Koni 80 2149 Mods

Others have purchased Koni 80-1787's and had zero fitment issues. How did you determine the 80-2149 were the correct shocks?

P.S. - I have no personal experience with fitting Koni shocks on my Speedster, just what I've read here.

80-1787 are for the front. 80-2149 for the rear on IRS cars. I actually read on a post here (SOC) that 80-2149 were correct. Also confirmed with JBugs and Koni. But I knew nothing with these cars is straight forward.

@JoelP posted:

80-1787 are for the front. 80-2149 for the rear on IRS cars. I actually read on a post here (SOC) that 80-2149 were correct. Also confirmed with JBugs and Koni. But I knew nothing with these cars is straight forward.

Sounds like you researched it enough Joel. I never heard anyone mention having to do what you're doing but that doesn't mean anything either. Could be because of the IRS rear since so many of these are swing axle.

If I had to guess, some previous owner installed some other shocks at one time that required spacers on either side of the shock mount, and neglected to use them.  They then tightened down the bolts and drew the sheet metal shock mounts together.  Post a picture of you lower shock mount.

@Ll-Rick I have a new VMC. I’ll take a picture, nonetheless.

@JoelP posted:

@Ll-Rick I have a new VMC. I’ll take a picture, nonetheless.

They use an old VW pan and suspension.  The control arms they use are 50 years old.

Isn’t my car, but this is exactly what mine looks like.

I think what @LI-Rick was getting at, was, If you took a picture, maybe from underneath looking up, we'd be able to see if your shock mounting area was bent in.

If this is the case, bending it back out wouldn't be too hard, instead of grinding on a shock eye.

My guess is Rick's guess. Don't grind the shocks. Cut a piece of half inch threaded rod  a little longer than the mount is wide (or use a deck carriage bolt). Feed it through one side and put a washer on the inside, then a nut, then another nut and another washer and turn them with a 3/4-inch wrench until there's one washer and nut on the inside edge of each side of the mount. Hold the rod steady with something and turn those inside nuts tighter to open up the shock mount.

@edsnova That’s a wonderful idea Ed!!!

@edsnova posted:

My guess is Rick's guess. Don't grind the shocks. Cut a piece of half inch threaded rod  a little longer than the mount is wide (or use a deck carriage bolt). Feed it through one side and put a washer on the inside, then a nut, then another nut and another washer and turn them with a 3/4-inch wrench until there's one washer and nut on the inside edge of each side of the mount. Hold the rod steady with something and turn those inside nuts tighter to open up the shock mount.

Exactly Ed.  I’ve seen this happen before, easy fix.

Shazam!

Ironically, this makes me wonder how hard it will be to install a rear sway bar. All the 69 IRS rear suspension videos I’ve seen show a different type of shock mount - this is where the ends of the sway bar attach, no?

That said, does anyone know to what year/model VW these shock mounts belong?

I’m my admittedly limited experience, I’ve only seen them on VMC speedsters.

OMG! I see them on 69 irs beetles and 71+ super beetles. Also, I think I saw a post where @Gordon Nichols had a pic of his trailing arm from a 1969 vw sedan that looked the same.  I’m a bit mixed up, so I’ll keep researching. But interesting that videos are conflicting. You live, you learn.

@JoelP, VW went to IRS in 1968 on Autostick cars, and then in 1969, on 4 speed cars.  The trailing arms, like those in the picture you posted above, didn’t change.  The are the same on all Type 1’s through the end of production, for cars sold in the USA.

By the way.......That little extension of the inside tube is there for a reason. To allow slight movement in all directions of the shock when it's doing its job of dampening the up and down action of the torsion bars.  Suspension travel isn't only linear.  I have seen off road cars pound that rubber bushing right out of the shock within 5 miles of the starting line because of improper geometric alignment and orientation of the shock to the suspension travel.  Had you ground off those little protrusions, it wouldn't have been long before something metallic would have broken. like the mount itself or the end of the shock.  It's possible you would have heard more road noise being transferred to the body as well because of the metal to metal contact.  Good thing you asked about this before you went and ground off those little protrusions........Bruce

Thanks, Bruce. I’ve already learned that these cars can be a bit finicky, so no point in suffering in silence. I really appreciate everyone’s assistance on this. Hopefully the fronts won’t be a problem.

That said, do you (or anyone else for that matter) if there are any issues with the rear sway bar installation because of this particular IRS setup? I've seen posts, but now I'm a bit hesitant without seeing pics.

@JoelP posted:

That said, do you (or anyone else for that matter) if there are any issues with the rear sway bar installation because of this particular IRS setup?

There is no "particular" IRS setup - the rear end is either IRS or not, there is no variation year to year. To the question, a rear swaybar on an IRS car is a good idea - IF you have a front bar.

Thanks, @Stan Galat I'm planning on installing both. I've seen ton's of pics and discussions regarding the front, so I'm relatively comfortable with the potential pitfalls there. Now, it's the research into the rear that I want to exhaust before incorporating that data into my project plan.