Camber adjustment to front end

[Momboy007]

Hello All,
I was driving my little buggy and noticed my front left tire is out further on the top then the bottom, is this adjustable and is this a difficult job?

Thanks,

Rick

[Chicago Joe]

What type front beam???

Pics??

[Momboy007]

All I know is it is a king pin from a 1962 beetle

Does that help?

Rick

[1856]

There are correcting shims available from many sources : http://fibercraftreno.com/ .
A Bentley Manual will walk you through the tasks: http://www.bentleypublishers.com/volkswagen/
There are also many U Tube videos on that subject.
When adjusting this and that make sure your buggy is loaded and sitting on level ground when checking your progress.
Enjoy,
MnC

[Momboy007]

Thanks 1856,
Are these easy to install?

Thanks for your help
Rick

[1856]

I thought it was...
Read that part of Bentley's book a few times.
Not difficult at all. When setting the toe, center the steering box (turn to turn). Make a jig for measuring. I use electrical conduit 3/4 & 1/2" Tack a jam nut on the 3/4 to lock the 1/2"form sliding when getting close.
It's all fun...
MnC

[lastmanx]

one more thing to check and keep in mind. most early buggys were built from wrecked beetles. be sure your beam and trailing arms are not bent. the easiest way to see, is if you still have a stabilizer bar on it and the bar is not perfect you had a big hit. the bar stays bent. but most likely the adjustment has been tightened out of spec. to eliminate play. it takes the slop out of the pins so when a newbie looks at the car it has a tight front end. being a 1962 you probably need new everything. it is not easy for you to fix since you won't turn a paper page of a book to learn anything. take your buggy to a tire shop for a front end alignment which you need. expect bad news. have a nice day.

[1856]

It will be interesting if you could find an alignment shop that would touch a buggy. Most use alignment machines are lasers guided and computers that utilize pre-loaded date base. I haven't seen any that have buggy specs ... And even fewer techs the understand the Ackermann Theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann ... g_geometry), or how to apply to the buggy needs. I wonder how many buggies chassis were cut and re welded square ?

With all that being said, It's ez to figure out what you have and how to make it work. Or you can take it to a High End off road shop that builds chassis $$$ and have them look at it?

I'll look back in the archives for a post I did a few years ago on this subject...
MnC