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Hello, I swapped out the 412 struts for the original struts with the cut springs.

Now I have the 2 unmodified struts Which are odd tthe springs are different lengths, ~2". one is the same as my 411 strut and the other will be the '74 412 that they came off.

There is about 45% of the springs already removed. I moved the lower spring platform UP 35mm and moved the upper spring platform down to the centre of the spacer the fits on the shoulder of the damper shaft. It now rides great and looks just right for a daily driver And in less than an hour it can be 1" lower again by relocating the upper platform.

dude your car looks rock hard looks a good stance as well mate

Cheers, I enjoy working on this 'old' car

I've looked at your '12 at Bugfreeze this year and last, I only took 2 pics What do you call those tidy Porsche wheels you have?

Matt

hi mate there cayenne rims 7.5 wide 17s

MattKab, nice job! Thanks for sharing pictures!!

MattKab, I like the stance!! How does it handle? You said it rides nice but how does it take the twisties? You've got a great start on a cool car, I'm jealous.

Keep us posted on the progress.

Tuna

It looks great. Just one note of warning...or saying to be careful and attentive really. In the past I did quite a bit of experimentation with cutting of springs a moving things around. It is very, very hard on the ball joints. It changes the frequency of the oscillation of the suspension strut on the road. It is also very hard on the early style (smmettrical) strut bushing. It can (I have been there)...jerk the ball bearing cartrdige from the strut bushing. Ugly thing when that happens. Enjoy it and be careful. Ray

Thanks Luckily I have two sets of front-end. I'm looking at the springs that the kids use to lower their 1.2 hatchback rockets. Many have the same diameter. I plan to make a pair of awesome struts using the other pair. As I said, the 412 I pulled some parts off must have had a 411 strut fitted as a replacement. Luckily all I need is the strut cylinders and screwcaps, which appear to be the same. These will be no compromise struts, I have plans of time with this car, not plans for big money spending.

Tuna, I have only been towed for a couple of miles on a rope, slammed to the bump stops.. pimping along in complete silence. I have some welding repairs in the ARB and RH bumper mount area still to finish before it hits the road again after a 7 year break. With me driving, can't wait. Did you see the video?

I am especially looking forward to tuning this thing out on the road. I might even get the stock ignition/vac curves by hooking up to the Beetle, out on the road.. more on that later.

It now feels like a car should when bounced. before, I could lift the weight of the front clear of the bumpstops, now it feels great and I've bounced a lot of cars in the last few years.

I have temporarily lost my 411 Haynes manual and I wanted to see if the amount and the weight of the oil for the front shocks was specified. Can anyone help? Their was ~40cc difference between the two struts that are original to the car, each being over 200cc.

How do you like this?





This car will get all the car audio I still have from my youth, It will be rockin'
.

MattKab wrote: Tuna, I have only been towed for a couple of miles on a rope, slammed to the bump stops..

I saw the video but with my monitor I saw two headlights and heard an engine rev. Anyways, you're making some great progress and I'm anxious to hear how it works out for you.

Tuna

I saw the video but with my monitor I saw two headlights and heard an engine rev

Well, that means your monitor is just fine!

I'll film a sequel when the evenings brighten up. It will be just as exciting

Our clocks move forward 1 hour tonight, my 411 will really see the benefit.

Looks mean Matt!

I refilled my original 412 shock with (IIRC) 400 cc. I kinda measured up the old fluid and added a little bit to come to the 400cc's. I used a kind of hydraulic oil. Weird viscosities those have. Didn't understand it, but worked very well. I dared this cause I used to do the same with a 1303 shock with very good results.

The (1303?) Kamai front spoiler to the 411 bumper (same as 412) is a VERY cool idea! Now I can maybe use my original Kamai spoiler to good use
I think I'll try it out tomorrow (summertime starts as well over here...)

