King pin or ball joint front end??

I am looking at using a freshly shortened swing axle/king pin front end pan off a 60 vw. From all I read it appears most of you are using ball joint. My question is will a king pin front end work with the speedster kit? any major modifications? Many thanks, Warren

Mines speedster is king pin with lowered spindles,,,,,all standard, nothin special.

I'm glad this question came up. Can someone please explain the difference between king pin and ball joint spindles? Thank you in advance. D-man

King-pin front ends are harder to align. King pin front ends consist of two horizontal link pins slid through a vertical king pin. The camber alignment is done using shims to offset the upper control arm on the upper link pin with the lower control arm link pin. They require disassembly and shimming. Good luck finding an alignment shop willing to do that.

Ball-joint front ends are made up of upper and lower ball joints which are "sealed ball and socket" attachment points for the upper and lower control arms. Ball joint front ends are much easier to rebuild and align.

The good side of King/link-pin front ends is their strength. Great for off road use. Most original link pin beams are intact while ball joint shock towers rust off.

A king-pin pan will work fine. A good reason for using that pan is the standard 5 bolt pattern that matches the 356 look.

I have a 1962 beetle with king-pin front end and a 68 rear end (from a ball joint car). I used the 68 tranny (with 5 bolt custom drums)for the larger brakes, 12 volt starter, and wider track.

My VS Speedster uses a 68 pan with ball-joint front end and 68 tranny with 4 bolt discs in front and 4 bolt drums in rear.

What year did Volkswagen switch from the king pin to ball joint front ends? Thank you!! D-man

Darryl, I believe it was 1965.


Gclarke "The vacaville Guy"