convert 71 Beetle to Ford tie rod ends

[heliarc]

It's getting towards spring and I have a ton of things I want to do. My wife and I put our Beetle on priority. The tie rods are shot and I can't find any definitive answer on either American or German made tie rod ends. So, I want to do the ford/international swap. Can someone help me out with all the stuff I'll need? I know I need the reamer, some good round stock, a die, and the inner and outer tie rod ends themselves. I just don't know the details of everything I need. At the least, if someone can show me the reamer I want then I can work backwards from there.

[Marc]

IIRC it's commonly referred to as 7° (included angle) but is actually 1½" per foot, which works out to 7⅛° ....probably close enough in either case.

Speedway Motors and Pacific Customs are a couple of sources.

[heliarc]

Man are those things salty!! I think I'd be better off going to a shop and having the knuckles reamed. One thing I wondered about is using Vanagon tie rod ends. I can find them German made but would they fit the same taper?

[heliarc]

I don't know why I didn't do this before but I called my local NAPA. I think someone suggested this to me in another thread. They have all four ends U.S. made. about $150 out the door. Problem solved!!!