Lower my bus

Hi there, could anyone tell me the best way of lowering my bus ,drop spindles or beam lowering kit , weres the best place to buy theses ,or could anyone recommend anyone to do it in the mansfield area of notts cheers Paul

 

VW81a - did my bus - www.j81avdubs.co.uk


He's in Southport but it's worth the trip. Am pretty sure he'd do same day if you ask nicely ;-). Southports not a bad place to walk round or get the train to Liverpool and have a wander round the docks and shops?

Drops it by a spline or two and adjuster on the front that gives you up to 6" drop - much better than the cut and twist some do.

 

Great stuff thanks for that ,would any decent garage be able to set the tracking and camber or is it a air cooled specialist you need for this cheers paul

 

Great stuff , will have a look at them thanks man

 

Depends how low you want to go and how much you want to spend . Drop spindles are 4-5 hundred quid but are 4-5 inch drop ,which can cause rubbing /bottoming out issues , wagenwest spindles are two spindles cut and welded back together , some people don't like the fact they are welded and I think they add an inch or 2 on track width . The red 9 coil over things are popular but rely on you shock tower to take all the weight and they are not designed for that . And lastly you can cut and turn the beam and fit an adjuster which if your only going down a bit would be my recommendation

 

my moneys on csp adjusters welded into original front axle (if its not rotten) and adjust torsion bars at rear plus unless you have recently replaced your dampers will need a decent set of those

 

Hi thanks , where would I get these adjusters from , and how easy of a job is it to do or would I need someone to do this thanks again Paul

 

Hi there , I don't want to go down silly just enough to make it look better , is the adjusters option something I could do or would I need someone who as done this before cheers Paul

 

i bought mine from machine7 i think there about £100ish for a pair.You need to remove front axle then they need centre pin removing and peens drilling out adjusters welding on then centre pin re-welding back on. not hard if you have tools and know how you can do it in a morning if you have room and all tools and nothings been bodged previously.

 

Hi again , how much would you charge to do this ?I'm only in mansfield ,do you no of any good body shops for paint that are reasonable local cheers again Paul

 

Bluebird customs do a nice adjuster for the front beam...needs removing and welding into place, but can be dialled in exactly how you want it.
for the rear I'd go for Red9 Lowering plates....far less hassle than turning the torsion bars...undo original plates (driveshafts etc.) bolt on new plates...away you go...definitely the best way to lower the rear IMO

here

 

bluebird adjuster only fits in top torsion tube which makes it easier to fit as you dont need to remove steering centre pin boss but it isnt as good as it removes tension from top leaves to lower van but puts all weight of front of van on bottom leaves
i've had vans proper slammed in the past and had them on standard spring plates no problems, If your only mildly lowering then lowered spring plates are a waste of cash

 

I did exactly what 13 widow delux said above.

CSP adjuster (1) welded into the top tube (bought from machine 7 for £39.50).

Turned rear plates 1 spline so I can still get the wheels on and off.

New rubber donuts for the rear torsion bars (£20 the lot from VW Heritage).

Total cost of lowering £59.50 plus tracking and camber checks.

Bus is now 70mm lower at the front and about 60mm lower at the back so I can still run with standard steel wheels and proper spec 185 R 14 C tyres.

 

...... here's a picture too

 

Looks great , would you have any picis of the adjusters in place ?
Or any links as to where to fix them cheers Paul

 

I will look for a picture, but the positioning is dead easy.

The torsion bar on the front top tube will need to rotate clockwise when viewed from the offside side of the van in order for the trailing arm to move upwards and so lower the van.

Therefore, the existing centre pinch bolt hole is the start of the slot for the adjuster - so that the new pinch bolt can rotate 'clockwise' (when viewed from the offside).

By starting the new slot at the existing pinch bolt hole you can adjust back to stock height if you want to in the future.

I got the welding done by Nick at Wiltsfalia (Chippenham, Wiltshire) and he media blasted the beam and 2 pack painted it all for £120 (bargain). I bought the adjuster.

Only one adjuster is required assuming you don't want a weed eater slam, otherwise it will be an adjuster for each tube and the steering pin housing will need to be cut off and re-welded back on to make room for the adjuster in the lower tube.

When you have the beam off the van also check your centre swivel pin is in good shape as it is easy to replace when the beam is off.

I will look for a photo tho'.

 

Thank you , I think I no where your coming from with it now , well I understand it better now lol cheers Paul