brake problems on 74 super beetle

"Jim Adney" wrote in message...
>
> This is a little hard to describe, but I'll try......

Thank you, I understood perfectly. So much so, that I went through all my
stuff and eventually found the same gauge spec sheet, as you describe. It
is interesting that there is an up-rated version for mid-69 and later Bugs,
which may be due to body work changes. The manual mentions that an extra
depression in the bodywork was made, for the 71 models to allow the slightly
taller pedals to have the permissible travel.

According to the VW pedal specifications, the brake pedal should have a
minimum travel of 190mm. Bentley states 200mm and the gauge 'appears' to
provide even more (205 and 220mm). The simplest way to check (IMO) is to
remove the pushrod and simply measure the pedal travel.

VW's wording (although not wrong) of the pushrod length having been "factory
adjusted" or "the factory has set the length" has caused confusion. It has
been assumed that there is a universal specific length for the pushrod, of
which the dimension remains a well kept secret (VW's '7X'). What they
should have made clear, was that each and every pushrod has been adjusted to
suit each and every individual vehicle. This is why the rod was made
adjustable, as otherwise, it would have been a cheaper 'fixed' length
component.