I’ll firmly admit there are some things that I am just not in tune with. I barely grok auto electrical systems and I definitely don’t quite have a firm grasp on the IRS torsion bars and how they function and can be adjusted.
Once the body is removed and the chassis is ready to be disassembled, the components of the IRS suspension will all need to be broken down, inspected, repaired if necessary, and properly cleaned and coated. I haven’t decided if I’ll just keep and restore the stock spring plates with the 24-11/16 torsion bars or possibly change to an adjustable spring plate as well. There are the cheap EMPI ones, and of course better quality made ones (with price tags to match) such as CB Performance’s 2841 Adjustable Spring Plates or the AtomWerk ones. Since my car is more to just make me happy and not for racing and such, I doubt I would need the high-end ones but I’ll likely ask around.
I’ve been gathering up a variety of data sources to file away for future reference and self-education on the matter.
VW.zebseeker.net‘s Torsion Bar Indexing page is really a great source of data. So does Rob and Dave’s Aircooled Volkswagen Web Pages Rear Suspension article.
One thing that I know is that I will eventually have to pull Murbella’s plates and bars and check those. She’s had some major noise coming from there but I haven’t been able to exactly diagnose the origin, but I suspect it is related to these. I feel she’s “sagging” in the rear at 40 and at least needs a possible adjustment.
Some videos to remember: