The profile of the tyres when related to a camber angle will not be used, as the camber is the same whether the tyre is large or not,
though if they are large diameter it might be relevant in that to achieve a 'standard' slightly negative stance may mean the tyres hit the rear wing....

VW specify an angle of the spring plate in a 'down' position below the centreline
of the torsion bar of 21.5 degrees + 50'...

Remember though this is the position that was used on the production line and was determined
taking into account the weight of a fully assembled Beetle, with the quality control of the torsion bars and their heat treatment being monitored closely!

Body weight is the factor here, if you use this VW stated angle as a start point you will have a lot of positive camber on your buggy
due to the weight difference between your buggy and a Beetle, but from that start point you can take a measurement from the top of
the tyre to the body work, or better still, for me...

Drop a plumb line down the side of the rim 12'oclock down through 6'oclock, and then measure the 'gap' at the bottom
to the rim lip.

A little pythagorus will give you the positive camber angle and you can go from there to get to where you need to be...

Peter

Cheers Peter I think I get it. Comes down to quite a bit of trial and error too I guess with regards to the right look.

My Manx is completely disassembled with no reference points so I am worried that I won't even be able to get the outer splines lined up the same on both spring plates.

Don't worry about getting both the spring plates the same, use the angle as a start and then do each spring plate
so that it give you the camber you want evenly on both sides. Or ride height, it depends on what your preference is.

Remember, over time the torsion bars may well be in different states, so all you are doing is 'dialing in' each side to achieve the same result...

Camber or Height, the two torsion bars are NOT linked in any way, they are completely independent from one another 

Peter

Don't worry about getting both the spring plates the same, use the angle as a start and then do each spring plate
so that it give you the camber you want evenly on both sides. Or ride height, it depends on what your preference is.

Remember, over time the torsion bars may well be in different states, so all you are doing is 'dialing in' each side to achieve the same result...

Camber or Height, the two torsion bars are NOT linked in any way, they are completely independent from one another 

Peter

So are you saying Peter that its ok for each side to have slightly different settings, ie i'm sure my spring plates are the same angle and number of splines on both side, but the drivers side is 25mm or so lower and will rub on the tyres. I'm thinking this is a result of wear and extra load (driver) over the years. I was going to adjust that side, does it matter that it will be a slightly different angle to the other side or is this all part of the dial in process??

[In fact its the errors in the body work that always crops up, my Manx is higher on the passenger side,]

No I am not saying that, and must apologise if I worded it all a bit badly.

I was just trying to show that the camber adjustment is separate and that the torsion
bars are not linked, they adjust each side independently from the other.

You are right about the angle of the spring plate, but I always ingnore that and set up
the 'camber angle' to be the same both sides.

If the buggy is standing on flat and level ground the camber should be the same either side,
eg 1 degree negative.... And the body work should also be the same/level both sides.

In fact its the errors in the body work that always crops up, my Manx is higher on the passenger side,
yet the camber is the same either side. As thats what I wanted to achieve...

Its possible the spring plates wont be at exactly the same angle due to the splines being broached in the hubs
during production without any real referencing to their position...

The KEY thing when setting up, is the CAMBER, as, if you have equal camber on both sides and yet the bodywork rubs on one side only,
then its the body work/chassis misalignment that causing it and the body work will have to be altered to suit...

If one side at the rear is sagging due to years of use, then the camber will be affected too, and there will be more negative
due to the sagging of the torsion bar, you cant have a lower/sagging stance due to ageing torsion bars and no change in camber
as the two components are linked together...

It should be possible, if all the chassis and bodywork is level and square to just raise it back up and restore the camber.

Its IMPORTANT to realise that the VW setup using a protractor was only used to facilitate accurate and quick setup on the production line,
it would have been done before the body work had been put on...

VW would have R&D'd the settings, established a manual way to set the spring plate angle and then applied the results to production, the
protractor enabled the chassis suspension to be set prior to any bodywork being present, so when the finished Beetle finally rolled off at the end,
it sat correctly.

For buggy owners its a different set of rules, as the final weight/stance is unknown.... So we start somewhere sensible and fine tune it from there.

This thread is showing the reason why so many buggy owners use IRS now, as the attitude of the rear wheels is NO LONGER linked to ride height.....

Does this make sense, I am sorry if it doesn't and dont mean to bang on

Peter

we put chimps torsion bars in at 16 degrees and it has not been touched since.
they are marked L and R for side fitment.
as said it is old paarts so settigs will vary with wear.

None of this is as bad as it seems at first.

Once you have popped the spring plate on and connected only the cover and rear axle, you
can just drop it down roll it about to see whats happening and alter it again if needed.

I was altering Sally's adjustments in about 10 minutes if I remember...

When you get the hang of it, things are quite straight forward.

Peter

A quick update
I wanted to slacken off the suspension from its original factory setting as I had no movement at all.
I moved the rear suspension 1 outer spline. This made the spring plate sit in this position with the bottom of the spring plate level with the stop. It was about 50 mm of movement as Peter had said.[/size]
I reconnected everything and the suspension now sat with about 5 mm off the stop so I had movement at last and the axle tubes were no longer touching the gearbox yolks.
With the engine fitted the suspension dropped about another 5 mm

that looks better and you now know how to do it if it needs fine tuning later when complete and settled.