It`s a Hi from me

Don't you guys think that you're over complicating what was designed to be a really simple car to build and maintain

I am all for simplification. That is what I was trying to get over   

Back in 1970 when I hauled my first Beetle out of a local scrapyard thrilled to bits to be on my way to being a car owner I had no idea of the path the following decades would take me along. What a smile on my face the first winter when I got into work each and every day. Simply passing other folks stranded with spinning wheels and sliding cars.
All down to a transaxle, independent swinging axle and engine weight in the rear. Total genius. However the point of this thread is to simply say that it is the simplicity of Beetle design that endears it to buggy builds and there is nothing, or almost nothing, out there that you cannot obtain for a cheap, perfectly acceptable buggy drive. It`s not as tho` you are likely to be going "racing"   
So my message is this.... I came to realise that there are so many people out their in the "classic car" world with hoards of stuff in sheds, garages and so on and If you take the time to reach out you will be welcomed and in no time at all you have what you need. If one guy cannot help he will pass you on to someone else and so on. I have lost count of the hours I have spent over five and a half decades on the phone and driving the country from end to end. Beetle, Camper lovers will talk endlessly for hours with you along with cup of tea after cup of tea.      This doesn`t just apply to private individuals chase the commercial outlets as well. Drive up in your buggy and you will not be sent away packing.
Here is an example that this thread brought to mind.....
When, initially I took the view regarding IVA I thought best go all out and overkill became the norm. I see my foolishness now but thought at the time I was doing best. 
Below are two photographs of the tyres I have on my buggy, (Rear in this case). My initial thought was to keep the rolling circumference as near to an original tyre as possible. (At the time I had no knowledge of front to rear weight distribution requirements for IVA so I imagined keeping the wheels. tyres etc as near to what Dr Porsche decided would be the way to go).
Right that`s the background. Was told a tyre of this type/size was no longer available. Well I proved them wrong. (Note no silica whatsoever in construction). UNIROYAL RALLYE 440 . 225-55-ZR15. (Rain Tyre so notice the true marking for a road production vehicle" rain tyre".  See it..... Yes that`s an umbrella embossed on the sidewall.  Tread plies are  1 x Polyester + 2 Steel + 2 Nylon.  Side wall - 1 ply Polyester
Max Load rating 630 kgs. Max pressure 44psi.(Measures with cold tyre).
That`s what I have. They grip equally well on road as off. Super supple and the tread depth shows no measurable wear.
Bottom line for me at the ripe old age of 73......  Keep it simple, keep it as cheap as chips and get out there and have fun.

 anyone fitted   a diesel in a buggy  just joking 

Many decades ago Volkswagen produced 2 diesel Type 1 engines.   There is very little history available on these two engines, One went up in flames and was scrapped. The fate of the second engine is not known. To the best of my knowledge no further units were produced.

It`s a Hi from me 

Disagree 100%    They were genius from a 1936 point of view. In excess of 21 million Beetles plus many more millions of Type 2 went on to be produced. These vehicles traversed every type of terrain across the globe. Mountains, jungles, desert and so on. The majority were K & L and Swing Axle.

There is a true fact that relates to the French farmers and Citroen.....  French farmers found old Beetles a cheap alternative to tractors in their fields. Skinny wheels and VW suspension worked a treat regardless of how the field surface was. The French government threw a dicky fit and instructed Citroen to come up with a French built alternative for the farmers. Hence the Citroen 2CV.  (If any of you have driven a 2CV in earnest across fields etc you will, like me, be amazed at this vehicles ability.
So that`s my last word on why I believe all you need is what DR Porsche designed, probably knowing one day Bruce would introduce us to another body style.

Someone asked me ... what about camber angle ? Well that`s fixed on a K & L front end. Looking sideways on at the stub axle and carriers imagine a line passing thro` the centre of the top link pin down at an angle thro` the bottom link pin, (they are offset), and that`s the castor angle.

