Thread: VW Suspension?

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oh yeah, btw, there's a huge Toyota assembly plant in this country now...Doubt all those employed there would really want to give up their jobs...

The imports are here to stay unless the US manufacturer's could somehow manage to build a better product at a lower cost.... Took a ride in one of the new Toyota Tundra trucks, nice unit!!!!!

The "horse is out of the barn" on the import car/truck thing, so forget it. Many so called foreign made vehicles are now made in this country or Canada, so it's very tough to know where to draw the line in the sand. It's funny that you want to use a "VW suspension" on a Rat Rod, but in the same thought you are anti foreign made vehicles.

As far as the "Loud Pipes............etc" campaign goes it's going to cause all of us motorcyclist's to have to deal with more government rules on noise and emission's because of the abuse caused by a few inconsiderate rider's.

I remember when it was the fad to put those bug front ends under rods, Tex Smith did it with his X6 (or similar name) roadster that won the Oakland Roadster Show. All the magazines had articles on using them. But the fad died out, just like the one of using Corvair front ends under rods, because better units became available.

The VW front end had some drawbacks, like putting the wheels back from the front somewhat (read as UGLY) and they were also designed to support a rear engined/ light car, and when you put a heavy V8 on them they needed some additional work, like overload shocks, and some welding.

I know someone will come on and say they have been using one for 50 years, but IMO there are so many better options out there, both functionally and cosmetically, that they should stay under dunebuggies.

Don

Originally Posted by John Palmer

The "horse is out of the barn" on the import car/truck thing, so forget it. Many so called foreign made vehicles are now made in this country or Canada, so it's very tough to know where to draw the line in the sand. It's funny that you want to use a "VW suspension" on a Rat Rod, but in the same thought you are anti foreign made vehicles.

As far as the "Loud Pipes............etc" campaign goes it's going to cause all of us motorcyclist's to have to deal with more government rules on noise and emission's because of the abuse caused by a few inconsiderate rider's.

Giving this whole thing a bit more thought.... When I'm at a stop sign and there's a bike coming down the highway.... I don't even hear his pipes until he's in the intersection......

next question: We fought Germany and Japan in the same war, but now V-Dubs are ok and Toyota's are taboo????

I have such a terrible time keeping up with all these trends and politically correct positions on the global economy.... I've visited both countries, I much prefered Japan over Germany.. Guess I was wrong about that, too!!!!!

I think the reason most car types consider the bug ok is because we grew up on them. My very first car at 16 was a '57 sunroof, and as much as I tried to kill it so my Mom would buy me something cooler, it wouldn't die. Also, the bug was something we could relate to, it was dependable and Model A simple.

Jap cars on the other hand don't have the same appeal because of the guys who drive them, IMO. Honda's, Toyota's, etc are actually very excellent cars, but the Ricers who put those stupid garbage can exhausts and booming stereos in them are annoying as h***. I've personally owned several Toyota's and Hondas and they are like the Energizer Bunny, and simple to work on. Even the upholstery in them lasts like iron.

No, I think it boils down to the squirrels who show up at cruises and car shows doing dumb stuff in their Ricers that offend us, not the cars themselves.

Don

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

oh yeah, btw, there's a huge Toyota assembly plant in this country now...Doubt all those employed there would really want to give up their jobs...

The imports are here to stay unless the US manufacturer's could somehow manage to build a better product at a lower cost.... Took a ride in one of the new Toyota Tundra trucks, nice unit!!!!!

I just asked a simple question not start a whole thing about me hating japanese cars. YES I DO HATE JAPANESE CARS, always have, always will.

toyota having a factory in the US is one of the reasons that I want them to go back to japan. The people working there could work somewhere else it's not like they are told at birth that they will work for toyota and only toyota and if they were why don't they go back to japan with toyota. I also belive that toyota and other japanese car companies are ruining the American automotive economy. I belive that if toyota was to stay out of the US or at least not build a factory in America the American economy would be just fine, or at least better than it is now. And about American car companies building better products, if our economy was in better condition they could have more money to spend on product devolopment to build better products. So why don't you, Katsuaki Watanabe,all of the toyota lovers and toyota go back to japan!!

