RedEvilrps13 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I'm going to be picking up a 1972 Baja Bug in a few weeks, and was wondering if anyone here has one or has ever had one. These things are cool as all hell! Here's the Wiki page (not very well written but you'll get the idea) for those who don't know what they are... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baja_bug I really don't like germans cars, but after driving this thing around a couple times, I had to have it. I'll get pics up as soon as I take possesion of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegasnative Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Yea about thirty years ago in high school , had a 2180 duel carb vw ,lifted about four inches kinda fast, their were quite a few in my high school out here in the desert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_furious Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 10 years ago you couldn't give an old Beetle away...now you can't buy a beat up one for $1500! Baja bugs are pretty capable little beasts if they're built right. Have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I almost bought a bug and baja'd it... Then I bought the Z. This guy has a VG30ET powered Baja...LOL http://www.youtube.com/user/1BADBAJA www.blindchickenracing.com has some great suspension parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSD Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I love bugs, good deal bud. Has anyone seen the VW Golf Country? Those are SWEET!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIM73240Z Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 i had a sand rail when i was in high school made from scrap parts. it was worse than the z. no lights, no seat belts. completely open. fun as hell. pretty fast too with the wind in your hair. probably not that fast in actuality but it felt fast. being lit most of the time while driving it im sure helped out. jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 My brother had a Baja Bug in high school. The things that I remember most are positive camber on the rear making me nervous when he'd drive it too fast around corners, and trying to push it through the mud hole my brother was sure we'd make it through. There is a hell of a lot of aftermarket for those things, and in the day he had very little money to invest in it. It might be a fun project with enough money to throw at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 a 72 baja? I sure hope it's a bug and not a super beetle. though, the later models had IRS so the camber issue wasn't too bad. on the swing axles if you didn't put in KYB gas shocks and a camber compensator they can be SCARY to take fast turns. but put on the gas shocks and compensator and it's got gokart handling! haha the compensator would be totally useless on a baja bug though. If I did get another bug, it would have to be a 66 or older so I can get away with arizona emissions laws. drop in a mild 2332 running dual 45 dellorto's that would be my ideal street setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 and a camber compensator..... compensator... compensator What the heck is a camber compensator and how does it work? LOL I know lots about bugs but nothing about a compensator... I like the idea of the swing axles with the VW bus reducer boxes. Those are pretty cool like the unimog axles... Not many guys run those because they like the independent rear suspension over the swing axles. The positive camber can cause some real problems...lol I have seen pics of a baja that has one side of the SUV style tire to the belts and the other side with 100% tread. LOL Kreger Fabrication built a retartedly sweet Baja prerunner with A/C and lots of cool stuff...(major understatement) http://www.desertrides.com/features/vehicles/trophy_bug/index.php IIRC that bug sold for around $110,000. They used something like 13 pounds of TIG wire on that puppy. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 haha once you get to that stage of a baja, it's closer to a sandrail with a bug body on it. a camber compensator is exactly what its name implies. it compensates for camber during steering. if you know how the swing axle geometry works, when you go into a turn and lean, you get REALLY nasty positive camber. a camber compensator is a big peice of spring steel that bolts to the bottom of the transaxle, with bushings that push UP against the axles. a brand new compensator, will hold the cars wheels at 0 camber even when you jack up the back of the car. It does increase the stiffness a bit, but the trade off is a MUCH nicer feeling car during cornering. no matter how fast you go it will always stay extremely level during turns with very minimal body roll. I suppose the closest comparison would be the leaf spring suspension on a corvette. where it's a single spring leaf mounted transversely (is that the right word?) under the car. http://www.jcwhitney.com/CAMBER-COMPENSATOR/GP_2005946_N_111+10201+600003418_10101.jcw best money to spend on a stock street bug imo. you'd also be surprised at how many people prefer the swing axles over the irs for many reasons. one is that the swing axles are WAY more widly available, since only the later pans had them. to convert a pan to use IRS you have to hack that section off. Also, for drag racing, the swing axles are a lot stronger. there's only one joint, and that's at the transmission itself, so it's basically like running a solid axle. the KISS concept wins in that sense. but for baja and off road, yeah, IRS is best unless you're building a very mild baja where you can get away with having the swing axles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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