Brakes & Steering
With a loaded weight of maybe as much as 3,000 lbs., sure stopping is a good idea. Using the VW front beam, this was pretty easy. I just used the VW front end brake system. The other great thing about VW stuff is aftermarket parts availability for dune buggies.
Left, you see a brake pedal/master cylinder/brake fluid reservoir assembly I got brand new for about $110. The brake line attaches to the front of the assembly (hidden by the guard I made to protect it.
Left, you see a brake pedal/master cylinder/brake fluid reservoir assembly I got brand new for about $110. The brake line attaches to the front of the assembly (hidden by the guard I made to protect it.
Brake lines
I bought a brakeline kit and new slave cylinders for the wheels from the local VW shop. The existing brake pads were only half-worn; enough left on them to last it's lifetime. I bought a tubing bender and routed the brakelines to the wheels, attached the flexible rubber lines, and ............. Brakes!
In this pic you can see the brakeline suspended from the top of the frame.
In this pic you can see the brakeline suspended from the top of the frame.
Brake connections to the wheels
.......and the routing to the wheels.
Footnote: I'm thinking of adding a parking/emergency brake using the parking brake mechanism from the Camero rear axle.
Footnote: I'm thinking of adding a parking/emergency brake using the parking brake mechanism from the Camero rear axle.
Steering
When I got the VW front end from Dan, I was fortunate enough to get the steering column and wheel as well. It was a little short for a standing driver, so I put a short extension on it.
Steering box
The angle of the steering column was originally way too low, so I loosened the bolts that clamp the steering box to the beam, and rotated it to align it with the steering column. This caused the tie tods to pull in quite a bit, so I realigned the front end via the tie rod adjustments to give it about a 1/8" toe-in.
Front suspension
The front spring system in a VW is a torsion bar inside the front beam. We found out right away that the spring was too weak with any real weight on the bike. I replaced the regular shocks with Gabriel 49122 Hi Jackers adjustable air shocks--the big black cylinders on the front end. (See below). I fill them with an air hose. Like almost all these pics, clicking on the photo should enlarge it. Had to drill new mounting holes because if their size.