Torsion arms

Strap the chassis to the lift.

Yeah.

Use either tie-down straps or chains to anchor the chassis/pan to the lift so it can’t rise up, then the bottle jack to lift the spring plate into place.  

Please be careful - There is a LOT of energy potential in those torsion bars!!

Thanks guys. Not sure why I didn’t think of that. Wonder what people do without a lift. Lol

As I recall, I put the engine and trans in the car, then pried up the torsion arms with my hands and slid the axles in the slots, oriented them and put the bolts in.

Don't remember strapping anything down or needing a jack for that part of the job. (Edit: maybe a prybar?)

And I did have to perform this operation several times.

Borrow a free coil spring Threaded J rod tool from Advance / Auto Zone that compresses coil springs , one end captured below the plate and the other end goes over a 17mm head bolt where the original body mount location I do this all the time and it's safe (  you retain fingers and limbs) and it's easy .

There was a tool made from a stock VW Jack that bolted to the top shock mount  and on the moving part had a U bracket that slide around the spring plate ,

Jack if up and it pulls up the spring plate ,

There might be a drawing / photo on Samba

@edsnova - He doesn't have the body, engine or transaxle installed yet, just a bare pan so there's no weight to hold the pan down as you jack the spring plate up.  With a complete car this issue goes away - Just jack the plate up.

I've always used the cup/bowl of a roll-around floor jack to lever under the spring plate and lift it up onto the perch of the torsion bar end cap because I felt safer with that, rather than the 1-1/2" Dia piston of a bottle jack which has a much smaller area and the plate might slip off and take your foot with it.

I like both Imperial and Alan's idea, though - Safety first!  Remember that the spring plate end moves in an arc so whatever is used to move it up has to be able to move slightly as it lifts.  Attaching a plate tool to the top shock mount bolt makes a whole lot of sense.

And since I have NEVER gotten the ride height set properly the first time (or the second, third or fourth) if you have a welder, it might be prudent to make up a tool to lift the spring plate.  They tend to run $50 - $75 bucks, which seems like a lot for a piece of threaded shaft, a couple of nuts and some flat stock welded up.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/28422...1EAQYBiABEgI95_D_BwE

This is a Spyder, correct?  I don't see any provision for using a spring plate jack.

Ll-Rick,

correct, it’s a Spyder. There is nothing above the torsion bar to use a spring plate jack. The shock tower is too far back.

thanks,

Jeff

Before you get six new tools into it, just try using a normal 3-foot prybar. Put a shop towel on the frame tube just where the spring plate intersects it. slide the flat-curved part of the prybar under the spring plate and place it on the towel. Lift on the crook end of the prybar. That should get it.

Thanks Ed, that would work but unfortunately don’t have 3-4 people to help. Have to put the engine and trans in together.

thanks

Jeff

I did it this way solo.

We use a 4' pry bar with the end wrapped in leather (a towel would be fine) with the leather end on top of the 3" tube and the bar under the spring plate.  Pry up with one hand and tap in with the other.  Make sure your adjusters (if equipped) are adjusted all the way down.  If you are picking up the car then you are pre0loaded too much so try reclocking them to be a bit lighter.  With the aforementioned tools it is a one man job in our shop.

As has been noted, this is a Gen2 Beck SPYDER.

It would behoove the OP to listen to Carey and Ed on this,  and ignore the rest of the Speedster-based knowledge.

Me, I got nothing. Coils on the rear of mine.