All tucked up nice and warm, but now the dilema begins

[AxlFoley]

this is how my lovely van looks at the moment, all ready for me to spend night after night tinkering

the dilema i have is! i alresy have dropped spindles waiting to go on, but should i get a lowered beam while im in there stripping it all down? my heart says yes, but my walet says no.

realisticaly what is the cheapest way to get a beam with adjusters for my van??

 

[kempy]

Cheapest way is to weld adjusters to your current beam and yes i would do it as you then have some play with the height you want rather than just the standard drop on the spindles which i consider not enough on their own.

 

[AxlFoley]

that means I have to find a good welder!!

this could be fun.

 

[ant]

Dropped spindles will only take you 2.5 inches lower. But they are easy and quick to fit compared to taking your beam off, which is a ball ache. If your going to do the work yourself you can have the spindles on in a couple of hours and then the bus is back in the garage.
If your going to take the beam off be prepared to have the bus on the drive for a while. Adjusters are the cheapest solution if you can weld. Personally i dont like them. I've fitted red9 coilovers to mine and with wagonwest dropped spindles(thread in the gallery) and that will get you very low and you can keep your beam on. Coilover kit plus new spindles would be a slow days work but can be done easily on your drive.

Hope that is of some help

ant

 

[the councillor]

the dilema i have is...

looking at that photograph i would say the biggest dilemma facing you at the moment is finding a place big enough to work on your bus, because trying to do anything suspension-wise in a space that narrow is gonna end up doing your head in :?

as for welding in adjusters; i would steer away from the 'scene' and just find a reputable welder from the yellow pages... if you're 'handy' enough to be considering tinkering all winter then i'm assuming you can get the beam out, stripped down and readied for the adjusters to be welded in... providing you get the prep. work done, the guy welding it up has 'only' got to lay down about a foot or so of weld, which isn't gonna cost you the earth at the end of the day :wink:

'course, if you go too low then you're gonna have clearance issues which is where narrowed beams come in handy, can of worms blah blah blah.

good luck

 

[Haveacamper]

mate, i'm over in pontprennau and my dad welded my adjusters in. if you do all the prep, so it is just putting the welds down, then he'd do it (i havent asked him yet!). emphasising that all he has to do is weld the adjusters on, he may do it for free. you could drop the bare beam off to me, on a thrusday, and you could have it back over the weekend. again it depends on my dad, but i really cant see it being that much of a problem - even if it does only cost you a few bob.

take a look at my beam:
http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4067&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

also, Loxy had his welded on my my dad.

NaFe

 

[AxlFoley]

just had a look at your thread, nice use of silicone! on a plus side that welding looks spot on, so i guess cool air is the place to get the adjusters, looking at your photos, i'm guessing you dont have to cut the beam like you do on a bug.

i'll try and get a spare beam to get that done, then swap over.

as for space, i dont mind struggeling with space, its the cold and rain i dont like lol when its lowered, it should then fit in my parents double garage!

 

[Haveacamper]

you have to cut a little bit with the adjusters, but thats just cutting a slot in the beam to match the slot that it in the adjuster. you can get a beam cut and turned but then its fixed, so i'd always go the adjusters.

there was a fair bit of silicone on there yes. the tubes are still rock solid. it was only the ends that were shot. i'm half tempted to get my dad to laser cut some end plates and either make a narrowed beam or stock beam and sell it on.

NaFe

 

[AxlFoley]

it sounds like your dad is the one to know, for fabricating stuff!

you have PM

Mark

 

[Loxy]

also, Loxy had his welded on my my dad.

NaFe

Wasnt cheap tho........
Ive had to make at least a dozen cups of coffee since then :lol:

 

[Haveacamper]

all confirmed for you... he'll weld the adjusters on for you. just get the stuf sorted your end and we'll tyr and sort out some collection etc.

Nafe

 

[AxlFoley]

Awesome! nice one you are a star!

plan is to start stripping it tonight, shouldent take long!

 

[Haveacamper]

, shouldent take long!

we'll see after you get the bolts undone, you'll have to get the beam off - its usually a tight fit

 

[AxlFoley]

haha true, let the fun begin!!

 

[Guest]

theres a good 'how to' in that new 'how to restore a baywindow' book, the dude uses a bit of scaffold or similar to lever the beam off.

 

[Grazy]

Ant you need to make your signature smaller dude :lol: