Steve Arndt baja build project

[dustymojave]

Rim is fine for the tire. This isn't a sand dune car. Offroad racers in Class 5-Open, Class 10 and Class 12 all commonly install 33x10.50-15 tires on 15 x 4 rims. If you want to test a tire/rim setup for lateral wigglies, put it on an offroad race car. The highway is nothing in comparison.

There may be some other issue. In fact, it sounds as if there IS something else wrong.

Tie rod ends, beam caster, wheel bearings loose,worn tie rod ends, collapsible section in steering column breaking loose, excess rear toe, loose rear arm bushings, chassis off square, wrong brand of underwear...

[Steve Arndt]

I replaced the steering column with a fresh one after I bent the crappolla out of my old one smashing into a chevy truck last winter. Tie rods feel tight, just had them off when I replaced the steering box last weekend with a new TRW super tight box (they loosen up as they work in). New thing ball joints. Wheel bearings are adjusted up properly but I will give them all a twice over again. Chassis you would THINK is surely off square since I've rolled it once, and T boned it once. Surprising my alignment guy was amazed how straight it aligns up and asked if the bug had never been crashed? I sprayed beer out my nose laughing at that one.

Is 2.0 degrees of actual laser machine measured caster (not eye balled by hand like I usually do) enough? The caster went down a c-hair when I went up in rear tire size by 1 inch but not very much. It still sits with the nose about 1 inch higher than the rear when viewed from the side. If I add caster shims I will have to also add them to my outside beam supports as well as the center on the frame head, kind of hokey. It already steers w steering by Armstrong so I don't want to go overboard there.

[dustymojave]

Measured at the beam tubes, the caster should be 6-8° with the door sills level.

2.0° at the spindle seems like not near enough.

[smiley]

When you get in the car you might have an effect on the castor too. I don't know how big you are but I have taken to doing the wheel alignment with at least one person in the car. Cause when I get in the front end comes down a bit. If the front end drops it could also be robbing you of some precious castor.


Smiley

[Steve Arndt]

Thanks. My alignment guy is cool and let me put two bags of lead in my syncro for that reason during alignment. The sway a way leafs in the front are so stiff my 190 pounds doesn't move it

[turbobaja]

It may have already been mentioned, but have you checked to see that the eccentric upper BJ adjuster is rotated to give the most positive caster for the given amount camber it's set for ? They can be positioned 180 deg to provide 2 different caster positions. Make sure it's rotated to tilt the spindle back as far as possible.

How about a sway bar or anti-roll bar of some kind? If you've got a rear sway bar sitting around, might try it out on the baja if you haven't already. I really like my front/rear bar combo on the street, and off-road for that matter.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

It is my understanding that the new repo adjusting cams are bored at a different angle to accommodate lowered suspension. Visually the top of the hole looks to be farther out to the edge. Could that be of any help?

Lee

[Steve Arndt]

Vw thing camber eccentrics not aftermarket. I have them installed the normal direction.

I have a stock vw front sway bar with the good t bolt clamps on it.

I'm taking it out now and will try it with lower front tire pressure as was suggested earlier. I also found a bee nest remnant in the valvw seat of my adjustable fuel p regulator. I put a spare vanagon Reg on it. Pressure was all over the place took a bit to figure that one!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I forgot you are dealing with Thing stuff.

[turbobaja]

They can be positioned 180 deg to provide 2 different caster positions....

180 deg is pretty optimistic, so I should probably rephrase that slightly

There is the possibility that the eccentric needs to be "pointed" straight out or in to provide the desired amount of camber. In either of those positions you have only one option for the amount of caster you can adjust into that corner with the eccentric. Anywhere between full positive and full negative available camber, you have 2 possible positions to set your caster at for the same amount of camber, depending on weather you place the BJ stud forward of behind the center line of eccentric bore in the spindle.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

When I got my Thing suspension one adjuster was stuck to the upper BJ and had to be pressed off, it broke loose at 12 tons of pressure as I remember. The second adjuster was a long search, the one i got was found laying on the floor behind a shop press. I had to pay what I remember being a higher than normal price for it because they are different than a sedan adjuster as the dia and the angle of the hole is different. Tht cost was typical of the major parts in a Thing suspension.

I'm still surprised that some of this stuff isn't reproduced but I guess the want isn't great enough to justify the expense.

[Steve Arndt]

Picked up some 2x3 DOM trailing arms for Bugly. Pretty nice value. From Appletree Auto free shipping comes in at 400 bucks. Made in the USA which is big to me. They make them left and right which is nice, not symmetrical like the box 3x3s which are made off one jig. Should align out better at a lifted stance than arms built off a stock single jig that just gets flipped.

It is going to take a while to acquire the remaining parts to do the conversion. I'm going to redo my bumper mounts when I change the cage up for the shock mounts. Also hope to do the front cage work at the same time. My dad is selling our shop so I have to hustle before I don't have a place to work on stuff.

2x3.jpg

[TimS]

Oh boy. Time to start on the home shop. Where will you store all your toys?

[GoMopar440]

$400 seems to be right around the going rate for most new 2x3's arms lately. I've been keeping an eye out for a used set as well and they just don't seem to come up very often. When they do, I'm usually not in a position financially to get them. I agree the "Made in the USA" part is a big plus for me as well. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread to see if these arms give you any problems during install. They're on the short list of arms I'm considering getting for my rail when I move everything over to a new frame.

[dustymojave]

I agree in principle with the "Made in USA" issue.

Just don't go ham on me when I pull up in my Toyota pickup next to your Chevy covered with "Buy American" stickers all over the back of it, when the Chevy was assembled in Mexico with components manufactured all over the planet, and my Toyota was built in Kentucky by American workers out of components manufactured at least 87% in the USA under US Import regulations. My last Honda Civic was also built in the US as was my Dodge Durango and my old 61 F100 and 61 Falcon. My foreign cars are Bugs manufactured before 1970.