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hey,

i just took my blisteins out of the box. the vendor had said:
"These shocks must be used with original VW upper mount assembly."
i don't think i fully grasped just what that implied.

there is NOTHING on the top of the shock. just the threaded end
of the bar. what the hell is it that i need to actually mount this?

thanks,
greg

What front end do you have? B/J or link pin?

sorry. ball joint. CB drop spindles. stock beam.

and just to be clear, the bottom attachment point is fine.
its the part that attaches to the shock tower that's bare...

There is usually a hardware pack with new shocks. There should be 4 rubber grometts, a pair of metal caps (shaped washer) and a pair of nuts. If they arn't there you can, as a last resort, reuse the old pieces. If you don't have them maybe the pick-a-part yard. or possibly you can order the pac from Bilstein. Just re-read your post they stated you must use original VW upper mount assembly. So I guess used stuff or maybe buy some cheap front shocks that have the pieces you need and e-bay the shocks without the needed pieces.

so i have some old shocks: rubber pads, big washers, pair of lock nuts.

the problem is there is NOTHING to really mount these TO.
there's a straight shaft with some threads on it. that's it.
so i could thread the washers and pads on, mount it, an put the lock
nuts in place. the problem would be that when i went over a bump
it could just slide the rubber pads down the shaft, and poke the top of
the shaft out of the mounting point. there's nothing to stop it.

sigh.

maybe i'll take a pict and post it.

I had the same question when I went to put mine on there is a kit that you have to buy from billstien that will screw on to the top of your shock and all will be better.

rsrnate wrote: there is a kit that you have to buy from billstien

OUTSTANDING!!!!!

and idea what the kit was called, where i might get one, maybe even a
part number?

It is a top shock mounting kit made by Billstein and I got mine from Kymco like 3 or 4 years ago so I dont remember the part # sorry

rsrnate wrote:I got mine from Kymco like 3 or 4 years ago

THANKS A MILLION!!!

i looked in the bilstein catalogs - couldn't find anything.
called a couple local places - no idea.
people who sold me the shocks - no help.
just read your post, and called kymco.
I GOT HIS LAST PAIR.
he said he wasn't sure that he could even get them anymore.

thanks so much. this bulletin board is a fantastic resource.

Glad to be of help I wish I had this resource when i put my car together It would have made things alot easier. All you have to do now is come out and race with me

Did you need this mounting kit?:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp ... 2D441%2DCP

I bought some stock shocks from Mexico and had to buy the above shock mounting kit because the stock shocks at the local shop had some sort of integral upper piece, instead of the original screw-on piece. Just wondering if it was the same for the Bilsteins?

i don't know what will end up being in the bilstein kit.

i'll post back once it arrives.

Thanks for saving me from writing this post... not now... in a year.

gcorrado,

I just was looking at your site and also reading your posts on the STF. I have a 70 Ghia vert that I am in the process of replacing all suspension parts. I don't road race, but might like to try to auto-x sometimes. Jake Raby is building me a large TIV with trans. I have ordered a mid trans mount from Mohr and a TGFab (Kafer Cup brace).

I am in the process of ordering shocks and noticed on your web site that you have KYB GR-2's, but on STF you said that you have Bilsteins? I was thinking that I might go with the Bilsteins if you recommend them. I have read the 'aircooled.net' article on making your Beetle/Ghia handle better and would like to find out your experience with either shock. BTW, where did you get German replacement ball joints (upper/lower)?

Thanks,

Kelly (Cohibra45 on STF)

thanks for bringing this back up to the queue, i forgot two write again with a follow up...

so first of all, for future reference, the blisten upper mounting kit IS THE SAME as the CIP kit. so future peeps going blisten up front can get that kit and be done with it.

-----

Cohibra45:

sorry, my website is pretty out of date. i do now i have blistens, though i ran kybs for quite a while. it sounds like you're building a pretty serious (i.e. wonderful) car. jake raby's work and products are fantastic. i very nearly bought a TIV from him, and decided not to because i want to build my next engine myself for the pleasure of it (which incidently is a T1). setting up rear end with a mid mount and a kafer style brace is really important with the amount of torque you have, and is a great way to go.

as far as shocks are concerned, KYBs are a decent shock, and a good deal from a price/performance standpoint. Bilsteins or Konis are a much more serious (read, expensive) way to go. KYB GR-2s seemed fine to me when i had stock torsion bars, but when i went to higher spring rate SAW torsion bars i didn't feel like they handled it very well. KYB Gas-A-Justs might have solved my problem but instead i went to Bilsteins. i haven't had my Bilsteins to the track yet - i've been trapped in germany all summer for work, while my bug gathers dust in california - and while i'm not a good enough driver for shocks to improve my times in a measurable way, i expect them to effect the feel of the car when i push it. i am perfectly happy with my Bilsteins on the street, and have no reason not to recommend them. (though as you saw above, they required touch more to install that the KYBs, which are good to go out of the box.) Koni's are also an excellent shock, though i've never had a set on my car. i got my shocks from www.bugsandbuggies.com who is the same people as www.eshocks.com - which has the advantage that they both know shocks and aircooled VWs.

i got the german ball joints from a local bug shop (which there are a number of in the bay area california) so i can't recommend a distrubutor. they were pressed into original german arms, which hopfully had never been bent. : )

if you haven't already considered it, i really recommend going to urethane componets in the rear suspension: urethane spring plate grommets and urethane trailing arm grommets. for the trailing arms the bugpack urethanes that everyone sells are fine. for the spring plates, STAY AWAY from the bugpack stuff - half of them don't fit for a damn - and cannot be modified to fit. instead buy energy suspension which are available through http://www.suspension.com/volks.htm you still have to cut them down a bit to get the perfect fit, but once you do, they're great. use plenty of the silicon grease everyone sells that's specifically for urethane suspension components - i bought extra and really glopped it on - and have had ZERO squeak lots of service.

best of luck,
greg