Stan, that's just life in our cosmopolitan urban centers of culture.
Need a pinion gear for your Isotta Fraschini?
Someone on the block is sure to have one.
@edsnova posted:Borrowed the reamer from a neighbor. (I love my neighborhood).
Pacific Customs shipping the bushings UPS with expected delivery Tuesday. Cip1 sent a return code so I can ship back the unopened parts.
Now it's down to taking the beam apart and cleaning out the grease.
That's great news. Would love to see a DIY write up on that process.
That's uber-cool! That thing looks adjustable. Is it?
It adjusts from a little smaller than 36mm to 38mm so that should be right. @dlearl476 I plan to write up the beam job on my blog.
@Stan Galat you'd fit right in this neighborhood. Retired GM forewoman and cable lineman next door on one side, truck driver the other. There's a plumber and two HVAC guys just up the street, three welders, two cops, several retired Bethlehem Steel workers...
We've got a Ham radio guy. Many, many boats.
There were two solid 10-second drag cars parked in driveways when I moved here, plus a big block Chevelle, a tribute Yenko Nova, and some other stuff I forget. One of the drag cars is gone now, and the guy sold the Nova (but still has the Chevelle). This is just stuff you see outside of garages. Also car trailers, two scrappers (Sandy and a guy whose name I don't know).
The guy who lent the reamer, Johnny, runs a diesel engine repair and machine shop in S. Baltimore. I believe he specializes in "glider" jobs. He flew into Carlisle last year in his little Cessna and met up with his step son, who drove his dune buggy up. Some of you might have met them though they were only on the field for a little while.
Johnny's good people, despite his enthusiasm for our current POTUS. He and his wife (just married, though you'd never have guessed they weren't married even 10 years ago), spent their honeymoon near and on Mt. Rushmore so they could attend the rally.
I first asked my machinist buddy (actually lives up county) about the reamer and he said his biggest one was under an inch, but found me a good option at $67 plus shipping. I texted Johnny and he got right back to me like "dang, I got every one but that one, mechanic says he took it home."
Then he texted back again 10 minutes later: "found it."
I told him no rush, parts just ordered from the west coast. An hour later he pulls up to his driveway as I'm walking by with the dog, gets out and gives me the box.
This is the same guy who, last spring, after I buggered up my first attempt at replacing Bridget's blown head gaskets, offered to deck the whole engine when I told him my regular machine shop said they couldn't do it without me taking the whole thing down to bare block.
He backed his truck up my driveway the next morning, helped me load the Suby on the tail gate, and came back the next afternoon to unload it.
I honestly hope like hell I can do him a favor some day.
Best description of the America I love that I've read in months. Thanks for sharing, Ed.
No HOA. That’s the key to freedom.
@edsnova posted:No HOA. That’s the key to freedom.
No kidding! Besides my automotive pursuits, I'm a ham, so the last thing I need is nosy neighbors with nothing better to do complaining about my antennae. Or the unusual things parked in my driveway.
@edsnova posted:It adjusts from a little smaller than 36mm to 38mm so that should be right. @dlearl476 I plan to write up the beam job on my blog.
@Stan Galat you'd fit right in this neighborhood. Retired GM forewoman and cable lineman next door on one side, truck driver the other. There's a plumber and two HVAC guys just up the street, three welders, two cops, several retired Bethlehem Steel workers...
We've got a Ham radio guy. Many, many boats.
There were two solid 10-second drag cars parked in driveways when I moved here, plus a big block Chevelle, a tribute Yenko Nova, and some other stuff I forget. One of the drag cars is gone now, and the guy sold the Nova (but still has the Chevelle). This is just stuff you see outside of garages. Also car trailers, two scrappers (Sandy and a guy whose name I don't know).
The guy who lent the reamer, Johnny, runs a diesel engine repair and machine shop in S. Baltimore. I believe he specializes in "glider" jobs. He flew into Carlisle last year in his little Cessna and met up with his step son, who drove his dune buggy up. Some of you might have met them though they were only on the field for a little while.
Johnny's good people, despite his enthusiasm for our current POTUS. He and his wife (just married, though you'd never have guessed they weren't married even 10 years ago), spent their honeymoon near and on Mt. Rushmore so they could attend the rally.
I first asked my machinist buddy (actually lives up county) about the reamer and he said his biggest one was under an inch, but found me a good option at $67 plus shipping. I texted Johnny and he got right back to me like "dang, I got every one but that one, mechanic says he took it home."
