If you want to lower your wagen serious, dropped spindles is a must. Because it get lower the car and the wheel geometry will be right (moves the wheels backwards). This will help your headlight buckets from wheel rubbing too and your tierods won’t get the crazy angels.
Tools needed is a hydraulic press, big hammer and patience. But it’s a pretty easy job to do!

 New dropped spindles for my linkpin car (1945-1965). The most VW shops sell these.

  Press out the linkpin bushings. You can do this with a press or hammer.

 Bushing out. Now you can access the kingpin in the center of the spindle.

 Use a press to get the center kingpin out. The kingpin is keeping the whole spindle together.

 When installning new bronze kingpin bushings make sure to make a notch in it like original (see picture) and press it flush with the spindle goods.

 Here you can see the diffrence between a stock VW spindle and the dropped spindle.

 Here is the parts. Kingpin, schims, and linkpin bushings.

  After pressing in the new kingpin bronze bushing, they need to be reamed to fit right. You can buy un-reamed and reamed bushings.

 New kingpin bushings in.

 Now take the new dropped spindle with the schims and put it together.

  hen you put it together make sure that the center will line up, before you start pressing in the kingpin.

 The dimple in the kingpin should face the grease holes. So you can lubricate them later. Then press it in!

 Now when the kingpin is pressed in you can put back the linkpin bushings. These should also face the grease holes. Put some grease on and press them back again!

 Now the spindles is soon complete again. It’s time for the schims.

 Every linkpin should have 8 schims. 5 schims outer (B&D) and 3 schims inner (A&C).

 

Build dropped spindles

by Martin Henriksson | 16/02/2007 Uncategorized

If you want to lower your wagen serious, dropped spindles is a must. Because it get lower the car and the wheel geometry will be right (moves the wheels backwards). This will help your headlight buckets from wheel rubbing too and your tierods won’t get the crazy angels.
Tools needed is a hydraulic press, big hammer and patience. But it’s a pretty easy job to do!

New dropped spindles for my linkpin car (1945-1965). The most VW shops sell these.

Press out the linkpin bushings. You can do this with a press or hammer.

Bushing out. Now you can access the kingpin in the center of the spindle.

Use a press to get the center kingpin out. The kingpin is keeping the whole spindle together.

When installning new bronze kingpin bushings make sure to make a notch in it like original (see picture) and press it flush with the spindle goods.

Here you can see the diffrence between a stock VW spindle and the dropped spindle.

Here is the parts. Kingpin, schims, and linkpin bushings.

After pressing in the new kingpin bronze bushing, they need to be reamed to fit right. You can buy un-reamed and reamed bushings.

New kingpin bushings in.

Now take the new dropped spindle with the schims and put it together.

When you put it together make sure that the center will line up, before you start pressing in the kingpin.

The dimple in the kingpin should face the grease holes. So you can lubricate them later. Then press it in!

Now when the kingpin is pressed in you can put back the linkpin bushings. These should also face the grease holes. Put some grease on and press them back again!

Now the spindles is soon complete again. It’s time for the schims.

Every linkpin should have 8 schims. 5 schims outer (B&D) and 3 schims inner (A&C).

Now when the spindles are ready, you can try to turn them back and forward. It should be tight, after some turns when driving they will loosen up a little. No problems!

 Now the spindle is complete! Ready for paint, then lubrication and mounting back to the front beam, and later scrape the roads!

Photos & text: Martin Henriksson
Owner and writer, designer and photograper for MeanBugs.