The five inch drop at the front end only accentuates the rear lift at higher speeds(think air foil). It also screws up the caster severely if not compensated for, hence the floating feeling and lack of tracking/self centering.
A -64 is a swing axle car, should not have a (conventional)anti-sway bar in the rear.(Flop stops or limiting straps do better).
It should neither have KYB's at the front, quite the opposite, soft Cofabs, the cheapy jobs are the most correct these days.
1641 can be good if done right, but racing components are not often mentioned in the same sentence.(Although fully possible, if one where to spend stupendous amounts of money for a restricted class racer).
Rims, no such thing as 155, more likely 5,5 inches which is fine, tire size also ok, a tad narrow for the rim, but better that than to wide.
The 1500 tranny comes with a less than optimal gear ratio for a
1600cc(to low).
The weight of the engine is only marginal heavier than the stock item..
So, not to rain on your parade, add these factors up and ask yourself the question again: "professionally - by the mechanics.?"
Read Bill Fisher's "How to Hot Volkswagen Engines." It has a nice section on handling mods in the back of the book. But the vehicle has already given you a heads-up.
Most of the information about VW handling improvements comes from people trying to sell you something. I can tell you from experience what a bitter pill it is to find out most of them are full of shit. The body-shape causes the rear-end to start to unload at about 85mph. If you can push it up to an honest 100mph you'll find you have virtually no control at all. But I doubt you'll ever see that. As PJ has already pointed out, you shot yourself in the foot when you lowered the front end.
Bottom line: The VW simply wasn't designed for high-speed cruising.
If you have a valid need to travel two miles per minute for an hour at a time, take a look at the equipment used by the Highway Patrol or other serious travelers. Start with the right chassis, such as a late
1960's full-size sedan, then get acquainted with your local junk yards. By installing a suitable engine, power-train and suspension -- all bolt-ups if you pick the right chassis -- you can end up with a junk-yard dog that can do some serious traveling without rolling itself into a ball... with you in the middle. Not pretty, of course. And totally unkewl. But some major motion when you put the hammer down... all for a lot less than you've probably spent on that bug.
Thanks Berg. 4 the advice. I had the work done by the Aussie mechanics who work over here. People like Aussie VW Performance Centre and Volks Home. They have a good reputation amongst VW owners here and that's why I trusted them.
Well, most places today will sell you anything to make money..
However, your situation can be somewhat rectified by spending a little time and money(Not much though).
My sugestions:
Remove/replace front shocks with regular Cofap(b?) units(Cheap Mexi/Braz).
Remove rear traction bar(Unless it is a 356 Camber Compensator clone WITH leather(Fabric of sorts today) straps..).
Fit FlopStops or limiting straps in the rear.
If the front end drop cannot be undone easily(Cut n' weld job), fit caster shims/spacers behind the lower torsion bar tube. In your case you might need two shims pr. side and longer bolts. This will also raise the front a tad. Alternative is to replace the front end torsion bar tubes with a stock item.
Keep the rest "as is", when your tires wears out, replace them with
175(185)/xx size.
See?
Two hours at a lazy pace and few dollars, your car will feel much more confident.
If the rear spring plate bushings are worn, it will still be a little wiggly. Likewise with worn front end components. But not enough to soil your drawers..
I have my 64 beetle set up stock hieght (yes scott know you can understand why it looks that way) with 195 60 15 tires front and 205
60 15 rear I'm also running 1641 with Kadrons and a pro street tranny with long axles.
I get the best of both worlds as far as around town and high way driving (up to 65) with very little floating problems.
A beetle was not designed for high speeds, and unless your ready to spend alot of money, (and not on the just to look cool stuff) dirve it like it was intended to be driven and enjoy your 43 year old car.
Well, back in early High School ('75) I had made sketches of some fiberglass fenders and a front piece (between the fenders) I had wanted to make that would have swooped the front end down low (and forward to reduce the airflow under the car. Also considered some sort of rubber side "skirts" along the running boards to keep the air from getting in there too.
then a small wing in the back to give a little down force at higher speeds...
Of course, it also included dual rectangular headlights...... I believe that a few years later a more accentuated version of that look briefly became popular.