Then he texted back again 10 minutes later: "found it."
I told him no rush, parts just ordered from the west coast. An hour later he pulls up to his driveway as I'm walking by with the dog, gets out and gives me the box.
This is the same guy who, last spring, after I buggered up my first attempt at replacing Bridget's blown head gaskets, offered to deck the whole engine when I told him my regular machine shop said they couldn't do it without me taking the whole thing down to bare block.
He backed his truck up my driveway the next morning, helped me load the Suby on the tail gate, and came back the next afternoon to unload it.
I honestly hope like hell I can do him a favor some day.
Gift cards in the mail are always good.
Trailered the Speedster to the coast last year. The AirBnB we like to stay at is in the middle of a 100 acre working vineyard for a winery named Castoro Cellars. Plenty of room to park my truck and trailer while we drive all over in the Speedster. On our last day while headed back to the AirBnB I ran out of gas, I know, rookie mistake. Anyway, called the lady that manages the property and asked if her husband was still on the ranch property and if he could bring me a gallon of fuel. She said he was in town but would call him. He showed up about twenty minutes later with several gallons of fuel. I thanked him profusely and we went back to the property, loaded up, and headed home. I made sure I sent her a gift card via the mail to thank her for the roadside service.
+1
Or the color of my mailbox, or the color of paint I can use, etc, etc
Gift cards: When Connie and I moved here to West Virginia a week later one of our fellow Speedster guys " Bill " on this site who also lives in WV sent us a local restaurant dinner for two gift card with a note ......" Welcome to West Virginia " !
probably gonna be Jim Beam Red Stag in this instance.
Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. Sounds like a good plan
Ed skills amaze me day in and day out, Ed could fall into a septic tank and emerge holding a diamond ~
Hey Ed, Ream THIS!
Channeling Vince, sorry, back to your regular discourse...
HOA: they suck, I'm with y'all on that.
Ed, sounds like our kind of neighborhood! And lucky you with the cool neighbors!
A revisionist hit, by Ed (sung to the Everly Brother’s Dream)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbU3zdAgiX8
Ream, ream, ream, ream
Ream, ream, ream, ream
When I want to, fix my car
When I want to, drive it far
Whenever I want to, all I have to do is
Ream, ream, ream, ream
When I feel blue, in the night
And I wake up, in a fright
Thinking of that damn car
All I have to do is ream
I can make it work, but I’m feeling like a jerk
Anytime night or day
Only trouble is, gee whiz
I'm reamin' my life away
My car is blue, and I am too,
I borrowed a tool, feel like a fool,
I know what must do, find a way to
Ream, ream, ream, ream, ream
I’ve never been so down, feeling like a clown
Anytime night or day
Only trouble is, gee whiz
I'm reamin' my life away
I’m so damned pissed, that I could die
I want to drive my car, and that is why
Whenever I need to, all I have to do is
Ream, ream, ream, ream
Ream, ream, ream, ream
Fade away with steady stream of tears….
Wow! That was good!
Pete
Pete
Fantastic!!!
That just puts a bow on it.
@Bob: IM S6 wins the internet for today.
Update (tech question):
Torsion leaves, to my knowledge and by my experience, are supposed to slide out pretty easy once the center grub screw is loosened or removed.
Mine don't budge.
Took the grubs out of the adjusters. (Double-checked to make sure I had the right set of screws—the fixing grubs and not the adjusters). Tapped the upper (4-pack) with the rubber mallet. Tapped the lower (10-pack). Both slid about an inch and then stopped.
Moved on to a block of wood and a bigger hammer. Then just the hammer. No joy. They'd slide a little one way then the other. Tried pulling with a vicegrip. I shook them, rattled them. Tapped them laterally with some vigor. Got a couple cold chisels and selected just one leaf at a time for attention.
Nothing worked.
Examined matters more carefully and found I was sliding the whole center housing back and forth, so I oiled the holes and returned the grub screws in a couple three threads, not enough to make contact with the leaves.
Now the spring packs slide about a quarter inch each way, max. 
Got the larger hammer. Whaled on 'em some, both individually and en blanc. Nope.
What am I missing? I did this job on Bridget most of a decade ago, and had another guy's beam completely apart and back together in a few hours on Saturday circa 2015.
Any advice appreciated.
Knowledgeable advice moreso.
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Any welded in height adjustment screws in the middle of the beam?
