front beam adjusters opinion

I have a 1969 ball joint front end with “Puma Style” adjusters.  Your Link-Pin front end gets similar (but different) adjusters - See the next link:

https://www.cbperformance.com/...sults.asp?search=FBA

While the Puma style look easy to adjust, I would suggest getting something like the 6253 style that, I believe, is easier to adjust than the Puma.  

Adjusting mine requires getting the pressure off of the torsion bars before attempting to adjust the height.  This can be tricky, at least, and a PITA at worst.  ANY height change with the Pumas usually takes at least two tries before getting it right.

With the other height adjusters you can spin a bolt to adjust height up or down while the torsion bars are under tension - That seems much easier to me, to get to the same result.

As for the adjuster angles, I did what the CMC build manual told me and ran both of them them down 45°, welded in the new adjusters and adjusted them from there after I finally got full weight on the suspension (body, seats, engine, all that happy stuff).  Once everything is welded back together it should be easy to eventually crank in the height you want with the car sitting on a flat surface or drive-on lift.  I can’t remember if mine are set at the same final angle or different, but you can easily play with that once the adjusters are in there.

I found the cheapest COFAP oil-filled shocks I could find, I have stock-height spindles, 5X130 front disks, but mine is a widebody so I have 6” X 16” rims with 205/16 tires running 20-22 psi.  It has a nice ride but is still a bit stiff, much like my old Nissan Rogue when I put it into “Sport” mode and that stiffened the suspension a little.  If you want a super-soft ride, play with tire pressure in the 16 - 20 psi range.  The car is quite light so you won’t need really stiff tire pressure unless you go wild on back roads  😉

Thanks Gordon for the feedback. I do have a set like 6253. I'm with you 100% in what you're saying. I think I'll just go with it and see what happens. 

Jeff

You may want to consider starting with dropped spindles                                                           https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/4062.htm                                                         https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/4062.htm

and welding the adjusters in the stock position- it will be easier to set caster at a reasonable figure (more than 3° for high speed stability- Porsche built all 356's with 5°), there will be more leeway as to front suspension height (without dropped spindles if you go down much more than 2 inches you may find you need shorter shocks) and the suspension will work as designed (you won't be getting nearly as much bump steer from the extreme tie rod angles).

I considered them, but the front is already wide enough. Without narrowing a beam, the adjusters are probably a better choice for me.

Jeff- re-reading your initial post, you mentioned needing the front end soft for the wife's back- if you lower the ride height by 2 or more inches, do you realize parts will be that much closer to the bump stops?  Maybe someone else with experience here can chime in, because I'm inclined to think that without stiffer shocks it's going to hit the bump stops fairly frequently.  I ran a Cal Look bug for a number of years in the mid-late '70's into the early '80's, the front was lowered via a select-a-drop (3? 3 ½? 4?"- this was before adjusters and dropped spindles were available) and even with short Konis (set on the softest setting, which was stiffer than any stock shock) the suspension bottomed out A LOT!  A front suspension with dropped spindles and lowered a just wee bit more rides waaay nicer.  With what you're trying to accomplish (the nicest riding Speedster possible) it might be worth the trouble of spindles and narrowing the beam a little.  And I'd still put the adjusters in it.

THAT said, I'll bow out now, and you do you.  Al

Appreciate the input! 

So. For lower ride height: drop spindles. They keep the suspension geometry closer to stock while putting the nose down 2 inches.

For adjustability: adjusters—they let you fine tune the ride height whether dropped or not. (i.e. you should be able to drop it 2 with spindles and crank it back up 1 or .5 with the adjusters. Or drop it more if that's to your liking and speed bumps do not appear within a 40 mile radius of your garage).

For a softer ride: remove some of the small leaves in the torsion beam. This is especially important if there is less weight on the front wheels than there was when it was a Beetle, which is the case in many (though not all) Speedsters.

Example: My TD is very rear-weight biased, so I removed all of the small leaves to make the front suspension more compliant and responsive. Night and day difference in terms of handling and ride. The Spyder came with the small leaves removed from just one tube. It's the correct way to make the car ride and handle better—if it's lighter up front than a Bug sedan.

For those unaware: there are 10 leaves in each tube; 4 large and six small. The arrangement looks (from the edge) like

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Both the center girdle and the trailing arms are machined to lock them in, such that the removal of the small leaves still leaves the big leaves locked by the grub screws. It appears to have been engineered to facilitate spring rate adjustability. You can take out 3, 6, 9 or all 12. Doing so will lower the car a bit, so it's best to also have the adjusters to dial it back up (or drop it more if that's your bag). It's a greasy, fiddly job, but not very difficult.

That's for balljoint. Linkpin do not have the smaller springs.

Ah...dang. Thanks for the correction.

No prob.