Manx Club

I am starting my manx project, and I want it to have a stance like this. Now, what is the proper way to do it. My pan is a swing axle, so I know I'm going to have the camber issue in the rear, but that is no big deal. I read somewhere that 1 internal spline adjustment will lower the rear 1.5". Sounds like a good starting point to me. Do I go with drop spindles, or adjustable Beam in the front? Or both? Any info on this buggy is greatly apreciated. Including wheel/tire specs Thanks -Brian

Dropped spindles and an adjustable beam will drop the front end and allow you to fine tune the ride height. You will also need shorter front shocks with the adjustable beam, provided you lower it with the beam a substantial amount. I'm not a big fan of lowered swing axle cars. I really don't like the look with the tires cambered in at the top.

I'm not a big fan of lowered swing axle cars. I really don't like the look with the tires cambered in at the top.

I agree. Especially if you're going with wide rear tires like the picture. You can raise the transaxle some on a swingaxle to help, but a major lowering in the rear needs IRS. :2cents: Dang nice buggy though! Wheels look like standard issue Porsche all polished up.

Here is a similar style buggy with tire/wheel specs. He has a lot of info on his chassis build up page. VDUBIN Buggy

if you really want to have a sweet ride there is a company that is now making and air ride suspension for v-dubs. So you can raise and lower you pimp-ride. They advertise in hot vw's i believe the company is called airkewld. and there website is http://www.airkewld.com. I looks like they make a kit for a swing axle rear end as well so you might be in luck. Pricey but if you want a car as cool as the one you posted it's going to cost some pennies anyways so might as well do it right.

[QUOTE="mkparker"]Here is a similar style buggy with tire/wheel specs. He has a lot of info on his chassis build up page. VDUBIN Buggy [/QUOTE] I know IRS is the way I should go, but I have a swing axle, so I am going to use it. I dont want to run the super wide rear tires, so the camber thing is ok. As fo Airkewled, I have seen there ads, and I can think of a better way to spend 2k. I want it low all of the time, not only when it is parked.

Remember that with a swing axle, if you really slam the rear end of your buggy enough to cause drastic negative camber, you will be starving the rear wheel bearings of gear oil. Not to mention wearing the tires out enevenly. But hey, that's the price you pay to look cool! The Chameleon Purple buggy looks too low to me. Deans old buggy has the perfect lowered stance. I keep going back and forth with myself on slamming the front of mine, but keep talking myself out of it, because I enjoy taking it off road sometimes. Maybe when I get the sandrail completed I'll drop the front of my buggy and make it a street only cruiser.

[QUOTE="UncleBob"]Remember that with a swing axle, if you really slam the rear end of your buggy enough to cause drastic negative camber, you will be starving the rear wheel bearings of gear oil. [/QUOTE] Does anyone make sealed bearings, that dont rely on gear oil?

I don't think so, but for a weekend cruiser, I probably wouldn't worry about it. There's plenty of slammed swingaxles being driven daily, with a lot more negative camber than I think you'd want in a buggy, especially if you'll be running bigger tires in the rear than 165s. If I was going to go this route, I'd prolly use a set of air shocks in the rear, though, and try to get the torsions adjusted so that at minumum air pressure, you got the stance you're looking for, and with maximum air, a little more positive camber. Soak those bearings once in a while, you know? I'm running the el-cheapo air shocks on my buggy and can get maybe an inch or two of lift in the rear.

14" wheels will get you a little lower but I know the trend is towards the larger diameter wheels. Be careful if you decide to raise the transaxle. Most buggies don't have much clearance between the top of the trans and the bottom of the rear seat.

I'm not intrested in big wheels, I think I am going to run a set of stock chrome wide 5's. 15x5.5's in the rear, and 15x4.5's in the front. No caps. I'm not going to raise the axle either, I really dont mind the camber look. It is actually kind of growing on me.

If you really love the low life, you can drop the body shell down. Leave the thing bolted down to the chassis, and cut the body off a few inches above the flange, turn the shell upside down, and remove a few inches from the tub, then fix 4 timber batons (for a temporary fix) to each corner of the body tub, these can be fixed to the lower part of the tub, and adjusted to the required height, then glass the 2 back together. EASY :rock: This is the way I did my bounty hunter, but went high. If going very low this way, you will have to lower the shock towers, and maybe a few GRP mods around the rear shocks for clearance. :driving:

My original manx body is way to nice to hack in two (Im not even painting over the original gelcoat), but If I had a beater body, this seems like it would be a good option to get the low as possible look

My IRS isn't as low as I would like but the lower arms are still hitting the underside of the battery and recess trays....does this sound right? I'ts probably siting at a similar height to the blue one pictured in this thread.

[QUOTE="newmanx59"]14" wheels will get you a little lower .[/QUOTE] ***************************** It's NOT the wheels! it's the tires! you can buy 22" wheels with tires 26" tall! 20"'s with 24" tires.. 14"'s with 30" tires...