Yes, the height screws are there, in a bracket welded to the front(s) of the beam. They push on the grub screws and their little aluminum slider housings.
They look like 
I had to fiddle with mine to loosen their grip on the bars.
I have never had any luck hammering on the end of the torsion bar stack-up to try to remove the bars. It always seemed to do more harm than good.
It sounds as if (a.) the center grub screw has somehow distorted the top two thin leaves making it difficult to get the dimpled center of the leaves past the center donut and (b.) that the leaves are rusted together or (c.) that the donut is rusted to the leaves (most likely).
The stack-up is two thins on the bottom, two thicks in the middle and two thins (with the grub screw depression) on the top.
Re-assemble one of the trailing arms to the end of the torsion bar. The other end of the torsion bar should NOT have the trailing arm assembled to it. Use the assembled trailing arm as a sort-of slide hammer base by hammering against the inside of the trailing arm to force the bar stack outward from the center.
Usually the leaves slide right out with moderate effort, but sometimes, if they've become rusted together, they can be a real bear. You could try heating the center donut a bit to see if that releases the leaves - a longer shot, but that sometimes does the trick. IIRC, that center donut is captive in the torsion tube by three dimples tapped into the torsion tube to hold it in place. Feel around the tube and you should feel them. That's why it only goes so far and stops. Putting the grub screw into the center donut (but not all the way in to the top two torsion bars) keeps it from moving more because the screw/bolt has less play and holds it closer.
BTW: I would strongly suggest that you not remove the torsion bad stack entirely, tempted though you may be. They can be a super-duper-major PITA to get back through the square-ish hole in the center donut. Instead, tap against the trailing arm and pull them out to one side so that 4" - 6" of the far side of the bar is still in the center donut, then use your needle bearing puller/slide hammer/reamer to do whatever work you're doing on that side, then push them back in, swap trailing arms and pull it over to the other side to service that side of the tube.
I actually got a bar stack to go in first try once. ONCE. I greased the hell out of everything and put an o-ring around the stack-up to hold them in place and damned if they didn't whistle right through first try. Every other time I had to push two horizontal leaves leaves at a time through and those top two were always a bear.
Congratulated myself for a week, after that.
Thanks, Gordon. Yeah, that's the plan, just shift them over to one side and then the other. I, too, have had them out and had to reassemble the beam.
FWIW, the lower stack is complete with the small leaves, and those six small ones slide easy. It's the four big ones in the center of the stack that won't budge. The upper tube has only those four, and the same issue.
I soaked them again in Liquid Wrench and we'll see what's what tomorrow. I'll try reassembling a torsion arm on one side. Maybe the upper only, as the lower still has the whole hub assembly still attached. 
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@edsnova posted:FWIW, the lower stack is complete with the small leaves, and those six small ones slide easy. It's the four big ones in the center of the stack that won't budge. The upper tube has only those four, and the same issue.
Ed, forgive a stupid question (I'm a complete Luddite when it comes to beams) but could this be the source of your problems? My web search for pictures to help me understand what you were describing shows both the top and bottom stacks having 10 leaves each. 4 wide ones and 3 narrow ones top and bottom.
I can imagine a scenario when everything was tight, until you drove it, when the missing leaves wallered out and damaged the bushing, allowing the play you discovered?
The leaves shouldn't touch the bushing, like ever . If you remove leaves I believe you are supposed to cut some small pieces for each end and the middle adjuster so they don't all get buggered when you lock them in with the grub screws.
@dlearl476 the center mount is machined so the leaves fit just so—you can see this in the pic I posted a few posts above this one. You can remove the small leaves without causing any trouble; the holes are stepped so the leaves can't twist or "waller" out. And, indeed, they have not done so in my application.
It appears VW designed these beams this way deliberately, to allow for easy changes in spring rates on lighter vehicles such as the Spyder.
As Danny says, adding plugs made from cut leaves would be extra insurance, not necessary. I have run my MG TD replica with two sets of 4 leaves in front for most of a decade now, no problem. And it really improves the ride quality and handling.
Oh, also: once the beam is assembled, the leaves can't touch the bearings or the bushings. This is because they are captured inside the trailing arms which ride inside the bushings and bearings.
@edsnova posted:@dlearl476 the center mount is machined so the leaves fit just so—you can see this in the pic I posted a few posts above this one. You can remove the small leaves without causing any trouble; the holes are stepped so the leaves can't twist or "waller" out. And, indeed, they have not done so in my application.
