Lowering a Square's butt [longish with humor].

[patmor@utu.fi (Patrick Joel Morton)]

TIII,

After all of the mails last fall (and thanks again to everyone), I did go
ahead and lower the front of my Squareback two turns (10.4 cm).  This
combined with a steering gear box adjustment, new ball joints, new Boge
shocks and an alignment did improve the steering somewhat.  As many of you
pointed out, it changed the drivability and handling (I don't always have
to wear kidney supports).  Perhaps for the worse, but after now driving on
some long trips (a total of over 4,000 kilometers) and a few more
kilometers around southern Finland, I can't even remember what it used to
ride like.  I do think that it handles strong wind better, but one has to
wonder if the low look is worth it in the end.  The police do not seem to
like it.  However for now, I will keep it low.

The biggest problem has been the tires rubbing on the fenders - 165s are
too big and finding 155s is a problem.  My studded snow tires (did
eventually find some Nokia 155s) ate the side lips of both fenders and the
wider offset of my Sprint Stars is a problem when I have the summer tires
on.  Thank heavens for ball peen hammers ...  Anyway, one fender was
already worse for wear, so I will have to come up with something else about
that later once the fender has been replaced.  At least my neighbors know
when I am coming home.

Now however, it is time to get the rear down.  From the back with the front
end lowered as it is, the rear camber (swing axle) looks as though the car
was just taken off of a jack  \ /  see stupid ascii drawing.

My mechanic is concerned that the rear torsion bars may already be worn to
the point where lowering the back is a, "bad thing".  He knows my Square
well - he owned it for a year, but never drove it, as it languished in
their vehicle storage space.  So I am wondering if there is any possible
truth to this - he can also be lazy; after replacing the clutch, rotors,
calipers, rear brakes and doing some rust repairs, no wonder if he does not
want anything else to do with it.

Aside from uneven tire wear, what are the down sides to dropping the rear?
Are worn (and who knows if the torsion bars are really worn anyway?)
torsion bars a factor?

We have never dropped the rear of a TIII, so I wonder about the difficulty
involved.  Volksworld did an article about rear lowering a few months back,
and of course they made it sound like it could be done during tea time of a
Commonwealth Games cricket test series while jousting on horseback using
the same hand tools required to make an English breakfast for the Queen
Mother ... I doubt it.

What are the humble opinions of yee Type 3 owners?  Please mail ...

Mud

_____________________________________
P  A  T  R  I  C  K   J  O  E  L   M  O  R  T  O  N

Owner of, "Helmut", a 1963 Pearl White,
Resto-Cal Custom Volkswagen Beetle &
"Urs", a 1967 Baltic Blue Squareback,
which will eat all of my money for years to come ...

E-mail Address:
patmor@utu.fi
GSM/Text: +358 40 502 2654
Fax: +358 2 469 2671

Kasken Linna - Kaskenkatu 1E, 44
FIN - 20700  TURKU
S U O M I  F I N L A N D

     "The older I become, the farther away I am from the
     potential that I once had."
                                     -- Patrick J. Morton
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