60 Beetle project update

OK, so months have passed since my last project report, but I have been busy... Honest!
I left you last time with the lower rear airbag mounts in place and the floor pan sitting just off the floor. And with the thought of getting the wheels and body back on I ripped into finishing the rear set-up.
The next job was to get the rest of the rear end dry-built and plumbed in. As this is an airkewld.com ‘bolt-in' kit I set about marking up and getting the upper cradle into position ready to drill and bolt into place. Yep, that's bolt in place - no more welding for me. Err, hang on, haven't I still got a sunroof to fit!

It is important here to make sure the upper mount is directly over the top of the lower mount. This is to ensure that both bags inflate at equal pressure. If the cradle is twisted, one bag may need more pressure to inflate than the other and therefore you could end up with one side having a harder ride than the other. With the cradle supported on a jack it's possible to tap the cradle into alignment with a hammer. I also trial fitted the air bags at this point to make sure they sat evenly between the two mounts.
Next, you simply have to drill two dirty great holes through the rear frame horns so the whole thing can be bolted tightly together. Anyone who thinks the rear fame horns look a little flimsy (me included) should try and drill through the buggers. They're thicker than you might think.

With the rear cradle bolted in it was time to route the handbrake cables through the lower bag mounts. If you are planning to run a rear disc set-up this isn't an issue but as I've no intention of going that fast, drums are fine by me. As you can see from the pictures, the lower bag mounts attach to the lower rear shock mounts and block the path the handbrake cables usually take.

I marked, punched and drilled an appropriately sized hole through the mount. I also filed any sharp edges off here as I didn't want the cable to chafe. No one wants that!

Another thing worth considering with any air-ride set-up is the huge arc the suspension travels through. The suspension travels a lot more than on a stock car, from the ground to 10 inches or so above, so all cables and potential clearance issues need to be checked though the entire suspension travel range. The handbrake cable may clear with the suspension fully raised, for example, but it could foul on something on full drop. It's a case of check, check and check again.

More next time kids...