It appears VW designed these beams this way deliberately, to allow for easy changes in spring rates on lighter vehicles such as the Spyder.
As Danny says, adding plugs made from cut leaves would be extra insurance, not necessary. I have run my MG TD replica with two sets of 4 leaves in front for most of a decade now, no problem. And it really improves the ride quality and handling.
Oh, also: once the beam is assembled, the leaves can't touch the bearings or the bushings. This is because they are captured inside the trailing arms which ride inside the bushings and bearings.
Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.
And we're on to PLAN C.
I tried pushing, pulling, tapping, whacking. I put the control arms back on and tapped and whacked them to try to pull the springs out.
I tried selecting just one leaf at a time with the vice grip to pull on.
I looked carefully at the center adjuster thingie. I looked at another identical adjuster thingie I happen to have in my spares stash.
See that slot? What if I twist the spring pack around until that slot shows in the oval adjustment hole and then I hit it with Liquid Wrench and then try to pry on it with a screw driver to like open it up slightly?
What indeed!?
Nothing is going to get those torsion springs to budge.*
Which means the puller I made to get the old bushings and bearings out will not be working on this beam.
Which means how do I get the new Delrin stuff in place when it comes Tuesday? And HOW CAN I REAM THOSE NEW BUSHINGS AS REQUIRED?
Plan C: Forget the Delrin and just replace the bearing and bushing in the top driver's side.
Complication: New Micarta inner bushings also require reaming.
What to do?
I pulled the OG VW bearings and bushings from my spare beam...
They came out intact.
So now it's down to making an installation tool. I have another washer like the puller washer I can hog out the center square to clear the spring pack, and a piece of pipe with a slightly smaller OD than the top tube's ID. If I cut the end square and tack the washer on centered it should work as a useable drift. I'll mark the depth and try to figure out a way to make it into a press so I don't damage the bushing.
Or there's OPTION D: Pull and wreck the outer bearings and use the drift to drive the inner bushings in farther, then install the Delrin, after first installing in the spare beam and pre-reaming it there, then pulling it out.
WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE A GODDAMN WRITER!!
==
*Some of you may be wondering why I have made no mention of the Flame Hammer. The reason is simple: The beam is under a 1/4 full gas tank and surrounded on all sides by fiberglass. Also it is chock full of grease. Could a torch be used? Sure! I could just remove the fuel tank and shroud the fiberglass with whatever. Can you tell me the smoke point of the grease that's been pumped into the beam? How about the powder coat? AND WHY IS THIS NECESSARY??
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I would take some time away, Ed.
It's troubling to see a writer resort to all caps and doubled punctuation.
I worry that you're reaching some tipping point from which there's no return. You don't want future generations looking back and summarizing your life in the sad story of Ed and the torsion bars.
These are simple, mechanical things. We have the ability to reason and opposable thumbs. Over centuries, we have shown that we can master mechanical things and make them do our bidding.
Maybe some trout fishing or a few days on the Chesapeake will help you reset?
When you come back, you can buy a bigger hammer.
What Mitch said. We get smarter when we get away from the problem.
The 356 style center adjusters that we use look the same as what you have. They may be different (likely are) but just in case... our have a hidden set screw that locks the bars to the center section, and then a 2nd exposed set screw at the adjuster. I'm sure you've looked, so this may not be your issue, but just in case rotate the leaves 360 and look for a hidden set screw while you rotate.
Also, i can't tell how yours are attached. I've seen versions where you cut out a section of the beam and weld in the adjuster to replace the section you cut out, and there are versions where you mill a slot and just weld the adjuster bracket to the existing beam. If yours is the former, I can see where it would be easy to have a blow through in the weld that would act as a permanent stop locking the center section in place.
holy ****.
THERE IS ANOTHER SET SCREW HIDDEN INSIDE THE MECHANISM THAT YOU CAN ONLY SEE IF YOU ROTATE THE MF AFTER REMOVING WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS THE GODDAMN SET SCREW??
And thank you, @Sacto Mitch, it's the trout fishing what did it.
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Welp...
Quarter inch allen fits these. You can reach the lower one by feel if you stand directly under it and feel around and curse until your finger joints scream as loud as you do.
So that's good.
Pulled the outer bearing on the passenger upper but the inner bushing is stuck. I got the puller working and then it sort of "popped" and came out and now I can't get it back in so that's cool.
