im building a buggy from scratch and was wondering if there is anywhere that lists the bolt sizes for parts on the chassis, example drive shaft to spring plates etc :-[
A good question that, you may find the answer on a dune buggy supplier in the states web site.
body bolts are 8mm length depends on body, seal and any reinforcing fitted can be stainless.
axle arm bolts are 12mm X 45mm with a 20-25mm shank on.
shocker bolts are 10mm X 90mm but need a 50-60mm shank on.
the shank is bare bolt so the threads are not in the casting or tubes.
M8 hardness if fine for all
don't think it would be cost effective to buy a doner beetle for nuts an bolts ;D ive not touched an air cooled before so its all new to me!
thankyou for the info, got a feeling i'll be asking for many more sizes ::)
They are mechanical simplicity but no 2 are 100% the same and bits differ.
there may be a local nuts and bolts supplier down your way to save all the postage unless you bulk order.
As Snoopy has said, its all metric and M8, M10 and M12 is used all over,
the shanks are standard length in most cases, though it will be ok to use a fully threaded shank too.
8.8 stamped heads, High tensile will also be the ones to go for, specially in the suspension areas.
The metric system is so easy you will have it down in no time ;-)up
Peter
handy to know they are metric, you guys are full of useful info, snoopy by axel arms are these the 6 bolts which bolt to the spring plates from axel tubes?
thankyou again ;-)up
they are you also need decentsflat washers on them( rather than the el cheapo wafer thin ones) and lock nuts or spring washers and bare nuts.
Quotehandy to know they are metric, you guys are full of useful info
Don't forget where it was made..... Germany :)
I work in an environment that uses bothe the metric and the imperial system, some
of the guy's 'won't do metric'.....
Which is amazing as metric the simplest most straight forward and adaptable thead system
ever devised ;-)up
Peter
thats one thing I don't want to use (although im on a budget) is cheap stuff to cut corners
Never get cheap stuff, just get the right ones.... Saves a fortune in the end too.
Plus, the right stuff doesn't cost that much more anyway, sometimes its just the ease of
ebay and the constant need to by something cheap that many will be doing...
With this stuff though, the standard is the 'thing', and its got to be right!
Peter ;-)up
You could do worse than a trip to Screwfix and stock up on a range of sizes and lengths, nuts and washers. While there get some storage boxes to put them in and write on the box lids what is in them.
I find it invaluable to have clearly labelled boxes, washers, nuts, bolts M6-8, bolts M10+ etc.
as Peter says, dont use stainless everywhere just cos its shiny
Really Important are the four bolts that hold the beam on.
They have a fine pitch thread on them although they are large diameter, DO NOT try and force the wrong pitch thread into the captive fixing and if you do have the right bolts don't over tighten them either. and if I remember correctly, on the covers for the spring plate doughnuts use 15mm headed bolts so you can get a spanner on em without having interference from the turned edge of the cover, if I'm wrong Snoops or Peter will put me right
H ;-)up
my only worry really is the lengths and if they need unthreaded shafts, I bought my beam bolts off ebay with high tensile strength, then wondered as im having sway aways welded in ive notice shims but have no idea what they are and as ive got standard length will I need shims and longer bolts? ???
you only need castor shims if going lower than an inch or so but big wheels on the back also reduce castor.
the acid test is after turning left or right release the steering wheel and it should self center but many buggies and lowered vw's do not.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=beetle+caster+shims&client=firefox-a&hs=8hw&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=18opUtCHE4T17AbY2IFQ&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=625
vw also used imperial size fittings on beetles to help confuse matters on a car from a metric country.
ive used longer bolts with a different thread pitch but ive used nylock nuts on the back because the standard threads were knackered
Quote from: ben79 on September 06, 2013, 11:04:01 AM
my only worry really is the lengths and if they need unthreaded shafts, I bought my beam bolts off ebay with high tensile strength, then wondered as im having sway aways welded in ive notice shims but have no idea what they are and as ive got standard length will I need shims and longer bolts? ???
Have you had the swayaways done yet?
If its to lower the front end only, my preference is dropped spindles= less issues IMO.
H
they're half way to being done, being new to it I didn't know what dropped spindles done but now I do but I wasn't sure how low I wanted to go, my neighbour does air ride so was possibly going to go for that
Quotevw also used imperial size fittings on beetles to help confuse matters on a car from a metric country.
That's cool Snoop, I didn't know that, just out of interest, any idea where they were used on the Beetle?
Theres a company called Volksolts on ebay.....they will do replacement bolts for pretty much anything on a beetle, including entire kits.
Might be worth checking them out.
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/volksbolts/
To add to the metric imperial debate... if you measure any of the important chassis dims you get either an exact amount in inches or a half inch amount in comparison to some of the odd mm measurements. So it was obviously designed in inches ;)
As for bolts, I used to buy from specialist manufacturers, but most of the stuff we use now is from screwfix, they do just about everything to the correct grade and length - except the beam bolts. Great range of washers too. Steer clear of stainless bolts if you expect the bolt to have to do any work.
Quote from: Peter on September 06, 2013, 06:41:52 PM
Quotevw also used imperial size fittings on beetles to help confuse matters on a car from a metric country.
That's cool Snoop, I didn't know that, just out of interest, any idea where they were used on the Beetle?
The only imperial threads on a Beetle (apart from a few fastners on very early 1940s KDF Wagens) are the seatbelt mounts where unf is the world standard.
Enough info to get me started, got a screwfix and fastenings place close by so i'll get a shopping list sorted then get going on it. getting twitchy seeing all your buggies, ;D