Chirco is building a Baja Bug! Many of the air - cooled VW parts and procedures used can also be used on Dune Buggies, Sand Rails. These pages feature links to the Chirco online parts catalog.
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PART 3 - Box Rear IRS Trailing Arms and Installing Triple Shock Mounts

The box arm kit is designed to greatly strengthen stock I.R.S. trailing arms. Triple shock mounts will allow you to run multiple shocks. Before doing this, you will need to plan where you are going to mount your shocks.

You will need to remove your trailing arms from the spring plates and the pivots. Remove all of the bushings, seals, bearings and the stub axles. If you can, put them in a parts washer or just get them as clean as possible. With a torch, cut of the bump stop and lower shock mount (circled). The arm should then look like the second photo. 

click the photo for more info

click the photo for more info
The box arm kits come with three pieces per side. The side pieces will contour the seam of your stock arms and the middle piece will rest in the middle. 1st, set one of the sides along the seam of the arm and see if any slight bends need to be made to the side piece. Do the same to the other side until they fit well. Then lay the middle piece between the sides ensuring it will not obstruct the stub axle flange rotation. You can now start to tack weld the sides in place starting with the widest part. Then tack in the middle piece. Now it is time to slide the triple shock mount into place. Remember that the three holes need to be on top. Double check that the stub axle flange will still be clear. If everything lines up well, weld away.
Make sure you have welded both sides of the box kit and triple shock mount all around. If you did not receive an A+ in welding shop in school, this is a great time to break out a 4" grinding wheel and clean up the welds. If you have a wire wheel that goes in a drill, you can also clean up any rust that might have developed on the arm. Now they are ready to prime and paint.

Since you were going to put in new bushings, seals and bearings in any way, re-grease every thing and put them back together. Try not to get a speeding ticket driving over to your friends house to show them how cool your car or buggy looks.

If you have any questions about this process, please call us at 800-955-9795 

If you have any questions or comments about Project Baja please e-mail don@chirco.com we sure would like to hear from you.