The honest truth is that I really did just about give up fishing for this hobby.
I'm an idiot.
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Is that picture where the wrench hit the wall when you threw it? 🥴
Either that or Ed's foot......
@edsnova posted:Welp...
Quarter inch allen fits these. You can reach the lower one by feel if you stand directly under it and feel around and curse until your finger joints scream as loud as you do.
So that's good.
Pulled the outer bearing on the passenger upper but the inner bushing is stuck. I got the puller working and then it sort of "popped" and came out and now I can't get it back in so that's cool.
The honest truth is that I really did just about give up fishing for this hobby.
I'm an idiot.
OK, so I have been of no help at all on this one. I have NEVER seen a double set screw donut on any of the 8 or so VW front ends I've pulled apart or modified for adjustable height mods (and I always used the Berg "Avis-style" adjusters for mine).
I'm filing this one away so that future jobs won't go through what Ed has had to endure.
Sorry, Ed........
I'm glad at least that puzzle is solved, Ed. Here's wishing you smoother sailing from here on.
Good to see you getting back to lower case again, Ed.
Yeah..... Wouldn’t want to see you turning into GERD, after all......
Somethings take a long time to learn or figure out.... just life
Ed, if it makes you feel any better, your explanation of the missing leafs in your beam kind of explains why my front suspension feels pretty supple (now that I switched the KYB shocks and 18psi in the size tires Carey recommends) and my rear end feels like a "Hardtail."
Which begs the question: does anyone sell thinner torsion bars for the rear? I don't think I've ever seen anything but thicker ones. My older Beck doesn't have adjustable spring plates and I'm thinking of updating that. I'd love to put in lighter torsion bars when I do that, if they're available.
This is the only thing I found in a short search:
https://www.kartek.com/parts/s...ar-torsion-bars.html
You could contact Sway-Away direct to see if they have smaller, custom bars.
@Gordon Nichols posted:This is the only thing I found in a short search:
https://www.kartek.com/parts/s...ar-torsion-bars.html
You could contact Sway-Away direct to see if they have smaller, custom bars.
Good idea, I need to call them about the spring plates anyway.
Doh! My Selective Vision Disorder strikes again. I could have sworn that SA only listed two bars when I looked at their site the other day; OEM and +2mm. In my defense, I was looking at the OEM VW page. I'll drop Carey a line and ask him what he uses.
@Gordon Nichols posted:This is the only thing I found in a short search:
https://www.kartek.com/parts/s...ar-torsion-bars.html
You could contact Sway-Away direct to see if they have smaller, custom bars.
So, this is kind've weird.
Like a lot of guys of a certain age and disposition, I have problems staying asleep. I fall asleep easily, but after about 4-5 hrs, I wake up and have a lot of difficulty going back to sleep.
I ended up buying a limo as a result of such a night. Last night, I amused myself for about 2 hrs in the sway-away site, looking at this very information. FWIW, I'd definitely call Carey before switching to something lighter. With a swing axle, I'd be leery of doing anything that might induce snap-oversteer.
I think one of the TD replica guys pulled his torsion bars and had them turned down a couple thousandths and put them back. This was before my time on the board though and the guy who (reportedly) did that has not been heard from in years. Paul Mossberg might know the story.
Further progress: The passenger side upper beam is clear. The inner bushing in that side came out pretty chewed up, but I am as yet unsure if my puller thingy did the damage.
I now must make a new, slightly larger, puller thingy for the lower needle bearing, as it is just a hair larger than the uppers. It appears the lower inner bushing is the same size as the uppers though.
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I guess we have to thank Carey again !! I certainly had no idea about the extra set screw !! Knowing me, I would have torn up the front end to find out why !
Question : Why would someone put that set screw in there ? Was it to hold the center piece and the torsion bars in their position during assembly and welding ?......Bruce
No idea, Bruce. I saw the threaded hole on my spare and stupidly figured it was builder's choice as to which one got the set screw. I know the sand guys use these adjusters to raise their suspension so I just assumed the second hole was there to give them a 90-degree different option along the outside of the tubes to weld these in.
Anyway, now we know. Very much thanks to @chines1, without whose advice I might have been seriously injured, as we shall see.
Progress today. The Delrin bushings came.
I went out after dinner and slid one on the upper trailing arm. Nice tight fit. Then I pressed it into the beam. It slipped right in with just a little persuasion from the palm of my hand. Checked the trailing arm again and perfect: tight but not too tight. No reaming required.
