How to lower rear suspension on a 1970 VW Type 3 Fastback

Describes how to adjust ride height on a 1970 VW Type 3 Fastback rear suspension (IRS). One error in video: torsion bar hub cover plate should be torqued to 25 ft-lbs, not 22 as mentioned in the video.

[@daos3300]

great vid. semi-trailing arms on vw & porsche, just for accuracy. also recommend pulling the torsion bars out fully to inspect & regrease.

[@corf8674]

Very useful video, just what I was looking for, Thanks for taking the time and sharing your experience with this procedure.

[@dignlif]

Thanks for posting this, I used it as a reference to lower my '70 Square last weekend. My torsion bar stayed in at the center but the outter separated so I just twisted that 1 up and it lowered the back alot. Glad you mentioned that two splines was a bit much because 1 outter is plenty for me as well so I only had to do it once. It has a little bit of camber but I can live with it.

[@diesellibrarian]

+Rich Pedraza Cool, glad you found it useful. I actually think a bit of camber looks badass.

[@TheHeartMagnetic]

thanks man. simply and well explained. time to get wrenching. 👍

[@DarthSpaceBall]

Do you have the Samba link for what you were talking about (notches up/down for lift and drop)?

[@rayderby1177]

My 71 Super Vert has the same twin spring plates. Looks identical.

[@johnlayzell5088]

Whole reason I watched was how the spring plate and trailing arm meshed back together at the end, which he skipped!

[@diesellibrarian]

If you're having problems your car may be too low. Try jacking it up a bit higher so that you can lever the trailing arm into place between the two plates. The plates are actually pretty flexible so it shouldn't be too hard to lever it all back together.

[@stephenmargetjak6989]

this is the hardest part getting rear portion back between the plates!!

[@bigmatt503]

10cm = 3 inches!!! lol. We used to lower our squarebacks like this back in 1990 or 1991. Brings back memories

[@diesellibrarian]

+Bigmatt 503 People are still getting up to stuff with their veedubs, son. :)

[@bigears4426]

10cm is 4 inches

[@Deadzak22]

Quick question, did you pull your e-brake line before? Thanks! dig the video!

[@robinhepher9022]

Zakery Jann No need to touch the e-brake

[@orange-crush-fasty]

thanks for the video! did this on my 71 fastback, but having trouble lining up the axel for the six triple square bolts. got any suggestions? thanks

[@diesellibrarian]

Lift the car and spin the wheel until it lines up?

[@martinez1077]

I’m using his method and my only issue is if you are doing this for the first time watch out when prying the irs out do to the tension make shure it is marked i forgot to do this now I don’t know what my spline tension was at do to the irs popped out that’s my bad but just letting you know

[@robstar3814]

great video easy to follo, how do you do the front and how do you remove your side panel?

[@diesellibrarian]

romeo jack The front is a whole different ballgame. To remove the body panel there are a bunch of screws holding it on. Requires removing interior panels to access some of them. You don't need to remove the panel to do this job though.

[@robstar3814]

awesome! thank you so much

[@BajaWam]

do you have to do this for both sides ? like a tooth per side ?

[@diesellibrarian]

No you can do inner or outer or both. There are charts on the internet that can help with this. If you're willing to do the measuring and the match I think you can make some very fine adjustments using different combos of inner and outer splines.

[@diesellibrarian]

+Aramis Anderson Wait...do you mean both sides of the car? Yes. You do have to do both sides, though often the driver's side sags more over time. If you really want to get fancy you can calculate each side separately so that it ends up dead level. But I couldn't be bothered - by driver's side is an inch or two lower than the passenger side.

[@BajaWam]

Ooook i understand tnks man ill do that to mi bug :)

[@bons562]

will this work on my 68 bug it's irs too

[@schnike0073]

JohnnyBoy Biggz they are all IRS

[@vwbugracer]

Question, if you lowered your car. How come you haven't cut the bumpstops?

[@diesellibrarian]

+Curtis Yamanaka I might still cut them, I'll have to see. Car is still not on the road. They're pretty much pooched anyway, so I'm not sure how useful they'd be anyway.

[@hello123560]

How did you get the star nuts off? I can't find the right size 12 point star spline

[@robinhepher9022]

Megatron this is the tool. www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D7011

[@hello123560]

I hope so, I'll give it a try. Thank you!

[@IMDL1986]

Megatron do i gotta do this at both ends?

[@hello123560]

Its different in the front of the type 3 I believe. I haven't finished my rear yet.

[@thekingandee12]

I have 69 bug . I did the same thing but it bounces alot why is that?? thank you

[@ME262B2]

+Anita Estrada Get rid of the bump-stop. The rubber cone. Also your shocks are most likely blown from the shorter travel or age. You can get shorter shocks, But the best way to drop the rear is is with drop spring plates( trailing arms) You'll get stock travel but lowered stance. I've been dropping Vw's in the videos fashion since the 70's andd it works fine can be a little dangerous but it works. Hope this helps

[@copperworksplumbing7643]

Are you in BC ? I am, I want to do this to my 71 square ! Want to help me and earn a few bucks ?

[@diesellibrarian]

+Copperworks Plumbing No I'm not in BC. Wouldn't do work for anyone because I'm a total amateur and I don't really know what I'm doing. There's a ton of info online. I'm sure you'll figure it out.

[@schnike0073]

They all have IRS

[@daos3300]

except for all '61 to '68 cars.