I was going to respond to that, but figure what the hell, you aren't going to change your way of thinking and neither am I , so why try.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

I was going to respond to that, but figure what the hell, you aren't going to change your way of thinking and neither am I , so why try.

Don

Yeah, your probably right.... But I'm pretty sure the folks at the plant are quite happy to have the job they do and would certainly prefer not to be unemployed and job searching as so many others in the country are....

Volks wagon front, use the one from a camper bus, it will hold up to a V8 quite well, still ugly and bad wheel placement, I would never consider it for an open wheeled hotrod.

On the other foreign issue, many years ago I heard this same heated discussion and my response was this;
"what's more American, a Ford made in Canada, a Chevy made in Mexico or a Honda made in Lexington Kentucky?"

I do not drive imports of any color but it truly has been a global market for many years.

I had one of those Made in Canada Mercury Cougars with the Mexican 3.8. It literally blew up at 20,000 miles. Parts kept falling off of it, even on the way home from the dealer. Stupid stuff like turn signal switches that broke right in your hand when you used it.

No, give me a good old Made in America Honda any day, over that POS.

Don

Originally Posted by Rman91Bird

I just asked a simple question not start a whole thing about me hating japanese cars. YES I DO HATE JAPANESE CARS, always have, always will.

toyota having a factory in the US is one of the reasons that I want them to go back to japan. The people working there could work somewhere else it's not like they are told at birth that they will work for toyota and only toyota and if they were why don't they go back to japan with toyota. I also belive that toyota and other japanese car companies are ruining the American automotive economy. I belive that if toyota was to stay out of the US or at least not build a factory in America the American economy would be just fine, or at least better than it is now. And about American car companies building better products, if our economy was in better condition they could have more money to spend on product devolopment to build better products. So why don't you, Katsuaki Watanabe,all of the toyota lovers and toyota go back to japan!!

Hmm... sometimes I'm a bit slow. But you come on with a screaming sig line like that and don't think it will stir up crap? Where'd you get your shoes? Look at where they are made, or most of the other consumer products in your home.

amen willow. or how about all the crap that we buy from wally world made in china. at least the jap stuff is not coated in lead that i have ever heard about.

The funny thing about the Japanese products is that in the early years we all referred to it as "Jap Crap", but over the years things began to change. The Japanese are very smart, dedicated people who don't really reinvent the wheel, they just improve on what was already out there.

An example are Yamaha outboard engines. In the beginning most of the commercial fishermen and guides in this area refused to buy them because they were not American made. However, over time they saw the guys who were using the Yamahas out working while their own Mercury and Evinrude engines were in the shop being repaired. Now you will be hard pressed to find a guide boat in this area that doesn't have a Yamaha sitting on the back.....same goes for most of the Police patrol boats. We sold every brand outboard engine made, and the Yamahas were by far the most dependable, and if there was a problem they took care of it like right now. One factory rep told me that if he made a decision to help a customer out he could do it on his own, but if he decided to turn down that help he had to go through 5 levels and explain why.

I did business with the Japanese years ago, and they are a pleasure to do business with. You shake hands and that is the deal, no BS, and they expect you to live up to your end. Even their workers had a real work ethic and took pride in doing the very best job they could do, even if it was simply putting a bolt in some substructure.

It bothers me that so many products come from overseas, which translates into fewer jobs here, but in some instances we have to take the blame ourselves........we have allowed the competition to build a better mousetrap, and people will buy what works.

Don

VW front beams were and are used in rods all the time and they will hold a v8 up no prob. Have look where it sits on my bus and then add up all that weight plus 2 people sitting directly over it. ( I weigh 240)

They are available in aluminum and chromoly and if you shave the shock horns off it loses most of its ugly. Actually the aluminum ones with out shock towers look pretty damn good. I've seen them on drag racers and they take the pounding of being pulled off the ground over and over. Like anything there are god aluminum one and bad aluminum ones.

One of my fav things about it is once its converted to an adjustable beam (like the one I have installed) I can drop my front end 4 inches in 20 minutes and reverse it just as quick.

Go to www.volksrods.com and you can see a shitload of em used in all kinds of wild friggin rides..