1967 VW Bug Tie Rod Replacement

Sometimes we find out the bad news mid-project.  "Gee I wish someone would have told me that sooner.."  It's kinda like watching one of those home improvement shows where after they get started and have torn into something they find..asbestos, a large monster of a pipe that needs to be relocated etc.
Replacing the Tie Rods on a 1967 VW bug chassis should be a cakewalk.  From what you can see, it's four bolts and they come off.

Then why are mine !@#$ stuck?

Silly amateur!  Don't you know that 1967 was the year that the VW Bug went through some changes in the ball joint front end suspension?  They went from a less efficient tapered bolt to a straight bolt.

Naturally, I was ill-informed of this valuable piece of knowledge.  Judging from the picture above, I went and ordered new tie rods since they looked ugly and I was questioning exactly how old are these things?  So I went to Appletree Automotive and ordered some pretty chrome replacements - hey, they were cheaper than the regular ones.

Don't get ahead of me here.....

While waiting the delivery of my new tie rods, I went to work trying to take the old ones off.  That's where I exclaim once again, Why are mine stuck?

I tried using a puller, I tired using lots of PB Blaster, I tried heat with my butane torch.... and had to eventually cut it off with a power tool (my favorite). Yes, most of the bolt is still stuck in the spindle.

Since I thought about replacing the ball joints as well, I removed the spindle and tried removing the tie rod bolt using my vise on my bench.  No luck there either.

Totally frustrated at this point, I took the spindle to a local auto shop and they were able to get the bolt out with extreme heat from a welder. $40.

In the meantime my new shiny tie rods arrived....Ooooh, Ahhhhhh.

Probably hard to see in this picture but the new tie rods have straight bolts - not the tapered bolts I needed.  I called up Appletree and talked with one of their VW guys and finally was alerted to the fact that I had a freak of a VW chassis.  Now, I had to send them back.  Let me tell you now, it ain't cheap. $35

So, at this point I have an option of replacing the spindles to straight bolts by seeing if I can find some from a local junk yard somewhere or just stick with what I got.

Before you throw the old tie rods away, you'll need to take the new and lengthen them to the same length of the old tie rods.

If you have a 1967 VW Bug Chassis like I do, you'll want to look and see what kind of tire rods you have before you dive in - straight or tapered and think about your options.