narrowing a linkpin beam

If you can salvage the shock towers or can get new ones, I don’t see why you can’t just cut the tubes and weld the shock towers back on.

There is the typical social media debate on Urethane front torsion bar bushings, but I’ve been running them (the long ones) for over ten years and they seem to be just fine.  IIRC, mine are black Urethane but I’m not sure color matters.  

Narrow it from the middle so you can install adjusters at the same time.

If you narrow it from the middle you'll have to move BOTH of the mounting brackets.

I'd install adjusters in the middle, one at a time(to keep tube alignment), then trim the ends where you need to.

Rick, I think it would be easier to do from the outer ends. That way you don't have to relocate the center mounting brackets. But I would be putting in adjusters. (I just bought a pair.)

Gordon, I bought it as you see it, so no shock towers. I have 2 other beams I can measure and Autocad some plates, send the files to sendcutsend.com and weld them in.

With no shock towers, you may be right.  When I did one, I moved the mounts first, then cut out the middle sections.  I used angle iron to jig the tubes into alignment, and welded it back together.  

I like Danny's idea.

I've heard of it being done both ways- setting yourself up before hand with a jig, cutting the mounting brackets off, shortening the tubes appropriately, putting the brackets back on and only having the welds around the adjusters (and no cuts/welds in the tubes outboard of the brackets) is a great way if you do it on a regular basis for people, but if you're only going to do 1 (or the occasional front beam), Danny's suggestion is the way to go.  With good penetration in your welds there's no strength lost and (if so desired) can be ground down so they're undetectable.

Ouch!  This seems like an "if your thumb hurts, stop hitting it with a hammer" kind of project.

Don't forget when you shorten the beams you need custom length torsion leaves and also custom length steering tie rods.  That is on top of all the other custom fabrication (and opportunities to get it wrong) you are talking about.  And why?  Certainly not because there isn't a better alternative.

I'm not one to shy away from a fabrication project on the scale you're talking about.  But that's not what I'd do in this case.  You can get it over-the-counter for a comparative bargain; new, complete, maybe better than you could make yourself, production manufactured (not garage-floor prototype), and include the ride height adjusters installed.  In other words, this is a wheel already invented.

So with the store-bought options available to you, why are you looking at resurrecting  that obviously discarded junk on the floor.  The thought of it makes "my thumb hurt". 

C26-401-017-2 - 2 INCH NARROWED KING-LINKPIN ADJUSTABLE FRONT BEAM - BEETLE/GHIA 46-65 - SOLD EACH (cip1.com)

I get caught in this conundrum frequently.  Like @RS-60 mark mentions above, I will spend more time and money doing a project myself than what I would have spent on a turnkey solution.

Your approach to narrowing the beam will work, but an aftermarket, narrow beam with adjusters and shock mounts will probably make more sense after you complete your project.  As I get older, I try to get wiser.  lol

@RS-60 mark and @James-  While a lot of what you're saying makes sense, there are those that would look at that $460 beam, $256 for both leaf spring packs and $88 shortened tie rod set and go "that's a lot of money when I already own all the stock parts, the welder and grinder (might have to buy a tap to do 1 side of the tie rods) and I can make it all happen in a few nights in the garage".  For some, doing all you can yourself is also part of the journey.

PS- I forgot about the center adjusters- you can get the Porsche style units for about $40 each.

I'm with ALB. I have the parts and skills, and building it is part of the fun. I'm not a "throw money at it" kind of person.

Not to mention, maybe I'm being more specific in my design than a business "off the shelf" part has to offer? I see beams narrowed 1, 2, 4, 6 inches. Maybe I want 1.625"? Might go with a 914 steering rack. Can make my own tie rods.

It's all supposed to be fun anyway. 

Jeff

I'm not exactly alien to the idea of scrapping together a cut-and-paste beam.  Even I can do it.  But if I knew at the time what I know now, I would have taken my advice in post above.

Jeff, if your design has you locked into a specification that's so tight (like 1.625" instead of off-the-shelf 2") and you have nothing but time and mad fabrication skills, why are you even messing around with a fixed dimension and limitations of torsion beam?  Have you thought about some of the wishbone solutions that are out there?

In any case, if you want to chop up a discarded 'doner' beam and use it for your project what can I say?  After all, I did it myself and it turned out perfectly serviceable.  But, having done it that way once I would do it differently if doing it again.  That's just my opinion.

As far as the torsion leaves, steering tie rods, etc., you are still going to have to buy them, or make them regardless of whether you buy the beam off the shelf ($330, including adjusters installed) or start with what you have and a hacksaw.  After you buy the $80 adjusters that were included and installed in the store-bought beam, the price difference between doing it yourself and buying is $250.  I don't know what you figure your time is worth, but I'll bet you'll spend a good chunk of that $250 just in materials and supplies to do it yourself.

PS:  And since you are at this crossroads, why are you going the way of link/pin instead of ball joint?

I just like building stuff.  sure, I could buy just about everything, but where's the fun in that? I was a teacher for 20 years and I'm always up to learning new things. Built a few beams before, just never installed adjusters or narrowed one.

If I finally get around to building one, I have a list of certain specifications, some may sound off but they fit me. This would be for my wife and I, just to go get ice cream, out to dinner, maybe antique shopping; very light stuff. Not a canyon carver, nothing high speed. Simple driving.

And I really like old school originality, hence the linkpin and swingaxle. It's just what I like.

I'd need roadster seats too as my wife has a very bad back and I'd need it as comfortable as possible.

Jeff

Rock on, @Jeff Hicks.

As has been said many many times on here, you do you.

I'll be rooting for you.

Thanks! I like 99% of the stuff you crazies do!

@RS-60 mark posted:

I'm not exactly alien to the idea of scrapping together a cut-and-paste beam.  Even I can do it.  But if I knew at the time what I know now, I would have taken my advice in post above.

Mark is that your RS-60 frame?

And if so, did it start life as an off-the-shelf Thunder Ranch 550 chassis?

And if not then...what is it?

Basically, this is my own concoction.  Nothing to do with Thunder Ranch.  It's kind of a long story, but it short I inherited a totally cluster-f*****d project that I wanted nothing to do with.  While cutting it up with the torch into pieces small enough to throw away I started reimagining a glimmer of potential and "playing around" with tubing.  With absolutely no intention of ever actually building a car, one thing led to another and eventually that is what happened.

More specific to this thread:  The only part of the chassis mess I didn't discard is the welded in front torsion beam.  Primarily because that was the baseline everything was getting measured forward and aft.  So the beam's configuration in the chassis kind of evolved as permanent core component.

The configuration works, but I would not do it that way again.  Instead I would have simply welded a bulkhead or tubing across the frame an installed a standard bolt-on torsion tube assembly as I mentioned in previous post above.

As it turned out, the wide-5 wheels have a different offset than the 4-bolt wheels I was using during the build; about a 1" difference in offset.  So instead of simply unbolting the stock beam and replacing it with a 2" narrowed beam, I had to cut the centers out of the new wide-5 wheels and push the centers to an offset that would fit inside the fenders.  Major pain in the ass that was unnecessary had I known at the time that the best way to do it was available in any vw dune buggy catalog.

I always cut my VW beams just to the outside of the center attachment that bolts to the panhead. That allows me to sleeve it for strength and its far enough away from the bearings and end bushing that heat wont bother them. Of course I get carried away and  pie cut the panhead, flip the tie rods, reindex the steering box, and install air ride. Hey its just a VW Beetle, they made millions of them.