I thought that in Europe the New Beetles were being hot rodded and don't have an issue going over 100 (you know, those longer ones with Macpherson struts in front, and the 1.6 litre dual port engines). KWW
5 inches drop in the front is excessive for the car to be able to handle good, even at low speeds. In fact, the best high-speed handling is achieved by not lowering the front at all, but lowering the rear a bit (but this is not something that looks nice). With up to 2 inches of drop in the front and 1 inch drop in the back, and with the proper suspension set-up you can achieve almost as good high-speed handling as stock, and much better cornering behavior.
In your setup, the first and most important problem is the caster angle being way-off, which will have a huge effect on how the car keeps a straight line and how it turns. You have to increase the caster by adding spacers (2 sets at least for 5" drop) between the lower torsion tube and the frame head. You will also probably need to replace the rear spring-place bushings, as they will be probably shot.
Unluckily, you cannot easily find soft shocks for the front (such as the stock cofab), because shorter shocks are needed for that amount of drop. You have to modify your existing shocks to make them softer. You have to drill a small hole on the top of the shock's tube to relieve the nitrogen pressurized in the shocks. Then seal the hole (by welding or other way). This way the shocks are converted to oil shocks, and will be a bit softer.
You need the heavy duty sway bar in the front. A camber compensator in the rear is also a great improvement.
And the last most important thing is alignment, front and rear. Since you have altered the stock suspension, the stock alignment specs are not good anymore. You have to find a good alignment shop (the one with the oldest mechanic and oldest equipment you can find) and have the car aligned to stock specs. This will be your starting point, as you trial-and-error tweak the alignment settings ( rear toe, front camber and toe) until you find the best setting for the kind of driving you do. If you like twisty roads, you may want to test a bit of negative camber in the front and a bit of toe-out.
It's always been kind of a fantasy of mine to have a real "sleeper" like that. We have a lot of rice burners around where I live, street racing etc. I would love to teach them a lesson or two.
Not a good idea, pardon me. I drag raced a V8 near my street - the dude tried to overtake me on the wrong side of a roundabout- but I went faster, a whole lot faster. He just wasn't expecting an old VW Beetle to go from 30 -
60MPH in x seconds. And he nearly smashed into my side.
Thankfully he didn't.
It was "fun" at the time but looking back, soberly, there could have been a terrible accident.
After all the money put into the Beetle - and I could have ended up in a wheelchair for life. What for. And even if I did- what did I have to show for it except a mountain of mechnic bills and an astronomical fuel bill.
I had a 68 bug at one time that had an 1835, lightened flywheel, c/w crank,
110 cam, and a huge Dellorto carb. The front end was lowered 3". I had the "stinger" exhaust which made sure that everyone knew when I was coming or going. It was very stock looking otherwise and way too fast for it's brakes. Above 80mph, it was scary but around town, stoplight to stoplight, it was a blast! Andy
The last bug (1974 super)I owned back in the 1980's handled like a dream. I bought it from a guy who really wanted a Porche, he did everything buy put a porche engine in it.
Sorry. The best advice is for you to slow down. Probably not what you want to hear, but that is the practical advice. Remember that Porsche designed our bugs to run at 100kph (~62mph). As you have found, they do quite well at that speed.
They do quite well at 62 mph only if you don't mind getting dirty looks and hand gestures from drivers who pass you on the highway, even if you're in the slow lane. According to my Chilton repair manual, the top speed of the 53 horse Beetle is 78 mph.
By comparison, my swing axle Notchback has a top speed of 93 mph (1678 cc, stock carbs, mild cam). It feels as stable at that speed as it does at 65, unless I get hit by a stiff side wind. I read somewhere on the internet (so it must be true, right?) that because Type 3 models have smooth sides, that is -- no fenders that stick out beyond the doors, they are more aerodynamic than Beetles.
Unfortunately, both the Beetle and the Type 3 have a high center of wind resistance, not to be confused with a high center of gravity, a characteristic which both models also suffer from. You can read about those topics, IIRC, in the "How to Hot Rod Volkswagen Engines" book that Veeduber referred to in this thread.
Wait a minute... You mean some people actually *lower* these old VWs?!?!? Hmm... I can think of lots of reasons to raise them up some, but lower them? Hmmm...
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