I have just finished changine my Beck to stock suspension, new shocks, exhaust etc. for some summer fun.
I have run into a few problems.
1. My ride height is not equal on all four corners. I have corner balanced the car and everything checks out.
LF 308lbs RF 285lbs
LR 388lbs RR 408lbs
Total weight: 1391lbs.
The mechanics at the shop were amazed how close it was. Their suggestion was to leave it alone. If I change one corner the oposite corner will gain or loose weight.
The problem is that the Beck is lower in the left front about 1/2". It is also up in the right rear. It is only noticable to me. It seems that the body is not straight on the frame.
We measured the wheel track and the left side is 1/2" shorter than the right side. When we measured from both rear cross members to the front axle everything checks out.
Set up the vehicle for a four wheel alignment and the front axle is not bent and does not appear to have been replaced. It is impossible for nothing to be bent and be off 1/2". Has anybody run into this?
Problem #2: During the four wheel alignment we found that the rear toe was extremely off. Left rear -0.79" & right rear -0.29". There is no more adjustement in the rear without removeing the axles and increasing the slots in the trailing arm spring plates.
Is it possible that the transmission is too far forward? I did have to replace all my transmission mounts last fall. Is it possible to decrease the rear toe by moving the drivetrain rearward?
Has anybody run into a problem with alignments before?
The car drives nice and straight. Does not pull. The caster or set-back angle is. Left front 5.13% and right front 3.43%. The left front wheel rubs slightly in the inner wheel well (the rear part). It looks like it is bowed in slighly compared to right inner wheel well. Any quick fix for this? Or do I have to cut the epoxy and refit the rear part of the left inner wheel well? (it looks like it has done this since new. There is a patch where it rubbs) The previous owner solved the problem by raising the entire vehicle up about 1 1/2" with coil over shocks in the rear and the "Avus" adjusters in the front beam. (it handled badly that high up)
We used VW type 1 specs for the alignment.
I have had many a Bug (with narrowed beams and lowered spindles, etc..), a 356C and an early 911S but have never run into these problems before.
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