Like Jason said, I also talked with Bruce. He is redesigning the upper and lower a-arms to allow for more width. He mentioned that there is a possibility of fitting an airbag system for the suspension. I personally like the coil overs.
Bruce's partner that was also very instrumental in the design is an engineer (I believe he said aircraft) and they have thousands of hours of design and a couple years of driving experience with their front end. Bruce also mentioned that his partner worked for an Indy team, so I have great expectations for this design.
There is nothing wrong with the ball joints. Remember, that is what the B/J and L/P spindles have been using forever. If the angles of the seat cups are the same as are on the torsion arms shouldn't be a problem.
Bruce's main idea was to use as many VW parts as possible to keep replacement costs to a minimum. The whole unit bolts up to the frame head. It is a true replacement. Just take off the B/J front end and bolt on this unit.
The spindles are VW also. The steering rack is VW. I asked about a steering dampner and he said so far, it has proven not to be needed. The only thing that will have to be sourced is a steering column from a Super Beetle. It also has to be cut and repositioned.
Bruce said that the use of dropped spindles is not needed as the front end is already 4" lower than the standard
!!! He really has my curiosity up for the possibilities.
I have invited Bruce to join us on this forum and I hope he does. Please give him a call and let him know that I was talking him up here
!! Hopefully he will come on here and answer all the questions you would have. I also hope if I made any misstatement, he will correct me...
Here is his website:
http://www.eyeball-engineering.net/
Take care and God Bless,
Kelly (Cohibra45)