DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I have bought a 1972 S 'project'. It is currently fitted with aluminium trailing arms and i want to put it back to standard, i.e. steel.

So, before i launch into a purchase, I wanted to understand what are the differences, if any, between T, E and S trailing arms and also between 911 and 912 trailing arms. Would any 72/73 911 trailing arm do the job? Am interested by references i have seen to 'without the sway bar mounting stud' so i presume you can also get them with a sway bar stud. Did the S have the stud and the others not? Or did none of them have the stud? What do i need to know before buying? Any photos/advice of what to look for and what the sway bar mounting stud looks like would also be helpful.

Do i need special hubs to mount on the trailing arms or are hubs fungible and i will be able to reuse the ones fitted to the ali trailing arms?

If anyone has a set they don't want, alongside their collection of golden eggs, rocking horse pooh and hens teeth, am open to persuasion to part with cash.

All information welcome as i strive not to make an a**e of myself.

Thanks

If / when you decide on a way ahead I have a pair of steel trailing arms that I've just taken off my 72, if your interested.
Regards
Mark.
72 Marmite Panzer.

sent you a pm

Depending on the year of the alloy arms, they are pretty desirable and an upgrade a lot of early car owners go for

From memory, if you're changing, you'll need the correct stub axles, bearing plates , lower shock bolts , possibly rear disc backing plates as they differ ( all this is from memory when I fitted alloy arms to mine) .

Of course, with an s you'll need the sway bar pins on the steels arms

As James said unless really keen on originality I'd leave them. You can add rear brake hoses to the list above as well. I did mine several years back and wouldn't put steel arms back on.

I'm sure if you find someone with a standard '72 they might be prepared to swap!

Thanks for the opinions, i think for now i will stick with the alloys from the sound of it. Can always swap out later if necessary.

As a matter of interest, what difference to the driving experience do alloy arms make?

thanks

Lighter ( although I don't think by much ) , but stiffer

Difficult to quantify as it's pretty much always done at the same time as new bushes/alignment etc so the actual effects may be masked. I felt turn in and steering feel improved but I don't have any data to back that up. And as anyone who knows me at work will understand I don't do statements without data!

Some data I do have is weight:

'72 Steel arm with wheel bearing and bushes: 7.4kg

'73 Aluminium arm with wheel bearing and bushes: 5.5kg

So a total saving of 3.8kg from the right end of the car, the majority of which is unsprung