Finally a VW Topic!

[Piotrsko]

I believe you should put the radials on the rear since they grip better, my super got squirrelly as all get out with bias studded tires in the back and radial on the front

[freebeard]

This evening I'm wondering what to do with my swing axle five speed when it hit me ("Like the wet smack at the end of a hot fist" Firesign Theater), I could find a Type III swing axle subframe and convert it to rocker arms the graft it to a Citroen IICV front end.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/265335092941...=10001&mkevt=1

1965 Mayan Magnum one-off prototype. This Mayan Magnum is a one-off custom coupe built in the mid-1960s by science-fiction writer and engineer, Dean Ing, who died in July 2020 and whose family still owns the vehicle. The car is powered by a Chevrolet Corvair 2.4L flat-six paired with a four-speed manual transaxle. Equipment includes Porsche- and Volkswagen-based brakes and suspension, front-hinged clamshell bodywork, gullwing doors, a double-bubble roofline, 15″ wide-five aluminum wheels, and latch-and-link lap belts.

I think this is a very interesting body, with the front fender pontoons and the tulip panel under the windshield very much like the Volkhart-Saggita. But on a smaller and lighter vehicle I'd go more spartan.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Is that a lawn chair luggage rack?

I'm not sure. It looks more like it was made out of steel rebar.

[Piotrsko]

Originally Posted by freebeard

This evening I'm wondering what to do with my swing axle five speed when it hit me ("Like the wet smack at the end of a hot fist" Firesign Theater), I could find a Type III swing axle subframe and convert it to rocker arms the graft it to a Citroen IICV front end.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/265335092941...=10001&mkevt=1


I think this is a very interesting body, with the front fender pontoons and the tulip panel under the windshield very much like the Volkhart-Saggita. But on a smaller and lighter vehicle I'd go more spartan.

Get a JC Whitney 63 jag fiberglass front end. You could have custon axles built that would adapt the swing to IRS, BUT you're talking $$$$ and I have never heard of such a project, but I don't scrounge the NET much

[freebeard]

The better way would be to swap the transaxle side plates and axles. Were I to do that then it would fit the Superbeetle.

Trading the VW torsion bars for rocker arms would be novel, I agree. The 2CV parts are probably unobtainium.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

The 2CV parts are probably unobtainium.

Not sure to which extent they would be unobtainium at all, but the cost might be a PITA. Plus the aftermarket support for the 2CV seems to not be so great as for the Beetle.

[freebeard]

I just like the idea of a hybrid that has the ride of the 2CV.

[some_other_dave]

One thing to note: The 2CV's ride was in large part due to the front and rear suspensions being interconnected. Both springs on the one side are hooked together in a tube which is in turn sprung to the chassis.

Using a VW rear and and 2CV front end would be difficult and almost certainly not produce the results you desire.

-soD

[freebeard]

Why not? I'm suggesting replacing only the rear trailing arm. The hard part would be removing the torsion bar and having a pivot point; and fabricating the rocker arm.

The other part, we learn for Julian Edgar, is the harmonic damper. It would have to go on the brake backing plate or the shock mount.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I guess you have seen something about the front suspension of the Reliant Robin. Even though it relied on a solid rear axle, not interconnected with the front swing arm, it might give you a clue regarding arrangements to the steering linkage, as it's RWD like the Beetle instead of FWD like the Citroën. But maybe this would be so much of a re-engineering that you would end up with a whole new chassis design to match with the Beetle body.