Walter

got to admit the spoiler looks well cool


keep us up dated dude

If you are using the original dampers....be very circumspect on the exact volume. If it is too high...it will destroy the seals. If it is too low...it will destroy the seals. One of the best oils I have found to use are some of the very light synthetic hydraulic oils such as that uses in Audi 5000 hydraulic suspension system. I think the brand Pentosyn is common.

Once the stock damper is worn out though (worn rings and grooves in the tube)....it is shot.
Without changing two orifices internally....it can never be upgraded. It is rather deficient in rebound control but with the right spring combo can be better than stock and last a long time.

Heed my warning about strut bushings and ball joints. Its not so much that its a dangerous condition....it is that, but mainly that parts are also getting quite rare. Ray

Ray, I always read your comments as I would do bold text. All 4 of my balljoints have your 'zerts' Out of the 4 strut top bearings I have, 2 are semi-siezed, 1 has ~15 the other has about 20 degrees of freedom I can see some (~8mm arc length) seperation in the ID of the bonding of one of the good pair, now cleaned, regreased and bearing the corner weight.. Not good. 'Does look heavy. Alternative adaptable strut bearings must be out there. Either a new foriegn unit or a new bearing 'set' in the old plate.

I think for the short term I will add some kind of collapse-arrest, on the top of the upper spring platform, that will retain some form of steering control. I can see how a failure would occur and what the result will be. I imagine that being quite a grim experience.

Tonight, I treated all the underside above the rear bumper, chased the bumper bolt holes, refitted the bumper and the rear valance, which is a nice panel I even touched up the paint chips with gloss black, wow what a difference! I'll get a pic for you all 2moro. The exhaust is the old thunderbird with a very effective toyota 316 silencer and custom tailpipe. The silencer was mounted (by Arry, my pal) as close to the short collector as was possible. This means the WB had to go in at the start of the tailpipe, about 10" from the atmosphere. Notice the stainless pipe notch trim. It looks well respectable from the back now.

One other thing, when I pulled the parts from that 412, I also grabbed the rear springs and rear shocks. My 411 rear spring were cut too, so I fitted the uncut 412 springs and at the same time, I fitted the 412 oil filled Boge parts. The shocks I pulled off were gas charged and the ride hieght remained the same. Did my 411 Variant get stiffer rear springs than the 412 saloon? I think my stance will improve if I refit the gas charged rear shocks.

The bumpers are both straight but the rear is dull and pitted, the front is more like flaking or peeling. The car as you have seen is black, with blacked out lamps and dark tinted rear side windows. This is now the cars character and shall remain. When Arry had this on the road, he had a (boiled clean) rat's skull hanging from the rear-view mirror!

I want this car to get me about which is a neccessity of modern day living and as my passion is for a huge T4 powered Bug, which is my main focus, this is the right 'other' car. Sadly all the German parts for my dream Beetle motor are now obselete. They all told me That Dutch dude, Wally, got the last set So I will paint my 411 bumpers gloss black and make a new insert out of 1" flat alu anodized 1.6mm extrudate. With M8 A2 button head screws and washers that both hold the trim on and bolt the bumper to it's irons, simple but will look effective I hope. 'Parts now in stock.

I really ought to show you a pic of the donkey at my local bone yard. it's got 10cm pistons and is really noisey and dirty:





101.6mm Venolia pistons and some pro turning, hmmm.

This is a rather freaky Poclain contraption with a thucked main lifting ram. The jugs are all mine if I can find a crane or digger that can follow its contribution This is the only engine there that still runs. How cool is that?

Anyway, I plan to paint the Kamei spoiler in the same gloss black. I'll mask out the Kamei motif. This is indeed their T1 spoiler, for any Beetle with a Europa bumper.

Matt

Yeah, sorry Matt

As mentioned, I tried mine on the 12:


Two things I noticed: It looks better on your 411, maybe because your bumper is in a higher position?
Secondly: I think its too low for a daily driver. Its only 8cm above the ground...(thats about 3 inches)

Maybe when I do a high-speed test in the 412 one day