[evilC]

Thanks to all for the good wishes.

Originally Posted by Eatoniashoprat

Clive have a nice time away

I just checked QA1's site and they have a 140lbs 9" spring for the rear and that would go just right with the 944 TB's (which I already have).

I looked at 9" coil over spring length because that's what Sandeep used (going by his pics). But I'll have to do some measuring to see what spring length to use, might be different than Sandeep as he is using 400lb springs so a 10" spring might be in order for 140-150lbs.

have a good weekend

Mike

Mike, the length of spring will be dictated by the ride height (and any variation you might want to dial in later) and the maximum compression allowed that'll be defined by the bumpstops. With that criteria maximise the spring length for two reasons:
1) It'll give you maximum range of spring selection and strain the spring less.
2) It will load the damper lower down the tube where its stiffer and lateral bending won't be an issue.

Originally Posted by Eatoniashoprat

So I might win the dumbest thing of year award on this site, I don't want to admit this but I did not have the front body mount bolts installed.

Single best modification to my beetle: connecting the body to the frame.

When I bought my car it was just bare steel that a guy had done a bunch of body work to, so I'd never taken a beetle apart before to see where everything goes. He also replaced front body mounts with some new steel but there were no holes or anything to bolt to.

I had to drill a 5/8" hole in the inner fender to gain access to the inside of the body mount to fit a nut inside there,drill a hole up from the bottom and hold the nut tight with a screw driver.

All I can say is WOW does it drive better now . The k-frame and body before were flexed apart by about an inch, and the bolts sucked them together.

Mike

I feel for you, we have all forgotten to fit/tighten fixings so don't be embarassed and if it reinforces the checking procedure then highlighting it is well worthwhile.
By far the most interesting aspect of this tale is the effect of the body to the overall chassis stiffness. There is a presumption that because the floor pan is a separate element labelled 'chassis' it is as stiff as it needs to be. That is not true as shown by your experience. Extending the philoshopy that the body stiffens the chassis, then providing additional strut stiffeners by way of roll cage and struts in the luggage and engine bay can be of demonstrable benefit for car control. I have a suspension strut brace but I will also be looking at additional bracing in the luggage compartment as well as a cup brace in the engine compartment and your experience has dispelled any lingering doubts about doing so.

Clive