I made a new, slightly larger puller for the lower bearing and pulled both of them before switching back to the smaller cut washer to pull the inner bushings with. But when I poked around in the beam I could not feel the "step" indicating the presence of an inner bushing. This was true on both sides.
!
I went back to my spare beam and did the same thing, easily finding the bushings in that one.
So I guess it's a good thing I went through this process.
I'll clean out the grease and shine a light in, and dig around in there tomorrow. If they're gone that makes the job easier: just drill out the dimples and install a couple small sheet metal screws to hold the new ones, then press them in until the screws stop them, then put the outers in and reassemble.
Of course if I find the old bushings I'll extract them.
It makes no sense to me that the inner bushings would be MIA in three out of the four corners of this beam. Again, I had previously shaken these wheels (feeling for bearing lash) finding no appreciable play. And I drove the car about 5-10 kilometers through these suburban streets.
So I am well and truly stumped. Which I guess is pretty normal.
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Well, at least after you're done with the bushings the beam will be safe and true.
It really sucks when you have to do work that thought was done already. I do feel that particular pain!
When you get the bushing set in place- don't forget to pull the zerk fittings out and drill through the bushings so they will lubricate the trailing arms as intended.
Ya know, Isn't that set screw what holds the entire suspension together ? I was visualizing the whole assembly and when I got to that part it dawned on me that if that set screw isn't in there, the entire torsion bar could move, causing the control arm to start sliding out it's bearing along with all the suspension. tire. etc, and Ba - Boom !
Of course both torsion bar set screws would have to be missing for the whole suspension to com off. Then its possible both sides of the suspension could fall off !
Maybe the sway bar would hold them in until the problem is discovered ? Looks like those set screws are pretty important or I'm missing some other attachment to prevent this problem.........Bruce
There are control arms on either end that would keep everything together.
What Stan said....
The 4 rather large grub screws with lock nuts in each trailing arm keep it together.
Glad to see those bushings arrived protected by the now discarded mask AND "Pilfer Protection" tape.
These are trying times and.....
( Thought you might need a chuckle, Ed! )
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Bruce when you think about it, loss of the center grub screws would just set the front of the car down on the ground.
Yup.....Got out the manual. Found the four other set screws. It is an amazingly simple and strong front suspension !.................Bruce
Making progress.
@edsnova posted:Making progress.
I'm glad you have some good news to report. I didn't want you to get left out. Everybody had a good day today.
I just read the email confirmation of my payment to John and they gave me some options for Covid-related pick up times: I get to pick up my new disc/drum brakes and assorted hardware and SS brake lines on my birthday Saturday morning!
Happy Birthday to me!
@dlearl476 What is your first name?
Ed, good news. Keep plugging away at it!
More progress.
@DannyP posted:@dlearl476 What is your first name?
Ed, good news. Keep plugging away at it!
David
@edsnova posted:More progress.
Go, Ed!
Hi!, Dave!
This thing has fought me every step of the way but I think I can see the dawn now.
The new Delrin bushings are all installed, top ones had to come back out yesterday to be drilled for zerks because there's no way to get a drill in there with them installed in the beam.
Reinstalled and made sure they lined up, then put the zerks back. Test fit the upper control arms in these and no reaming was needed.
Lower inners were the hardest but I installed them with a piece of pipe with a washer welded to the end.
This was after drilling two holes through the bottom of the beam even with the dimples (no way to drill into the dimples because of the body work) and installing small sheet metal screws through them to act as a hard stop.
I felt the inner bushings seat on those screws. The outers easily pressed in by hand. While I was at it I painted the spots Tommy missed.
That was last night.
This morning I got the center grubs tightened and the adjusters reinstalled, leaving the spring packs centered and correctly oriented. Later I got all the trailing arms back in—three were easy but the lower driver's side, after about an hour and a half of jiggling and re-trying, required a bit of shaping on the ends of the leaves with the grinder.
Again the arms went in tight but I did not need to ream them.
Then the driver's hub reinstalled loose for alignment.
Tomorrow after breakfast I'll get the passenger side back on. Ready to re-grease and then clean...everything.
Like, the ramps are covered in grease. Also the shock towers. There's grease all over the trailing arms and on every allen wrench, socket, ratchet, open wrench, screwdriver, hammer, chisel and of course the home-made tools and probes and what-not, both in this bay and also at the welding table and the doorknobs and switches... It's bloody unbelievable.
