Lowering the Front End

[CoryN]

Whats the preferred way to lower the front. Mine is sitting too high.

Drop spindles? Adjusters? Both?

Here's what I'm thinking. I have chevy pattern wheels. I am hesitant to run adapters, so I was planning on having the hubs drilled and studs put in. But then I still have drum brakes.

So I was thinking instead of paying for that machine work, putting that money towards disks all the way around, and getting them in a chevy pattern.

AC industries also sells a kit with drop spindles. So I was thinking maybe I go that route. Drop spindles get me 2 1/2 inches. Do I want to run adjusters too?

If so, by the time I buy the adjusters and pay someone to weld them in, as I am not competent in my welding for something that structural, could I buy an aluminum beam with adjusters already in it? If I go that route, do I want the shock towers or not?

These are the things that keep me up at night...

[ckolek]

ac industries is no longer making the 5 lug chevy pattrn for the disc brakes, so cal imports had a few of the disc brakes left when i bought mine about two months ago, so you may want to check with them quickly..i would probably go with the drop spindles instead of the adjusters..

[Aquabuggy]

I'd go with an adjustable beam. Your buggy body is much lighter then the beetle body was, causing the front to be higher (trailing arms further down) which will cause the ball joints to be maxed out most of the time.
Dropped spindles will lower the front but the ball joints will still be maxed out causing a rough ride not to mention very hard on the ball joints.
With an adjustable beam you relieve the stress on the ball joints and you can set your ride height anywhere you like.

[CoryN]

How do I determine what year rear end I have? Its a swing axle, but I don't know the year. I think it makes a difference.

[Aquabuggy]

You have a link pin front end, thats all you need to know just get the adjusters for L/P beam.

David O. has em
http://www.aircooledparts.com/proddetai ... 2D2802%2D0

[CoryN]

ac industries is no longer making the 5 lug chevy pattrn for the disc brakes, so cal imports had a few of the disc brakes left when i bought mine about two months ago, so you may want to check with them quickly..i would probably go with the drop spindles instead of the adjusters..

Is the E'brake kit mechanical or like a line lock?

[Aquabuggy]

If you order them with an e-brake it will be mechanical otherwise order them without an e-brake and use a park lock. (park lock isn't really legal for on road use)

[jspbtown]

I personally like adjusters. With them you can drop the front end real low for shows and crank them up to drive home. With dropped spindles they are what they are. You just need to hope the 2" or so is just right.

I am not sure about the great state of Texas...but here in Massachusetts a line lock would never pass inspection. It must be a seperate...mechanical...method of locking the brakes. You may want to check your regulations before you decide.

Plus I hate those line locks...they always seem to jam up.

[Jack Duncan]

CoryN,
I just readjusted my front end. I have dropped spindles, and an adjustable beam. Before I adjusted it, the front was radically low. Too low! I raised it up almost all the way to see how much it would change. Too high! Now I will drop it half the distance and take a look. My point is I have plenty of adjustment now. I'm glad I went that route. Just be mindful of the amount of weight that will be added to finish your project.

[CoryN]

I agree with you Jack - I'm thinking of going with both. I'm at least 5 inches off my fenders up front and I've got pretty big tires. If I ever go to a lesser tire I'll be even further off.

Line locks don't pass here in texas either I don't think, that is why I was hoping they were mechanicals.

[Bill K]

I"m running an adjustable beam dropped the max 2.5" along with no shocks and 15 psi air in the front tires, and I'm very pleased with the look and the ride.

[Bryan Porter]

I have both droped spindles and adjusters i love all the ajustment.

[Don]

So, dumb question. When you buy an adjustable beam with the adjusters already welded in, does it go up and down from the stock height or just down and how much?

[Bryan Porter]

you order it the way you want it
and it goes up or down as much
as you move the adjusters.

[Jack Duncan]

The lower you go, the more the adjuster reduces your road clearance because it is on the very bottom. Mine was so low that it hit on the lip at the garage entrance. That's low! It is perfect for me at half the adjustment height.

[CoryN]

ac industries is no longer making the 5 lug chevy pattrn for the disc brakes, so cal imports had a few of the disc brakes left when i bought mine about two months ago, so you may want to check with them quickly..i would probably go with the drop spindles instead of the adjusters..

Do the Discs come with the studs already in?

[Bryan Porter]

Yes some do and some are drilled for screw in studs

[KIM-P]

I"m running an adjustable beam dropped the max 2.5" along with no shocks and 15 psi air in the front tires, and I'm very pleased with the look and the ride.

You say you are using no shocks. Do you have new springs or are you using the old stock springs? I have old springs and no shocks and hitting the brakes in a turn raises the pucker factor higher then I like.

[Texasbuggys]

the studs are an added cost, not much and worth the cost to have them add them, just in case there is a machine glitch, they can fix it before you get them. Once you get a price check with me, I maybe able to beat it and help you out.