aluminum 944 arms--- what shocks? Brakes?

[petew]

I'll take a pic of the car with the current setup tomorrow and post up.
It's a Pile.

Great. I love cars with character.

[Piledriver]

I'll take a pic of the car with the current setup tomorrow and post up.
It's a Pile.

Great. I love cars with character.

By request... Yes, that is duct tape.
The trapezoidal holes are both for the bumper mounts and air intakes for the AC condensers in both fenders. They are ~invisible with the bumper in place.

[petew]

I have a soft spot for late type 3s. I know they're the red-headed step daughter of aircooleds, but I love em and would like one. I like you're early indicator conversion. Do you use early bumpers too?

[Piledriver]

Its a great, practical, fun, comfortable car, at least with the T4 in it.
If I didn't have this I'd have to get a Subaru WRX wagon/hatchback.(last gen IIRC)

Considering early bumpers, will probably go 'glass early style blades...
You can get chrome paint done that actually looks like chrome these days, maybe better, and in candy colors...
Most likely to go flat black trim/bumpers tho, with the most obnoxious yellow/orange paint I can find for the car.
I'd settle for "all one color" at this point, even the original desert beige.

With modern cars having integrated bumpers, it looks more normal these days with no bumpers.
Gotta have the front for inspection, or at least used to, I just haven't gotten around to putting them back on.

The late cars have a bigger frunk and better aero, and the price was right.
I despise the late front turn signals, and the late lenses are purest unobtainium anyway.

Early stuff you can still get new Hella lenses for reasonably priced.
I spent less on a decent pair of housings and new Hella lenses than ~OK used front lenses.
I need to flare the fronts like the rears if only for visual balance.

I have another week+ off before the new year so we'll see if the weather cooperates.

[petew]

Looks really cool with the 928 wheels too. Love it. You're running a type 4 motor right?

[Piledriver]

Yep, 1.8 with 2L 914 heads, looking for an automatic to put the 2.2 or 2.5L turbo on.
...That's the "why" of the big tires/brakes/shocks etc...have all the parts save a transmission that would survive the first WOT upshift, and I don't intend spending 5K on a beefed T1 trans that will still spit a ring gear after a few hard launches.

Keep meaning to polish the wheels but thats a lot like work, and its my daily.
I'll eventually drop them off at a place that polishes wheels... or just go flat black.
They are forged Fuchs and still perfectly round.
6x16, 195-55 front, 8x16 with 245-50s out back, reasonably sticky Cooper RS3-As all around.

The wheels are the early 944T offset.ET 52.3mm, matching the rear arms.
Front has a 25mm spacer.(5x130/5x130 10 nuts/side)

The late 944 and 928 rims are ET65 or such, but are otherwise the same wheels, IIRC same forging as the original Club Sport rims, latter just have the windows cut out a bit more pie shaped.

Club Sport rims, when I have a spare 2K, or take a router to the manhole covers.

[petew]

I like black rims. Should look good.

My wife got real upset when I spent $2300 on a rebuilt late swingaxle box. Till I reminded her that new clutch on the Pug 307 cost $3500... before taxes... before fitment.

Old VWs are still a bargain compared to newer stuff.

[H2OSB]

Pile--

All this time we've been friends and I never knew how nice your T3 was. It will look like a boss with the D90s...one of my fav Pork wheels (OK, Club Sports, if you want to split hairs), and look superb on a Beetle, IMO. I'm a bit fixated on 15s for my 1303, but I think 16s are just the right size.

H2OSB

[Piledriver]

D90s are cast aluminum, but look similar.
The 7 slot discs or their Club Sport children are forged Fuchs, and very light and strong.

The only thing "wrong" with 16s is the limited tire choice for racing, but for spirited street use there are plenty of excellent tires.

[Piledriver]

So, everything still working great, no complaints, but still trying to do aluminum front hubs and stronger front axles and may have a Plan...

I am giving the evil eye to a pair of 5x130 2" wheel spacers, 6061T6, CNC machined, and new, sitting on my bench.

Also looking at the front hubs on a Boxter etc and notice they use the same sealed bearing as out back, or at least same style., double row, sealed, nice bearing, the one I have as a reference is a used one from my 914 rear...

There's probably plenty of meat in that wheel spacer for it and a snap ring... Has a 36 or 37mm hole in it, an old 914 rear stub axle might make for a fine axle with a little trimming. could also use a cap on the back bolted on to provide more meat at the face, would allow for a shorter axle.
(will probably just use a solid hunk of chromoly)

Should be plenty strong for any conceivable use.

Thoughts?

I looked around at ~all the microstub setups and this would be more compact and possibly stronger than most.

[TJ530]

So, everything still working great, no complaints, but still trying to do aluminum front hubs and stronger front axles and may have a Plan...

I am giving the evil eye to a pair of 5x130 2" wheel spacers, 6061T6, CNC machined, and new, sitting on my bench.

Also looking at the front hubs on a Boxter etc and notice they use the same sealed bearing as out back, or at least same style., double row, nice bearing, the one I have as a reference is a used one from my 914 rear...

There's probably plenty of meat in that wheel spacer for it and a snap ring... Has a 36 or 37mm hole in it, an old 914 rear stub axle might make for a fine axle with a little trimming. could also use a cap on the back bolted on to provide more meat at the face, would allow for a shorter axle.
(will probably just use a solid hunk of chromoly)

Should be plenty strong for any conceivable use.

Thoughts?

I looked around at ~all the microstub setups and this would be more compact and possibly stronger than most.

I've got a email pending to the driveshaft shop asking which will be cheaper. Either A) using a conventional stub axle setup except with a Nissan 300zx rear hub/bearing carrier and normal VW axle and Porsche 930 CVs
B) using a Nissan 300zx rear hub/bearing carrier and a custom length axle with the Nissan CV on one end and a Porsche joint on the other.
Not exactly the same but pretty closeit will require a custom trailing arm in the rear and a custom spindle up front but once that's done all of the brakes should just bolt on including the E-brake and gives you a 5x114.3 bolt pattern which has the largest selections of aftermarket wheels.
In terms of strength I recently saw a drift team build custom knuckles front and rear using the hubs/bearing carriers from other cars (the hubs bolt on) and they don't seem to have problems so you should be good to go i would think.

[Piledriver]

I'm kinda partial to the 5x130s I have as the offset works and they were cheap, round and forged Fuchs, but am open to suggestions.
Any info on what front microstub they used?
I figured using an ACVW as a drift car would be cheating
(the motors in an ideal place)

I couldn't find any that had a flat mount flange, I would be adapting to stock T3 spindles with the axles milled off.
(similar to T1 on the stub side) I'm hoping to get ~30mm or so of drop out of the deal as well.

[petew]

I am giving the evil eye to a pair of 5x130 2" wheel spacers, 6061T6, CNC machined, and new, sitting on my bench.

Took me half a day to figure out what you meant by this and then, BAM! It hit me. Sneaky, sneaky.

[Piledriver]

I probably should have said "eyeing them with evil intent:.." for clarity.

I still am... wondering I can simply weld a ~thick tube pressed on over the stock stub to mount it...
That bearing typically is secured by a nut with several hundred ft/lb tq on it though, so one piece is probably in order.

Another thought is to use the 914 rear stubs as bolt-on axles...

[petew]

You thinking going AWD down the track? Coz the story you're telling sounds just like early 80s RWD rallying. Everyone coverted to front axles from stubs and then "hey presto!", AWD was easy.