine went to the Gyoma&Rod on the 7-8-9 august 2009 and they say it was a blast.

This year I missed Gyoma, but usually it's a good one. But there are many others you can visit, it's up to you. See you in 2010 :)

Took my car down the road again, for the last aircooled meeting in our country this year.
It handles well, but I'm still not completely satisfied with the rear setup. There is a wierd bouncing effect, after you hit some bump/hole on the road, the rear behaves normally, and after that it just bounces 1-2 more times. It's verry annoying because on some roads wich are not perfectly flat, and at a certain speed, it starts resonating (duuno if that's the correct word to describe it) and the whole rear goes up and down constantly.
This effect was lowered by the new koni shocks but it's still there. Right now the shocks are on the 4th click. (1=softest, 5=harderst). Should I set them to 5th?
The only thing I can think of is that the Porsche 944 torsion bars that I used are not good for this setup (maybe too soft?).
Should I switch back to the original 1303 torsion bars and give it a try? (man that's alot of work) :(
Any suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.
And a few new pics:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

4th round in is already a lot for Koni's. The thicker torsion bars (23,5mm) from the 944 are very good and definately not too stiff. I use them as well and almost considering even bigger (25mm?)
There must be something else wrong...

You definately describe a too soft shock problem, so I am confused as well.
I use Bilstein gas shocks at the rear and Koni red up front. Very happy with the rear Bilsteins, they seem to have more rebound resistance. Maybe thats needed more at the rear?

Check how low is the rear suspension and if the bumpstop hits the upper end of the body.

If this happen then it should give you this extra 1-2 bounces.

I agree with Wally's thought, bilsteins + 23.5 944 torsions are one of the best choices!

+1 on shortening of the bump stops after lowering. Didn't think about that one, but it sure sounds like the cause of your problem.

I'm with Jim and Wally on this one especially confirming that you have a good rear specification. It seems as if the springing is overcoming the damping by a serious amount. Looking at your photos the rear end does not look too low and I see that you have polyurethane bumpstops mounted on the upper bracket rather than the alloy trailing arm but that should not make any difference. i would expect about 40mm+ clearance on the bumpstop at least in the static position. Are the Konis new? and do they work? It has been known for even new dampers of Koni's quality not to work properly. Have you a photo ofv the rear suspension in the static position with the wheel on the ground?

Clive

Sorry for the very late reply. So, to give a few answers, the rear is not lowered too much, but still, it is. Today I managed to take a few pictures in a static position, just like you said, but I don't think they are too conclusive. I will try and measure the clearance on the bump stops:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

The konis are brand new, out of the box, and they seem to be working good.
From what I understand, you guys think the car is riding on it's bump stops, and only going up/down on it's tires right? That could explain why this effect was a bit atenuated, after I changed the wheels/tires from 195/65R15 to 215/50/17. Lower profile - lower room to bounce around.
So I'll try and get a measurement, and maybe cut the bump stops shorter.

And for the news: I managed to get a set of 17" Porsche cup3 Turbo twists!! I'm so happy, this was the set of wheels I wanted eaven before I had the bug!!! I got them on the car, with 215's in the rear, and 205's in the front. I was pleased to realise that the 215's fit in front very well, and I could go eaven wider.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~originalhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

She's got the stance and looks hot!
But how does she drive in extreme circumstances?

Well, the biggest problem is that we don't have a circuit here in Romania.... The second biggest problem is that everytime I do something to my car, it gets less and less practicable on the normal roads, with all the holes, and bumps.... But when you get a few km's of good twisty mountain roads, it's a pleasure. It's like glued to the asphalt, the steering is great also, but it desperately needs more power. And on a straight line, I took it to 160+ km/h with everything stable and good, on the highway, but I think that's all the poor old 1,6 engine can do, eaven with dual webers.

Hope I can throw a type4 engine in this year, but I'm also getting married this year, and that comes first. And I hope I'll solve that bouncing problem in the rear, because it's annoying.