Can I just repeat something once again for the newer members to the forum.
I spent 6 years, yes that`s correct six, building my buggy to IVA standard. Manx body on shortened floorpan.
Now then learn from my experience because I have never had the nerve to add up the invoices to see how much I spent. (6 years because most of it was done as a pensioner and believe me a state pension "goes nowhere" financially).
I have never been interested in modern suspension/steering geometry. My heart and head is firmly stuck in the "old school" past. My point is VW got everything right back in 1936 when Hitler demanded a chassis setup for the coming war that could be used as a platform for  numerous bodies/uses. So I make no apology when I say, to me, K & L front end and swing axle rear were genius. For a beach buggy I can see no better setup for ¬all round use", both on and off road.
On my journey towards IVA examination I spent countless hours adjusting/checking both front end and rear end set ups. I could write a book on all I tried. (That`s if I could afford to after all the time and money I got through).
The bottom line was this....
You don`t need "coil over shockers. You don`t need to remove any leaves from the beam. You don`t need adjustable spring plates. You do need standard bump stops front and back. You do need differing offside and nearside positioning of spring plate.
I ended up with standard beam. All leaves within. Standard shock absorbers all round. Standard steering damper. Fitted adjustable spring plates and had them on/off more times than I had hot dinners. (Well almost  ) ; Spent days on camber settings and again ended up with VW`s original setting. (Yes I know my buggy weighs a lot less than the donor Beetle but that`s was the setting it wanted so it got it).
I have just given very brief details here but I think two things prove that things were as they should be for on and off road use. One the buggy is very drivable, centre steers as it should and so on. Second is that all the steering, braking and suspension checks that it went through at IVA passed with flying colours.
As for ride quality.... You will get bangs and thumps over modern day potholes as the metal hits the bump stops. The most notable change in handling and ride came from a simple change to soft walled rain tyres. Search for ones with minimal Silica & Polyester content.
Driving.... If your buggy has differing wheel diameters front and back don`t expect to go round a roundabout at 40mph without rolling over. General driving is old school. Upon approaching a corner/ bend only slow down with gentle braking and only by as little as necessary. Upon entering the corner/bend immediately apply throttle to pull/drag you out of the corner. Old school suspension swaps from understeer  to oversteer  and vice versa in an instant and it is this change you are controlling. Back when I was a youngster that`s how driving was taught.
Happy motoring.   

Banded wheels road legal ?   This is an old, long running chestnut....  You will not find a definitive legal statement one way or the other. However the one certainty is... Should an accident occur and the insuring company become aware of banded wheel/s the current insurance arrangement is immediately declared void. I have witnessed this some years ago when the police were involved in a road accident which resulted in a tyre coming away to expose the wheel banding. Just looking at a weld is no sure way of being sure it is 100% sound. In my humble opinion it`s something I would not consider. Each to their own I guess and the gamble involved.

Yep..... There have been a lot of serious injuries when folk have been too close to spring plates when trying to get them off. I was lucky back in 1970 on my first try. Just by chance my body wasn`t in the way of a spring plate that came off it`s stop like a rocket.

Cannot believe you have had to drop the price.

Eurocarb is my go to place for rods. Never come across a case I couldn`t knock up the exact lengths need. Remember many linkage rods have left and right hand threads.

Not done a home brew. Have done CSP. Expensive but passed everything the IVA inspector threw at it and passed with flying colours. Have fitted the original Empi back in the past but the set up was rubbish with the calipers flexing all over the place. Never went back to Empi although there later version was said to have resolved this issue. Sadly Empi disc setup can no longer be said to be cheap

You guys out there listen up.......  If you need an A frame grab this  bargain. My neighbour has just bought an A frame to fit his Aygo and I know what it cost him. 

Don`t rub it in. It`s tossing it down with rain up my way and has been for days   

Both CSP & Empi do a "Zero Offset" disc brake conversions. Mine is CSP.   It`s isn`t quite correct that you have zero additional offset as it is about + 4mm. However that is "nit picking".  What you do lose in order to get this "zero" offset are the two disc "splash plates" that you find behind standard disc brake rotors. Handling complaint is something that you see mentioned time and time again. There is no way a buggy can handle like a modern car, nor like a standard vintage car. The gross weight has been screwed up. The Beetle dimensions are lost and so on. You should not have any difficulty braking and very little effort on the pedal is required if all is set up ok and ALL air is out of the system. With regard to handling think of all the production cars you have seen.... Every single one has four wheels of identical diameter. That`s not coincidence