Gti Beam On Xs

[juice willis 2]

Picking up an xs locally tomorrow, went to see it the other day and the rear beam is pretty seized. I also bought a 1.6 gti the othe week as I needed a few spares for my main car.

After doing a search it seems the drums on the gti beam are wider than the xs. Would this cause a problem and if so is it possible to swap the brakes over?

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

I had a GTI beam on my old XS which was lowered with 195 45 15's and they only just caught the outer edge of the wheel arch so any wheel narrower would be fine.

[juice willis 2]

Am planning on running the original steel wheels so this is good news, thanks!

[Anthony 1,000]

You might have issues with the rear drums, as the compensators are integrated in the XS drums but not on the 1.6 ones.

 

Otherwise from a torsion and anti-roll bar point of view it's a useful upgrade as both are stiffer - with no weight in the nose the XS turns in beautifully with a GTi beam on the rear

[jord294 87]

Nothing wrong with swapping backplates/drums and other brake bits off your xs beam onto the 1.6 beam

[juice willis 2]

So with the added width I'm guessing the stub axles will be longer on the gti beam. I would have to bash them out regardless though to get the drums off? Oh the joys had an xs for a while and regretted selling it, actually think I enjoyed driving it more than the gti. J'adore La twin choke solex tu3s

[jord294 87]

Drum brake stub axle pins same length. Only the disc set up has longer stub axle pins

[welshpug 1,627]

as mentioned, swap all the XS brake setup over, the drum braking surface is narrower, not sure if that translates directly to a 10 mm per side reduction in track width as well.

[Wallby 39]

I have done this conversion to my Rallye, I left the gti drums on and run with no compensators, no problems so far.

 

I have had a slight issue with rubbing when cornering hard when running 6j rear wheels, but my beam has also been lowered so should be ok when at standard height and smaller wheels.

 

Difference in drum height between base and gti is 6.5mm.

[juice willis 2]

Thanks for all the useful information. I'm not extremely experienced when it comes to cars hence my input to this forum has been lacking compared to the help I have received.

 

Looks like I will swap over the brakes from the XS to the GTI beam, i like the idea of having compensators. Although I'm sure I could add some from wherever they are on the gti onto the xs if I went for the GTI brakes?

 

Anyhow I just picked the car up, it needs a good clean and someone has blanked the nearside door lock but is actually in pretty tidy condition. The wheels unfortunately will need a complete refurb as they look like a toddler has got hold of one of those silver markers used for Christmas cards and tried to color them in.

 

The previous owner has done a fair bit of engine work on it and it runs beautifully. I had to hold myself back on the way home whilst grinning from ear to ear as it handles like crap. The rear has pretty much no movement whatsoever.

 

I am planning on spending the next available weekends on tidying it up and sorting out the few things that need doing (had to unplug fan as it was running constantly, some dash lights not working) however It has been pretty well cared for so hopefully will be able to have some fun in it this summer. I may do a thread on my progress in the restoration section of the forum.

 

Also who was it selling some OE XS decals?

 

Cheers

 

 

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p446/thaguewtomtek/DSC_0106_zpskx3xcfym.jpg

 

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p446/thaguewtomtek/DSC_0107_zpsd0hwg7n9.jpg

Edited June 24, 2016 by juice willis

[Anthony 1,000]

Silky was selling the wing decals a few days back

[juice willis 2]

Have found his for sale thread ta

[juice willis 2]

Have fit the rear axle and what a difference! Having a few issues with the front now though. I've taken the struts off and am trying to fit Bilstein B4's. The car as it is has what I believe to be standard springs, I was unsure what springs I should be fitting to get a standard (ish) ride height and thought I'd try out the ones from the old dampers.

 

It seems they are far too long, I could probably just about compress them enough to squeeze them on but stopped half way as it felt wrong. So pretty sure i'll end up with a dodgy height and/or wrong spring tension.

 

Has any one had experience with this setup or have any ideas what springs to use to get the ride height fairly standard without compromising efficiency of the dampers? Thought about standard gti springs but think it might make the car sit too high.

 

Cheers

[welshpug 1,627]

its normal to compress standard springs to install them.

[juice willis 2]

Ok it just seemed like they were way too long, any idea what kind of ride height i'll be left with and if they would suit the b4's generally.

 

Thanks

[welshpug 1,627]

damper will have a minimal effect on ride height, itll be pre much standard height.

[juice willis 2]

Really struggling here! Got the springs compressed to the maximum setting, pretty hairy stuff.. I'm still a good 50mm shy of getting the strut tops on. Base model springs much longer than gti?

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Can you pull on threaded section at top of strut to see if it'll come out?

I swapped sunbeam springs years ago and standard springs were 6inches longer than updated ones-struggle of struggles

 

Do spring seat to top of strut look similar between old and new struts?

 

I use the dodgy method of ratchet straps on springs

[welshpug 1,627]

yeah, you'll probably need to pull the piston up!

[juice willis 2]

Pistons were definitely fully extended, i am a noob but did check this Haven't tried the ratchet strap method but I can see that working as I assume you can get on more sections of coil. I ended up dismantling more of the spare GTI and taking a rusty ol' spring off one of the struts. It looks like the GTI springs are shorter than the base model ones, as it went on very easily. Funny though as it looked like both struts were the same length.. Didn't marry them up together as by this point I just wanted it on and it was already compressed.

 

Only got one side on for now as my gearbox is out and left a driveshaft connected to the hub so can't undo the nut. Will have to wait a few days before testing the ride height..

 

[juice willis 2]

Gearbox in, new bottom arms, track rod ends, b4's with gti springs. It now sits too high. Also the top of the front wheels are cambered in.. Bottom arms seemed the right length.. main issue is a very noisy whirring sound in every gear. Going to take the box back to the garage that rebuilt it but before I do that I want to sort out the camber and ride height so they dont get funny. Could this be putting load on the driveshafts and causing the noise?

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Can you get car up on blocks and run it in gear? Obviously don't want it falling-but might be easier to pinpoint where noise is coming from.

Possible wrong wishbones-I had one, defo a 205 one but way out of tolerance-you'd be pretty unlucky to get two though

Noise-intermediate bearing? Not seated right,cracked?

Is noise there when freewheeling?

Peugeot paranoia?-we all suffer from that lol

[Anthony 1,000]

GTi springs will be the problem with the height - they will sit too high with the lighter engine/box on the XS

 

Use your original XS springs, otherwise possibly some GTi lowering springs might work.

[juice willis 2]

Pretty noisy, sounds like reverse gear in every gear but more accented. Will put it back on stands and try running it. Bit disheartened now as it's taken so much blood sweat and tears for a novice mechanic like me It's not possible to put the wrong driveshaft in is it? may sound silly but i have quite a few gti ones lying around. 90% sure it is correct though.

[juice willis 2]

The only things that determine the camber would be the lower arms right? or could it possibly be linked with the ride height?

 

Cheers