To lower or not to lower, that is the question...

[carl4x4]

Thanks for the all your feedback guys, I've slept on it and my current thinking is that if I'm going to do this I might as well do it properly! I've spoken to Kingfisher Kustoms here in the UK (an old established VW shop) and they are able to do the IRS conversion on my existing chassis and source the parts for me for a decent sum so it seems daft not to go with that.
Now the only question is, do I go for the Red9design front end if I'm going to have a rear end to complement it !

[Marc]

Sounds like a good plan. You'll have a choice between the double springplate setup used on early IRS (and all Type III) and the single springplate setup that later Beetles (and the Trekker, I'm told) have.
Your present rear t'bars are 21mm. Beetle/`Ghia IRS are 22mm, Squareback are 23.5mm. Not certain about Fastback & Trekker.

I think you'll be happy with the torsion bar front end. Personally I'd cut & turn it (or install adjusters) for a ~1½" drop, and get the new rear suspension set to match using Squareback t'bars, but it's also not dumb to leave it stock and bolt on low-profile tires for track days - those have the added advantage of lowering the effective gear ratio.
The stock steering box and layout is a compromise, but it works surprisingly well - it's difficult to convert a torsionbar front end to rack & pinion without major bumpsteer headaches, IMO not worth it.
Back in my circletrack days I ran the stock steering and "primitive" suspension, it proved more than adequate against cars with far more sophisticated setups.

[carl4x4]

Sounds like a good plan. You'll have a choice between the double springplate setup used on early IRS (and all Type III) and the single springplate setup that later Beetles (and the Trekker, I'm told) have.
Your present rear t'bars are 21mm. Beetle/`Ghia IRS are 22mm, Squareback are 23.5mm. Not certain about Fastback & Trekker.

I think you'll be happy with the torsion bar front end. Personally I'd cut & turn it (or install adjusters) for a ~1½" drop, and get the new rear suspension set to match using Squareback t'bars, but it's also not dumb to leave it stock and bolt on low-profile tires for track days - those have the added advantage of lowering the effective gear ratio.
The stock steering box and layout is a compromise, but it works surprisingly well - it's difficult to convert a torsionbar front end to rack & pinion without major bumpsteer headaches, IMO not worth it.
Back in my circletrack days I ran the stock steering and "primitive" suspension, it proved more than adequate against cars with far more sophisticated setups.

The original torsion bar setup has the advantage of having lots of different ARB's available for it so I can tune and change it to my preferences. The fact that the Red9design doesn't have an ARB at all does worry me a bit as it'll be harder to change the settings on the front of the car, Thanks for all the feedback, I had originally been concentrating on the front suspension in isolation and forgot to look at the front & rear as a whole.

In the UK most air cooled owners lower their cars for the look, any motorsport involving aircooled VW's is almost all drag racing. It's extremely rare to see one at a classic rally or at a track. I know of only one Karmann ghia in the UK for example that get's Solo'd or Autocrossed (I used to campaign MX5's & Lotus's in Solos in the UK). So it's nice to talk to you guys about handling rather than how low you can go

Carl.

[Ian Godfrey]

With a torsion bar front end there are a few things to play with. Sway away do a 15% stiffer leaf set, as well as various shocks and sway bars. I used CB drop spindles and torsion adjuster on both beams to fine tune. I had made steel wheels 15/6/42 offset which allows me to run 195/55 tyres with the bottom of the front beam mounts 100 mm of the ground. (not sure how much lowered this would be in inches). No rubbing, but a bit less turning circle.

[DORIGTT]

I have been thinking of sending my front wheels to have the width modified.

What width and tire combination are you considering that'll work with your Ghia?

[somedayghia]

Not sure about the racing part but I have a 67 ghia with a 2 inch narrowed beam that has the adjusters in it, had to go back to the stock spindles due to not being able to raise the front end enough to keep from scrubbing with the CB dropped spindles, I'm running 185-65-15 on porsche deep 6's with a 6mm spacer, with no sway bar at the moment and kyb-gr2 shocks, in the rear also kyb's and i'm running a 1.7 type 4 so I can't remember exactly the diameter but if 24mm torsion bars were stock then I have 26mm.....wanted to compensate for the extra weight, I have adjustable spring plates and 185-65's here too, no Z-bar and no camber compensator....took my dad for a ride on some twisty's with some mild bumps and he stated handled almost as nicely as his cayman S.....on the front i'm minus a sway bar at the moment, but I believe with a stock diameter and narrowed sway bar...she'll be on the money.....just another formula to consider !!!!! Only downfall as previously stated is a slightly larger turning radius. Good luck with your decision !!