Ryan, Your right ,I need to re-index the torsion bars. Is it much of a job? Even with two people on it ,it doesn't settle.I can see where it is trying to go beyond the stops.I think "PO"tried to adjust them and went the wrong way because the bolts have been changed. I have pictures on the bottom of this page where it says"TRYKE" Jerry
Jerry, just so you know, I just wanted to make sure that you got the advice you needed. Mario aka Kafertoys deserves all the flames he gets because of his a) reputation as a crook and con artist and b) complete lack of knowledge.
Back to the topic at hand, it's definitely a must to get those wheels evened out, as positive camber is definitely not the ticket for a good handling swingaxle car.
Jerry, tons of info on the samba, even some videos I watched last night, search the forums for lowering and you will find the charts and the math on number of notches to height. here are some links for a start: These are for IRS on the type 3 but much of the principals are the same for swing on a type 1:
As far as reindexing the bars goes, its' a bit of work, but there's plenty of knowledgeable minds on this newsgroup that can give you a detailed explanation. It's very key to be extremely careful in removing the spring plate off the stop, as it is under extreme load. The short version of the process is the spring plate is indexed to the torsion bar by means of a splined end on the torsion bar. You rotate the spring plate up or down on the splined torsion bar to either raise or lower the suspension. It's good to provide a witness mark before you change it, so you know where you started from.
But again, this is an oversimplification. I'm sure there's guys that can give you much more detailed explanation and instructions here.
Just don't take any advice from Mario ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com). At least, not if you value your life or possessions. Lol.
To dial in the rear you need to know that the inner and outer splines differ in numbers, this allows for a very precise adjustment. Buut, do I remember the details? no.. It is listed in most of the Tuning/Performance books though. The official workshop manuals and the Bentley also covers it in minute details. If you want to be German anal about it you need a spirit level protractor(?).
J.
any of the factory settings will be of little use to Jerry, due to the vehicle being so much lighter than the original type 1.... Jerry will need to possibly start by dropping a couple splines(inner or outer) then fine tuning from there..(read: trial and error, until he's pleased with the results)
The original factory settings are given in degrees not spline count, hence the spirit level protractor, therefore applicable.
J.
I understand, and have, the factory specifications in a manual... but for the trike's lightweight it will *never* sit the same finished height as the type 1 it is based on because there is less weight to flex the torsion spring... therefore the factory specifications will not yield the same ride height. in turn the factory settings will not alleviate the overly positive camber the OP is battling... simply removing the engine in a swingaxle car results in positive camber and the engine is less than 300 pounds...
With some kit car bodies being lighter its hard to call. My Bradley's were stock and sat great. On my thing we went 2 outters and dropped it
3 inches, of course that was irs. Womakc has been going around 2 splines on the outter and 1 i think on the inner, that pretty much slams the rear on a stock early bug. I would do 1 to 2 outter and go from there, just remember to roll it around after you get it back together as it will settle then. If memory servers me correct the inner splines give you half as much as the outter. The compensator is not gong to do what you want and keep a decent ride. We just did 1 outter on a suicide door bug that will hit the shows next spring, its irs as well but running tall tires in the rear on Chev wheels, Owner was tickled purple ( car is 96 Mustang gt Purple) lol. Also doing a 6 inch narrowed beam for the same car. Yell if we can help in any way. Kelly
Womack that is. Bad spelling is contagious.
I'm pretty sure there's going to be a big difference in weight from a stock bodied car to this:
To the OP... just gather everyone's information then figure a path to take... I'd feel safe saying that it appears that the rear of your trike is probably set at stock level... but no matter, if you want to relieve the positive camber you will have to lower the rear to get the wheels to camber less...
Is the original settings not given when loaded? If not so and I remember it the wrongly you would be right, and I would be wrong..
J.
If the specifications were given for the finished/loaded setting, everytime someone set the torsion bars it would be trial and error... therefore the settings are given in the "relaxed" state. my scanner has never worked properly, but I'll type this out of the Bentley.
Bentley manual (blue manual for 1966-1969 models) chapter 5, section 8
END BENTLEY QUOTE
Jerry will need to use some trial and error or some amazing math to figure how the weight of his trike will twist the torsion bars... the stock settings are spot on for a stock car, but as we modify these cars extensively the stock settings are for reference only....
Yup, I had it all wrong in my head.. Getting older I guess.
J.
I can sympathize.
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