And of course the rotors have grease on them. They have to. I need an olympic-sized lap pool filled with BrakeKleen. Very much looking forward to this step in the process.
Then it's just a matter of reinstalling the calipers, shocks, swaybar end links and wheels before re-doing (third time? Fourth??) the front camber and toe-in.
And then? Back to our regularly-scheduled fettling.
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What kind of attachment is that on the lower control arm for the swaybar down link?
There are Heim joints through-bolted and then a bolt with two end bushings screws into the top of the Heim.
Brilliance and persistence prevail! Nice work, Ed. You're obviously a Dapper Dan kind of guy!
Cleaned grease off everything for an hour today. Used a whole can of Brake Kleen.
I'll have to do that again. There's still more grease.
Hubs and brakes back on. I figured out a better mounting system today to move my sway bar bushings out toward the edges of the beam and make the bar work harder/better. Decided not to do the job yet though.
Reinstalled the sway bar and shock on the passenger side.
I'll line up the camber adjusters as they were to start, then back the car out and bring it back in and check toe-in. Won't be surprised to find it off, but we'll see.
Set that and then go around and try to get camber at -.5 degrees.
Then check toe again.
Hoping I won't have to pull the steering wheel to get it centered.
Anyway, looks like the worst is over.
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@Michael Pickett posted:Brilliance and persistence prevail! Nice work, Ed. You're obviously a Dapper Dan kind of guy!
Now listen here, that's my pomade, obviously. You have to use another brand. It's gonna come to fisticuffs!
Ed, rubbing alcohol and towels first to get most of it, then give it a final with a lint-free towel and the brake cleaner. Cheaper that way.
In this case, alcohol IS a solution.
I could not resist:
Back on the road today—around the block to settle the suspension so I could check camber. Had to roll the eccentric about 120 degrees on the passenger side to get a little lean in on that side. The other side seemed pretty good. They're straight up and down now fully extended but about -.3 degrees at rest and -.5 or -.6 fully compressed. I think that should be just about right for this car with these tires. Tomorrow I'll check and re-set the tow in to 1/8 inch or so, shoot grease into the beam like a mad man and replace the last bottom panel and then, hopefully, we're done.
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I must admit it will be a little sad not having your weekly jousts against the forces of darkness to amuse and enlighten us.
Who knew how many demons and evil spirits could reside in such a tiny car?
You may not have won every battle, but you were never discouraged and always returned with enthusiasm, a bigger hammer, and an almost inexhaustible supply of cardboard.
All hail Sir Edward, Defender of the Faith, and Knight of the Order of the Spyder.
@Sacto Mitch posted:
I must admit it will be a little sad not having your weekly jousts against the forces of darkness to amuse and enlighten us.
Who knew how many demons and evil spirits could reside in such a tiny car?
You may not have won every battle, but you were never discouraged and always returned with enthusiasm, a bigger hammer, and an almost inexhaustible supply of cardboard.
All hail Sir Edward, Defender of the Faith, and Knight of the Order of the Spyder.
Hear, hear!
If it will entertain you I will post my frustrations with the latest inscrutable versions of Windows software.
I have been a windoze user a long time but I am a MAC NUT... 
Ed wrote ...hopefully, we're done. Well that isn't entirely true my friend, I do not know of a single replica anything that has actually been done as you have spoken. Great ambitions to be done but you shall forge endlessly addressing odds and end that's the way this hobby rolls ~
So true! or you just buy a 2nd or 3rd project to work on. This has been my experience.
Windoze, MacNut ?? How bout Wing Nuts ? We all are one..... and there's no need to ask why ! My threads are the only thing holding me from complete insanity ! Well.....That and cardboard !............Bruce
Ed, it should be obvious to anyone who's worked through these 45 pages that your purpose from the start was to entertain us with the hidden engineering in these cars. That you ended up with a marketable vehicle in the end can only be an unexpected benefit for you.
Anyone could have attacked each problem from the start with the most efficient solution, but what would your audience have learned from that about the angst of how real-world engineering gets done?
It was just brilliant of you to always start with what seemed like an obvious approach, so that you could show us the error of such thinking. I love how you always concealed the 'right' answer until the third or fourth iteration. I can't tell you how much I learned from that.
Another master stroke was saving that whole debacle of the front beam until the very end. Just when we thought you were done, you threw us a classic cliff hanger.
