235 75 15 is almost 29" I believe, and fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of sizes. I'm planning those for the front of the baja with some 31" out back.
235 75 15 is almost 29" I believe, and fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of sizes. I'm planning those for the front of the baja with some 31" out back.
This is awesome. Gamber 500 sounds like a hoot, and despite what others have said I think the 2.0 VW engine is as indestructible as anything else.
They do make lift kits for MK4's... https://www.kermatdi.com/i-593-1-inch-lift-kit-for-mkiv-golf-jetta-and-all-new-beetles.html
I realize this is about NOT spending money, but maybe a lathe and some time and you can do it cheaper.
captainawesome said:235 75 15 is almost 29" I believe, and fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of sizes. I'm planning those for the front of the baja with some 31" out back.
Yes, this site works great for comparing sizes and that does look like the best option: Tire Size
AAZCD said:captainawesome said:235 75 15 is almost 29" I believe, and fairly inexpensive compared to a lot of sizes. I'm planning those for the front of the baja with some 31" out back.
Yes, this site works great for comparing sizes and that does look like the best option: Tire Size
Nice! Haven't used that one before, just this one because it gives overall comparisons between two tires: Tacoma World Tire
These are what I'm looking at:
In reply to Gunchsta :
I was surprised how many Gambler groups there are when I started looking. My first target is the end of April for the Kansas Gambler 500 Rally. If the car holds together I may keep it around for more Gamblin' thru the year(s)
These guys are awesome from the 2017 Rally: Team Van Hailin
A lift will be a good idea. First I'll see where the tires get it.
In reply to AAZCD :
More fun than you can shake a stick at. I approve fully.
I have not yet reached the point in my life where I can be purposely mean to a car for an extended period of time. I'm not sure I'm a good candidate for the Gambler or the 24 hours of lemons series, though I love them.
In reply to AAZCD :
I happen to be in a very similar position with a 2001 VW Golf (2.slow). It runs/drives, but has so many nagging issues (faulty door locks, electrical gremlins, random misfires, rust, runs out of fuel at 1/4 tank, aka pile of junk) I'd feel bad selling it to someone even after disclosing the fore-mentioned issues.
I had no idea there were Gambler 500 events in Missouri... Even found an event in Sullivan (eastern Missouri) for early April.
You have convinced me to get out the sawzall, hack out space for the biggest tire possible, and breath some new life into a junkyard destined 2.slow.
Will be following closely!
I got a pair of 235/75/15s new, $80 each installed and balanced. I almost immediately wished that I had bought more of a mud tire. I'm going to hold off on getting more tires until after I have time to take these out and get them dirty. These are 29" diameter and I still have enough space that I can get 30" in there and not rub anywhere.
With the pair on the front, I have a little under 8" of clearance to the oil pan. A little more lift might be good and definitely a skid plate. Not much planned over the next 7 days, but next week, I'm going to take it to a glass shop for a windshield.
Do you know what you plan on using for a lift?
In reply to tux424 :
No plan yet. I saw a pretty detailed DIY on VwVortex. I'm open to suggestions and thinking about 1" will be fairly stable and a good height with my wider stance and tires.
Tires, how about these: [Federal Couragia M/T Mud-Terrain Tire] on front and the ones I already have (more of an all season than mud) on back? I'm willing to buy 2 more new tires up to about $100 ea.
I've seen that vortex thread on the homebrew lift kit. That front setup looks sketcheyyyyy....
Those federals look like a good deal $100/tire.
Do you think 30s would fit without a lift, and no rub on full lock?
In reply to tux424 :
I'm a little uncomfortable with that set-up too, but it matches my skill level and price. The TDI Club thread goes on a lot longer, 27 pages of posts from 2009 thru 2018.
There's some mention in the forums and and Youtube of lifting with just stiffer springs. When I get back to it, I'm going to take a look at my spring collection and see if I have anything a little taller that I can swap in. I have a complete set from a 2006 Audi A4 that might work.
I'm not positive about the 30s. With mine, the 25mm wheel spacers opened it up a lot. I got these from eBay 5x100 25mm Spacer and they move the wheels about an inch further out from the hub. My main concern with the large tires is gearing, but I think the 2.0L has enough low end torque to get them turning. Late next week, I'll have a windshield and mount the Federals. I'll report on how it drives.
Note to other readers: This is not about a long term set-up or a daily driver. This is purely about having a little more fun with a car that has been beat and literally left for dead.
Good point on the gearing, I may need to rain in the expectations of tire sizes. But who doesnt dream of running 40s on everything???
According to that TDI post it looks like the VR6 springs give .5-1" of lift, and can be found on rockauto for $30/pair.
I wonder if homemade blocks for the rear, and VR6 springs in the front would be enough lift.... Especially with spacers and cut fenders.
I didn't get as much done on the car as I had planned to.
First I had to do something about the fence. My entire yard is encircled by a barrier constructed of concrete and steel (fence) that was constructed by the original owner about 50 years ago. It keeps the dogs in and bad things out. Most of it is still sturdy. A few parts need work. I would like to build a new one, but it's not in the current budget.
Yesterday at about 5:30 am there was an old woman running down the street in pajamas, shouting words that few people could understand. It was my wife. All four dogs were out of the yard and she was frantically calling them. It took a few hours before she had them all back. We have coyotes and a busy street in the area and neighbors that we wish to stay friendly with, so keeping the dogs in the yard was higher priority than working on the car. A trip to Lowes for wire and stakes. A couple hours to mend the fence and test it. Work on the car started after lunch.
