JBugs - Father & Son - 1972 Baja Bug - Factory VW 3" Lift Spindles

Рет қаралды 5,863

5 ай бұрын

VW Beetles, even in stock form are unbelievably capable of "off-roading". The flat bottom design, light weight front end, and rear wheel drive paired with a rear engine allow a stock Beetle to drive in places that would amaze you. For decades, "stock" VW Beetles have been raced off-road as Class 11 race cars. Nowadays there are Baja Bugs with everything from stock VW engines to turbo charged V8s, transmissions that cost more than a new car and aftermarket suspension that absorbs all that the desert can throw at it. Just the same, a stock VW Beetle has been popular the world round because of it's ability to endure tough terrain.
Obviously there is room for improvement, and even VW knew that as they were tweaking and changing VW Beetles from year to year. When VW designed the "Thing" (Trekker/Safari/Pescaccia) or 181 as VW designated it, they started with a Karmann Ghia chassis (which is just a Beetle chassis with wider floor pans) and a beefed up, ball joint front end. Most importantly, as the 181 was intended to be even more off capable, VW designed new front spindles. The new spindles featured a stronger ball joint layout, with both ball joints pointing down, as opposed to facing each other like they did with the Beetle and Ghia. Along with the stronger ball joint layout, the Thing spindles move the axles 3" higher than the Beetle axles and 1" further out per side. The Thing was designed, from the factory, with suspension that sat taller and wider than the Beetle!
The best part is, since VW wanted to make the Thing with as few "Thing" specific parts as possible, the Thing specific spindles used Beetle derived control/trailing arms, mount to a "beefed up" Beetle front beam, and have Beetle brakes. So, VW Beetle owners can bolt on the Thing trailing arms and spindles directly on to their Beetle for a higher and wider front suspension. This is perfect for a Baja Bug! Well, at least a Baja Bug that isn't intended to be a full blown race car anyway. Either way, it will be a great upgrade for our 1972 VW Baja Bug Build!
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Пікірлер: 25

@pescelino6627 5 ай бұрын

Built mine with my dad and pals in 1992. This series really makes me miss my dad. Good times, lovin it!

@hded06 5 ай бұрын

Excellent video! Ty!! 😀

@TrixedOut 5 ай бұрын

Great job guys!!

@stuck1000 5 ай бұрын

Good stuff. Love the father-son banter. And thanks for the history lesson in the caption. Be well, guys.

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@vintage76vipergreenBeetle 5 ай бұрын

Nice information on the type 181 spindles.

@ajonnes1982 5 ай бұрын

Very good! ✌️🇧🇷

@eduardorodriguez3262 5 ай бұрын

Time to accomplish lunch.... This channel has 2 good people 👍🇩🇪

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

Haha, thanks Eddie! Enjoy your lunch sir! I went by your work yesterday but I was only outside filling up the RV.

@eduardorodriguez3262 5 ай бұрын

@@Sam_Mebane off work this week .

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

Enjoy the time off! @@eduardorodriguez3262

@mikehammer4546 5 ай бұрын

Great improvement👍👍 The Thing spindles and arms are almost impossible to find and a reasonable price.

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

They are certainly less common that Beetle arms that's for sure. I've come across a few sets through the years and I always keep an eye on thesamba.com for another set.

@hotroddevils5031 5 ай бұрын

This is an awesome series! I lost my father 3 years ago and this is how he raised me, working on VW's! Makes me happy to see you teaching your skills and knowledge to your son. My father and I first built a rail buggy together and then many others car as the years went by. I'm currently building a new buggy and a baja as a tribute to my father. For Fathers Day this year I plan on doing a tribute video for him. My buggy & baja series starts here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jK52l7B107i5laM.html

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words, we are definitely enjoying it. I'm sorry for your loss, looking at your builds, I would say your dad taught you well!

@hotroddevils5031 5 ай бұрын

You're welcome & Thanks! I appreciate it. Looking forward to what's to come.@@Sam_Mebane

@patar4568 5 ай бұрын

Awesome build! damn it I need thing spindles for my Baja … where can I get a set ??

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

Keep an eye in the classifieds ads on thesamba.com.

@patar4568 5 ай бұрын

@@Sam_Mebane will do.

@projectinlinesix 5 ай бұрын

Excellent!! I'm fairly new to the Type 1 VW addiction, what's the smart way to raise the rear end to match?

@Sam_Mebane 5 ай бұрын

There are a couple of ways of going about it but the easiest is to notch the spring plates (so the arms can angle down further), reset the torsion bars so the new ride height is taller, and to actually be able to drive at the taller ride height, you'll need to swap out to Type 2 (or 930 with new axles too) conversion stub axles, output flanges and CV joints that can operate at the increased angle.

@KimmyDilworth 2 ай бұрын

Did you do a video when you lift the back ?

@Sam_Mebane 2 ай бұрын

We just got done filming it. It’s a “slap it together” job to get the car ready to go to a show on the 20th. We installed 3x3 trailing arms, 28mm torsion bars, 930 CVs and axles. The video will be out in a couple weeks.