Resto time?

I am starting to have serious thoughts about taking the bug off the road completely and doing its full restoration. I started thinking like this as a result of playing around with the rear disc brake kit.

In order to try out the kit, I needed to take the rear drum and backing plate off. In order to that I needed to disconnect the brake line etc. So now to get the bug back on the road, I need to bleed the brakes, use yet another split pin in the hub castle nut, and I am just sick and tired of doing modifications, and having to get the bug back on the road so I can drive it.

Modifying my bug the way I am doing it is so inefficient. I am better off just taking it off the road and doing it all at the same time. Its so long overdue anyway!

Disc re-drilling

Well, my attempts at re-drilling my old disks for a Porsche stud pattern was only partially successful. I used a ready made jig to position the holes which went well, however my attempts at tapping the holes to take conversion studs was less successful. I didn't get them straight enough, so when I screwed the studs in they where not quite true, and I couldn't get the spacers on!

So now I need to drill out the holes for some push through studs but this means milling the backs of the disks where the holes are, so more hold-ups!

However I did manage to pick up a rear disk brake kit last night which looks good. It's this CB Performance kit, and it uses Porsche 914 discs and Mk4 Golf callipers. I am looking forward to bolting that on. The kit was missing the handbrake cables, so I will need to sort that. I would also need to add a residual pressure valve in the rear brake line.

Porsche discs and studs

The struts are now on, but I still don't know if they are any good. However I do know that they easily support the weight of the car, and look like they will provide ample adjustment of ride height.

At the same time of fitting the struts I am also swapping my disks and drums with some drilled with a Porsche stud pattern, to enable me to fit my wheels. I got these cheap from a friend. However, it turns out the disks are odd, and one of them won't fit my caliper, it has a slightly different offset. I never knew that was possible. It turns out the previous owner of the disks had some odd calipers on his bug, which would explain it! So I am just going to drill my old 4 stud discs, at least I know they will fit then.

Struts MK2

Back in April I built a set of adjustable struts, and I had a few issues with them. Well now I have built another set! This time I have mounted the threaded sleeve much nearer the top of the strut, which will enable me to use a much shorter spring. This will enable me to get springs more easily (I had a problem getting 12" springs), reduce the unsprung weight of the struts, and reduce the chance of spring wobbling about and hitting the shock retention cap.

Here is a picture of the new strut in parts (on the left). Compare with the old strut on the right.



I was limited to how close I could get the threaded sleeve to the shock retention cap because the shock has a flaired section at the top. The flaired section of the strut has to go over this, but then thats too wide for the sleeve!

Also, in order for the shock retention cap to fit in the spring I had to reduce its diameter a little. I did this by fitting the cap in my piller drill, then spinning it while taking material off it with a softpad in the grinder. Its pretty thick so you can take off quite a lot. It flairs out quite a bit at the bottom, so this is where you need to take most off. I also rounded it off, so if the spring does touch it, there is nothing to catch the spring on.

In order to use the top spring cap, I had to use early strut top bearings. The late ones require a deeply dished cap, which would just not work with the caps you get with the sleeves. The springs are 10.5" by 130lbs. This should be the right length, and hopefully the right stiffness, though I can easily change them if need be. The sleeves and springs where sourced from Rally Design, and the yellow bump-stops are from Hoopers here in Bristol.