A common question we get here at Wagenswest
is "will you make this or that pre-1967 bus front suspension part for my 1968 (and up) bay bus?" The answer is yes but why? Why would you want to spend more to get a front end that is weaker and costs more to fix? Why would you install an inferior flipped link pin spindle into a bus that is hundreds of pounds heavier? Why would you want to make things more complicated than needed? We understand that there are other suspension shops and hobby shops advocating for this, especially in internet forums, but as usual you can't always trust the internet. The biggest reason for shops pushing link pin beams on customers with bay window buses is because the shop does not have the capabilities to make bay window dropped spindles and beams.Three myths
#1 --you can't get your bay window bus as low with a ball joint beam.
#2 --the ball joint bay beam won't handle as well.
#3 --the ball joint bay beam is going to cost a lot more. Three answers
Answer #1
— The Wagenswest Bell Pepper has a 4 inch narrowed ball joint beam and 2.5 inch dropped ball joint spindles, the bell pepper could go even lower if it had the 1 inch raised beam that we build.Answer #2
– Most guys that advocate for link pin beams in ball joint buses use 3.5 inch flipped dropped link pin spindles. First of all the flipped link pin bus spindle has no pivot bushings left in it, making smooth steering a challenge. The second thing is when you flip a pre 67 spindle, the steering arm goes up with the spindle putting your tie rods at a bad angle, most often you will also need to drastically notch your frame and the bottom link pin bolt loves to hit the steering arm when you turn. The third thing is when you flip a link pin bus spindle the only thing left holding the bottom king pin in is an 8mm pinch bolt. Under the weight of a split window the bottom king pin barely stays in. Imagine what the weight of a bay window does to it.Answer #3
-- Link pin parts do not interchange with ball joint parts. Link pin beams are getting hard to find and will almost always need major repairs and are expensive to repair. Most of the time the only thing a ball joint beam will need is a set of ball joints.This is just something to think about the next time you hear someone pushing a link pin into a ball joint bus. Of course there is always an exception to the rules especially when it comes to "custom stuff" but most of the time this info applies 100%.
