newbie questions....
newbie questions....
Hello All I have a 69 manx (I think) with link pin frt and swing rear, I want to improve the ground clearance about 3 inches or so. Would coil-over shocks do this? an adjustable front beam would give me only 2 inches im told? as for the rear should i purchase extended or adjustable spring plates? I dont want to waste a lot of dough, so i want to get it right the first time for a change.. hehehe Also I have a 1641 that is what a was told when i bought it, It seems to me all i have to do to make it an 1835 is switch the pistons and cylinders out to 92mm assuming i have a 69mm crank? It appears all the cylinder sleaves have the same diameter where they fit into the case? or would it require a bore out of the case? Thank you all in advance for your great advice C-Dub
I'll take a crack at these....I'm sure one of the guys that really knows more will answer also. The easiest way to increase ground clearance is with taller tires. This may require a body lift like #1669 Pete's red buggy. Anytime suspension work comes in it starts getting pricey. You can cut and rotate or install adjusters in the front beam to gain some altitude. I'm not sure about the maximum lift available, but once you get close to max the ride deteriorates due to no down travel and the excessive preload on the torsions. Just cheap coilovers won't help much in my opinion. You would need to buy expensive ones and add longer trailing arms etc. etc. to make it nice. Lift spindels are also available, but not very cheaply. You can also re-index the rear torsion to gian some lift...once again, I'm not sure on the max. Rear torsion adjustment Front lift The case and heads will have to be bored for larger jugs. Most people run either 90.5 or 94 these days seems like. Check out this link for motor build-up tech. Type 1 Performance
the problem with re indexing the rear torsions is that you have a swing axle set up. Or at least that is what you say, but it would make sense if it's a linkpin beam. Any ways, the problem is you will have some major camber issues. Take a jack and lift the back of the buggy up. You will notice that the tires will camber way out / If your ok with this that go ahead and do it. But it will ware you tires really fast. Also if you have a LP beam and a swing axle it's not a 69 the switched to BJ beams in 68 i believe and IRS in 69. So your buggy is most likely a 67 or earlier. It's pretty ways to look up if you have the vin.
Extra ground clearance, about 1 inch, can be gained by fitting the front brake assemblies from a Thing. Fitting a reduction box set up from an old Kombi will also give you more ground clearance at the back without the problem of the rear tyres tucking in. What will happen is that the rear end will wind up on acceleration and without changing the final drive ratio you will gain some acceleration but you will lose a lot of top speed. Why do you want extra ground clearance? You will be surprised at where a buggy with standard ground clearance will go, especially if the engine and gearbox are well protected by a bash plate.
OK, I can see where a complete spindle assembley might provide lift...I just couldn't vizualize "Thing Brakes" doing so. Here is an article on "How to" lift spindles. Blind Chicken Raised Spindles They also sell ready to go lift spindles for $150 pair.