Of course there is no answer to the correct height of a Cal-Look VW. That would be just mental to even throw out a number! But for a long time now I have considered that the height of the black VW, especially the rear, was just a bit too low (it used to drag the previous exhaust merged flange every now and then which was sub optimal).
I am also not a fan of having axle's either above or below the differential center line based on the wear this causes to the fulcrum plates and axles etc. The least amount of travel has to be better for wear in my mind.
So the morning after Christmas, I decided it was time to rectify the issue and raise the rear end of the car by 45mm to get the axles near on perfectly at right angles to the differential. It was also a good opportunity to 'fix' a few things that were bugging me too.
Here is the car with straight axles now from the drivers side. I think it has now made the car look more purposeful too.
From the passenger side. Looks exactly how I had planned at the beginning of the day. Yes the sheet on the concrete is to catch a weepy oil filler tube which is another one of those things I will rectify at the next oil change. No biggie.
Here are the 3-piece BRM's and Porsche 356B rear drums outside before they got a cleaning. Not too dirty or anything but I always try to leave things in better condition than when I removed them.
End result from behind the car. Nailed it!
Was a good morning's effort.
Managed to raise the rear end by 45mm, re-lube the torsion bar rubber bushings inside and out ((perfect condition still) genuine NOS VW items as installed 20 years ago), replaced the stainless hardware on the spring plate retainers with original VW hardware; completely cleaned and degreased all components dismantled such as the brakes so they are spot on; replaced the axle nuts with correct CSP 356 Porsche items (wider flange than VW items which I installed unaware back then...), and while I was under there, I replaced an o'Berg bung that had an old temperature sensor in it from the previous ECU that is no longer required just so it looks the goods (no functional change).
Next step on the black VW? Probably a thorough cleaning of the body and chrome to get it shiny again. Mechanically I can't think of anything major to address or alter.
The notchback now needs some more assembly work as far as where my car time needs to go, bearing in mind that with some urgency, my T34 will be heading here in 2020 from Western Australia.
