So, we're thinking broken springs in the torsion. I bet previous owner added the Empi coil-overs to cover up or compensate. Bummer. Also, my friend suspects his chassis may be a bit bent. He says the body is crooked (which in some cases is normal), but he says he can see that the pan and chassis aren't quite right. I think that if this crookedness is visible in the chassis, more than likely the chassis is drastically bent, and was probably caused by someone taking a hard landing on one side (which might explain the broken torsion springs as well). So, my question is this: Is it possible to straighten a bent VW chassis? Is this something a frame shop could do? If so, where do you attach the anchors to do the 'pulling'? I'm sure the rear torsion is a good place in the rear, but I wonder if the front end can handle the stress without the framehead bolts shearing, or the torsion tubes bending. Lastly, with the body on, what are the criss-cross measuring points on the belly that can be used to check for straight and even chassis? Thanks much!Chassis Straightening
Chassis Straightening
A friend of mine just purchased a Manx and has been calling me for tech help and such. His Manx had coil-overs on the front which I'm trying to talk him into getting rid of. Anyway, he removed the coil overs and now his front end is very lopsided. He says it sags 4" on one side. So, we're thinking broken springs in the torsion. I bet previous owner added the Empi coil-overs to cover up or compensate. Bummer. Also, my friend suspects his chassis may be a bit bent. He says the body is crooked (which in some cases is normal), but he says he can see that the pan and chassis aren't quite right. I think that if this crookedness is visible in the chassis, more than likely the chassis is drastically bent, and was probably caused by someone taking a hard landing on one side (which might explain the broken torsion springs as well). So, my question is this: Is it possible to straighten a bent VW chassis? Is this something a frame shop could do? If so, where do you attach the anchors to do the 'pulling'? I'm sure the rear torsion is a good place in the rear, but I wonder if the front end can handle the stress without the framehead bolts shearing, or the torsion tubes bending. Lastly, with the body on, what are the criss-cross measuring points on the belly that can be used to check for straight and even chassis? Thanks much!
So, we're thinking broken springs in the torsion. I bet previous owner added the Empi coil-overs to cover up or compensate. Bummer. Also, my friend suspects his chassis may be a bit bent. He says the body is crooked (which in some cases is normal), but he says he can see that the pan and chassis aren't quite right. I think that if this crookedness is visible in the chassis, more than likely the chassis is drastically bent, and was probably caused by someone taking a hard landing on one side (which might explain the broken torsion springs as well). So, my question is this: Is it possible to straighten a bent VW chassis? Is this something a frame shop could do? If so, where do you attach the anchors to do the 'pulling'? I'm sure the rear torsion is a good place in the rear, but I wonder if the front end can handle the stress without the framehead bolts shearing, or the torsion tubes bending. Lastly, with the body on, what are the criss-cross measuring points on the belly that can be used to check for straight and even chassis? Thanks much!A good frame shop could straighten a VW pan. I would first set the buggy up on a set of level stands, under the outer ends of the rear torsion housing and the outer section of the front axle beam. This will allow you to see how the chassis looks, along with taking the "broken" torsion leaves out of the equation.
-
5150bossman
- Posts: 607
- Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:00 am
- Location: So Cal