Anyway, please keep up this great explanatory journalism.
And knowing you a little bit, as I do, Ed, you might be leaning towards being a 70's kinda guy and might not be inclined to be a "Dapper Dan Man" or a "FOP Man" so as I was wandering the aisles of my local CVS today, I found something that might be a better fit for you:
"To every thing.... Turn, Turn, Turn.
There is a season, turn, turn, turn.
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@Sacto Mitch has killed me and I am dead. That is the end of this thread.
@edsnova posted:@Sacto Mitch has killed me and I am dead. That is the end of this thread.
Wait! That can't be it!
It seems so... anticlimactic.
At least tell me you're driving the wheels off it.
Can't be done. We simply won't allow it!
Toe in still not set. Checked this a.m. and it was like a half inch toed in. Turned the tie rod a little and checked again and I had pushed it OUT about 3/8. I was out of time and had to go to work. I'll try again tomorrow.
Alignment novice question, when you shoot for 1/8" toe in, is that 1/8" difference between the front and back of the front wheels, or 1/8" inward on each side, meaning 1/4" between the two tires?
Wheels straight and car resting. Measure distance between the rims at the furthest back you can. Then measure distance between the rims as far forward as you can. You want them a little closer in front, and about 1/16th inch there translates to between 1/8 and 3/16ths at the ends of the tires on the plane of the hub. Which is the VW Beetle spec.
Right, experts?
Thanks!
Danny will tell you to measure from the outside off a known square that's placed around the car but honestly who has time for that kind of "doing it right" nonsense?
@edsnova posted:Danny will tell you to measure from the outside off a known square that's placed around the car but honestly who has time for that kind of "doing it right" nonsense?
Yeah, and heck if I know where I'll find a square that big to put around the car
@edsnova posted:Danny will tell you to measure from the outside off a known square that's placed around the car but honestly who has time for that kind of "doing it right" nonsense?
I don't know where that came from, but, yeah, whatever. Do you mean stringing it off jack stands? Then yes, that is a good way.
Mike, I've had decent results using two people and a tape measure. I actually have used tread grooves, as high up as you can, touching the body with the tape. As long as you measure at the same height front and rear, your measurement has meaning.
I use 1/16" total toe-in, front and rear. It's served me well.
The best way to measure is with a gauge. A long tube or piece of aluminum, steel, wood or even plastic. Anything really that's stiff and light enough. Put a couple 8 to 10 inch arms on it. Make one fixed, and the other one slide but with a thumbscrew. I'm quite sure a guy who can DIY EFI would have no trouble replicating this for less than $20:
https://www.jegs.com/i/Longacr...wEAQYAyABEgKC1PD_BwE
I have a much earlier version of the A.R.T. laser toe plates.They are very easy to use. Concrete or blacktop surface required.(NO way would I have spent the money, I inherited these!)
http://advancedracing.com/prod...ser-toe-angle-gauge/
The business resides in Staatsburg NY, about 45 minutes from me.
@edsnova posted:Toe in still not set. Checked this a.m. and it was like a half inch toed in. Turned the tie rod a little and checked again and I had pushed it OUT about 3/8. I was out of time and had to go to work. I'll try again tomorrow.
Define "a little" LOL! Try a 1/4 turn at a time next time. Remember, your turning is doubling the adjustment with the left and right-hand threads. It doesn't take much, think of where the tierods are in relation to where you're measuring.
We use Smart Strings for alignment, and I have camber and caster gauges we use as well. The smart strings "hangers" don't play well with Spyder and 904 hoods, so often times we have the Smart Strings aluminum bars set on 4x jack stands. Look at their products and something like that would be very easy to duplicate with a few lengths of pipe.
And before anyone laughs at this set-up, it is used by some of the largest race teams out there, cup cars, LMPs, GPs, etc...
I didn't read the entire alignment thread so may be something you are doing or already suggested, but if you do not have some sort of "slip plate" under the front tires, do that too. We use actual ball bearing slip plates but you can get a VERY similar result with a couple of vinyl tiles placed face to face. you just need to reduce the friction of the rubber on the concrete when setting tow. You'll get a much more accurate result this way, eliminates "spring back".
Agreed, Carey. Ed, take a construction garbage bag and put a little water between the layers, then drive on that. The plastic layers slide really well against each other. Think slip and slide. Cheap and effective.
I always take the car for a ride, then pull back in the shop and re-check. Just to make sure it's perfect.