I love the mud tires. They do rub a little bit with the steering wheel fully turned, but the car maneuvers without rubbing. I can feel a difference in the gearing, but it drives fine and doesn't lug. The rear tires are a bit more of a problem. The charcoal cannister behind the right rear wheel rubs heavily on the tire. I'm going to have to reposition it slightly. I put the original rears back on and headed to the glass shop.
My original plan had been to trailer it up and haul it to the glass shop. I decided to drive it instead. As I pulled out of the driveway the light mist changed over to a pouring rain. This car has no window glass on the driver's side. My left side was soaked by the time I got there. The car made it with no issues. I waited and watched while they did the job. These guys did good work and were pretty quick. A little hammering here and there, some scraping and then the new glass was installed.
I arrived home happy with the windshield, but cold and wet with a sore back starting to get my attention. As much as I wanted to get the rear tires done and make a little more overall progress, I realized it was best to put it in the garage and call it a day. I'll have plenty of time over the next week to get the rear wheels sorted out and devise a more detailed plan for the rest of the car.
How much "explaining" was necessary to the glass guys as to what you were doing with this turd?
In reply to captainawesome :
I told them that it was just a toy and the history of it's ownership. They hadn't heard of the Gambler 500 Rallys, but had plenty of stories about other wrecked cars they have worked on. I actually hauled the chopped off front half of a stripped out Porsche Boxster to these guys once to have them salvage the windshield for me. No telling what they said once I was gone...
Im a little late but Walmart carries 235 75 wranglers that ive used for years, they are a nice all terrian style and ive used them in mud before
Gray dog looks mighty disappointed in your fence repair, if looks could kill!
That thing looks awesome with the tires mounted!
What's your plan for a skid plate?
tux424 said:...What's your plan for a skid plate?
My current inspiration for the skid plate is this: Dieselgeek Skidplate
I have not started on it yet, but the plan: Two brackets will mount to the frame rails forward of the axles to support it. The front will mount to the bumper and the rear into the middle of the subframe.
My current focus is lifting it. I checked out the springs from a scrapped Audi A4. Much heavier than the Beetle springs, but the rears are a larger diameter and don't fit as well as I'd like. Today I went to buy parts for the lift as described on Vortex and TDI Club, but I couldn't get the 4"x2" hex bushing locally on a Sunday. I'll work on that some more tomorrow.
I moved the charcoal cannister/fuel vapor system enough to give the right rear tire plenty of clearance. Next part of that will be sorting out the rear fenders and tail lights. I think that I'm going to cut back both fenders to match the broken side, then use the cut tire idea to flare the fenders out. In doing that I may end up using a different set of tail lights.
I was excited about cutting much of the top off. Now I'm not so sure. The sunroof is sealed (Flex Tape) and I have windows now. Do I really want to open it back up to weather? Not right now while it's cold and rainy. Also figuring out if I want to keep a functional back seat. I think that I'm going to end up keeping the back seat, making the rear hatch removable, and add a luggage rack on back for spare tires.
In reply to AAZCD :
What kind of dog is the yellow/brown one standing in front of the vw? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that looked quite like that.
In reply to Cotton :
With that face, my guess is a pug mix.
Floating Doc said:In reply to Cotton :
With that face, my guess is a pug mix.
Yes, our local Humane Society called him a Chug (Chihuahua and Pug). He's a great little dog. Very smart, full of energy, but obedient and cuddly.
Dunno if you looked into this but metalnerd makes a lift kit in one and two inch flavors:
http://www.metalnerd.com/mobile/catalog/product/f211e18903464295ad09c42d90a1ffa8
It Is Lifted.
I spent a lot of time today trying things that didn't work out. Then things started coming together and boom: Lifted.
I have a lot of junk from a lot of scrapped cars because, "Some day, I'm going to need that." I almost had a great set-up for the rear spring lift using old Audi transmission mounts and some angle iron. Rock solid and ready to bolt to the car. They were too tall at about 3" lift. I tried to adapt an Audi A4 strut to the front. Nope. I thought about just using the A4 spring in the VW strut. No... diameter too large.
Okay. Just do the front lift like on the TDI forum: 2" long 1" pipe to pre-load the springs. All the VW MK4 strut videos on YouTube show people just unbolting the strut and sway bar, then dropping the wheel carrier off the strut, no problem. I kept thinking there's something missing, but it didn't occur to me until after about 20 minutes of fail; On the passenger side, the driveshaft has to be disconnected to allow the carrier to drop enough for the strut to come out. Everything was frustrating up 'till then. From there on everything flowed. Maybe it was the fourth cup of coffee.
Yesterday I smacked myself in the face with a 1/2" breaker bar that popped off a bolt. I'm scared of spring compressors. The memory of that pain kept me safe today, positioning myself out of the line of fire and double checking tools and jack stands as I worked on the car.
For the rear lift I used the Audi rear springs and a couple pieces of scrap to fit them. Side by side, they are no taller than the stock VW springs, but they are much heavier. Without any spacer in the springs, the rear of the car sits level with the front now and the oil pan is almost 10" above the floor. I extended the shock mount as described on the TDI forum with 1" box tubing. I am a little concerned about imbalance of spring rate on the road with the stiffer springs in back. I plan to do some thorough road-testing before driving at speed in traffic. Keep in mind, this car is not intended as a highway cruiser.
Work complete for the night, and I walked away as is. Job #1 tomorrow: Clean the garage.
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