Torsion Housing Dimensions (diameter, wall thickness, length)

[Varthog]

Well guys i took picture from a buddy of mine, and i am thinkin of buying custom made rear torsion housing...so i am little confused can someone give me diameters of the tubes (wall thickness and tube diameter). I would be very gratefull :3 Thanks in advance.

http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/uploads/post-15665-1175392393_thumb.jpg

The long tube, i know i have variety of torsion bars, but housing diameters are unknown for me since i want to buy or create from scratch.
i hope i dont ask too much.

[Justbuggin175]

who makes them, im interested.

[jsturtlebuggy]

The stock VW torsion housing varied in diameter over the years. Even the outside diameter of where the center spline section varied in size.
Places such as KarTek, McKenzie's, and other off road shop sell torsion housing in different width from stock to what ever size you want.
Stock torsion housing width from spring plated cover mounting area is 41-1/2in.
_________________
Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Motorsports
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960

[pullstart]

With this style housing the camber is fixed, correct? Any other benefits this way vs stock? Assuming coilover suspension, of course..

_________________
4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[pullstart]

Any input here? Has anyone run a custom rear housing like this? I know dustymojave mentioned that in the past they would build their own trailing arms by setting ride height then running a straight tube through the hubs to keep camber and toe in check.
_________________
4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[cbeck]

For me that stuff might as well be made of unobtainium.
_________________
My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[pullstart]

My train of thought is: I now have a bender, notcher and 220v welder. I’m not impressed with my toe in and camber of my current setup and am considering stretching the car, going with coilovers, raising the roof line... why not build a rear crossmember and custom arms and trans mount?
_________________
4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[pullstart]

Bringing this back to the top, now that Dusty is back in the comments section! (Glad to see you’re doing alright and just too busy for all our questions!)
_________________
4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[cbeck]

Sounds like you have all the tools to make a new, longer, wider, taller frame. Surely you have a few things you would like to change. My dash still bugs me. Wifey wamts a windshield.
_________________
My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[pullstart]

I do have the tools, but I’m looking for design pros or cons for the design above mainly.
_________________
4 seater Appletree buggy, road legal with 002 IRS, 3x3 Appletree kit, 6" over Dan's beam with 10" towers and Fox 2.0 shocks, '00 Subaru EJ25 with KEP stage 3 clutch and KEP adapter plate.

my build page: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662104&start=0

[dustymojave]

The true trailing arm, zero degree pivot offers zero camber change. Which is good in some respects. But OTOH, the camber change provided by the regular VW semi-trailing arm angled pivot design actually provides better cornering. That's why not only VW use it, but so do Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and many others. The camber change creates a little lateral push as the wheels pass over bumps. But the outboard tire (the one that does most all of the work in cornering) remains flatter to the ground as the car goes around a corner.

Rick Crumb of Crumco prefers the zero degree pivot and builds all of his Baja Bugs that way. I feel there are advantages both ways and see it as a personal preference thing. With shorter travel, the disadvantages of the semi-trailing arm are not so substantial. I feel the zero-degree pivot setup doesn't start breaking even until travel gets beyond around 17-18". With the trailing arms built so camber is at zero at full droop, the disadvantages of angled-pivot arms are minimized.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[pullstart]