You can run stock axles with stock spindles with reverse eye spring, if you want a little more drop and kep the Model A mechanicals brakes, you need to go to a 32-36 axel and 32 spindles... With dropped axel you can use the 32 spindles to... Or 39 and up¡ Enviado desde mi XT1068 mediante Tapatalk
I am currently running the stock axle, spindles and brakes with a reversed main leaf and Spring 2 and 3 put to the bottom of the pack. The problem is my tie rod is getting closer and closer to my oil pan.
Looks cool. Not to rain on the parade of complements, but is 1" enough between the top of the tires and fenders? Don't they hit on bumps? If not, great, but only 1" of suspension travel seems like a little too little to keep life comfortable on a street car. Gary
Ok, thanks. Mine measures 2.25" and doesn't bottom out either. I was actually thinking of removing another leaf but it rides pretty good now. Back when we were doing the spring I kept thinking that you have to leave some clearance there but didn't know how much so now you've confirmed it. I think we're at the limit.
I might have missed this but the first few photos are an A rear spring with 5 leaves? How did that ride?
Remember only the spring puts the wishbone (which governs your tie rod) closer to the pan. A dropped or 34/36 axle will leave the wishbone in the same place but flattening/removing leaves/ reversing the eyes moves it closer. I used a 4' drop axle and dropped a couple of leaves and still run the tie rod on top of the bone with no problem with the sump and have not quite 2" of travel tyres to the gusrds. There are so many ways to go.
rode well also i cant tell a real difference between the A and the T spring...you may be able to use one less leaf if not on a sedan
not 1" from top of tire to fender but 1" gap from top of tire to fender lip, leaving agap you could see over the tire when viewed from the side with the T spring the top of the tire is actually up inside the fender a touch and you can no longer see top of tire when viewed from side. with T spring I have about 3 1/2 in. from top of tire to top of fender
The steering arms and spindles govern the tie rod. Any lowering moves the spindles up and they take the tie rod with them. I have a 36 axle and a 2" dropped A axle to choose from but as far as I can see I am at the limit of the Model A spindles.
The wishbone governs where the steering arms can be bent to is probably what I should have added. Dropped axle doesn't move the bone, spring lowerering does.When installing the axle get the torch out and bend the steering arms down till the tie rod is just clear of the bone.The tie rod will still have the same clearance on the sump as it did without the drop in the axle . If you still want more clearance cut your balls off and use the tapered bolt in balls from the bottom side or 32 -34 stubs and retaper to bottom side, but I didn't need to do that. But I elected to go maximum drop in the axle so as not to reverse eye spring to avoid that. As i said, there is a few ways to do it.
Hey Ron, When you had the Model A rear spring in the back with 5 leaves and reverse eye, which springs did you remove? Also, was it a stock spring that you reversed the main, or was a new one like a Posies? Do you know how much it had lowered it? I have a Posie reversed eye in the front and rear of my car, I removed the two very top springs in the back and it ended up lowering it about 2.75". I picked up a 36 front axle and spindles that I am going to put in the front to lower it another 2" in the front and I want to get the rear down about another 2.5"
My A main leaf was a stock model A unit that I reversed on a press myself. I left the top leaf and removed 3 leafs, every other one from small top leaf. It lowered about 3.5 ins with the 36 axle you are on the right track
Ron, I'm aiming for a mild drop on my coupe so will probably go with the reversed eye rear and '32-'36 front axle combo: did you reverse your rear leaf cold by pressing? That's a lot of arch to bend the opposite way!
Yes it was a cold bend the front leaf should be no problem, Ive done several in the past without any issues as well as leafs on several mid fifties Chevy and Ford pick-ups. Just lay it on your garage floor and trace the arc with a marker of some kind and use it for a pattern when bending backwards, a little at a time. Takes about 1/2 hr. to get it reversed, very easy. However the rear main leaf cracked due to the extreme shape. Ive done some successfully in the past but not this one. I ended up buying a reversed eye main leaf new for the rear. Also, I used 32 spindles instead of my original 30's. The 32 spindles have removable ball ends that can be taken out, rereamed and installed upside down making clearance of everything a piece of cake.
It is 48.5" king pin to king pin, which is basically a stock axle dropped 4". Dropping the axle moves the king pins a couple inches closer together. This worked out great as it centered my tire/wheels beneath the fenders. My front end is pretty low but I have no clearance issues any where, left turn, right turn or straight ahead.
Great transformation of your car.Stance looks good.Lots of tips for lowering a Model A. Now I need to get busy on mine.Thanks for sharing..
i used the 30 spindles on the 36 axle and the 32 spindles on the dropped axle, but if I was going to use the 36 axle again I would still use the 32 spindles. Very little heating and bending...with the stock 30 spindles you would need to heat and twist the tie rod arms 180 deg. with the 32 spindles you can take the removable ball ends out and install them upside down, 180 deg. Just for ducks the 33 thru 36 axles are identicle in all dimensions, the 32 heavy looks slightly different but i believe all measurements are same as 33-36. Google "Sids dropped axles" he has a great site with pics and dimensions of nearly all beam type axle in original as well as dropped forms.....
possibly my mainleaf is new as I cracked my original main leaf trying to reverse it all the other T leafs worked no problem
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