Hey all, I'm asking around because I asked Speedway Motors and I'm still unsure. I'm looking at using their '49 to '54 Chevy spindles and their advertising says the geometry has been changed to complement radial tires. Yet I'm not sure how... change in camber? Also, not sure if this would cause premature or uneven wear on the bias-plies I plan on using. Speedway 1949-1954 Chevy Car Modified Spindles w/ King Pins
as i said... i asked. just thought i could get some insight from someone who is familiar. speedway motors didn't give me anything solid.
They are made to be uses with their T bucket Tube axle. won't fit a Stock 49/54 Chevy if you are trying to replace a bad spindle. I'm thinking that they won't work with anything except their house brand tube axles that are made to be uses with them.
If I was to guess any change in kingpin inclination would be to the welded-up axle, not the spindles.
The spindles that he is asking about are new forged spindles from Speedway that have had some changes from the original Chev design but if you squint a bit the still look like 54 Chevy car spindles. Remembering that somewhere along the line Total Performance (T buckets) had a hard time sourcing 49/54 Chevy car spindles from wrecking yards on a reliable basis and started having them made. Then comes the fight with putting disk brakes on the stock design spindles and either Total Performance or later Speedway made some changes so the disk brake hubs slid right on with no mods. Meaning Ball bearings for stock brakes won't fit. King pin inclination was changed because it worked better with the tires most T bucket guys wanted to run. As I said in my previous post most likely they only work well with their in house brands of tube axles.
Digging though my ancient Speedway's catalogue it mentions their 49-54 Chevy car modified spindles are "not for 49-54 Chevy cars" (?). Looking at the spindle chart it mentions that for the "Total Performance style spindle", the axle boss length and pin size is different than stock spindles used on 49-54 Chevy cars. On the front-axle page, only the "Total Performance" retro fit front-axle uses Speedway's 49-54 Chevy-style spindle. It doesn't mention if the kingpin inclination was changed at the spindle or at the axle boss or both.
Ask "Ron Pope Motorsports" , he builds axles & furnishes speedway spindles . If they're " radial friendly" , they may have increased negative camber ? I'm betting its more marketing hype than any significant geometric change .
I clicked the link the OP put up, within the link it states (to the effect) “not for use on ‘49-54 Chevy cars, used for solid axle conversion “. @Snicklefritz65 are you wanting these for your 49-54 car for replacements, or?
FYI, Total Performance, ( "T" bucket kits ) sold out to Speedway several years ago. It only makes sense, (dollars and cents), to Speedway to sell their axles and the only spindles that will work with their axles.
The reasons given for not using them on stock 49-54 Chevy cars is ,the spindle " snout" modifications & because of that the difficulty using stock chevy drum brakes ,if you read all the info on speedways page .
So speaking of axles. Say a true straight axle and also say a dropped tub Thats what I was getting at.
Speedway has been selling axles & spindles for quite some time , in the past , they sold brake kits that fit their modified 49-54 chev spindles ,OR stock chev 49-54 spindles that the user / builder would then have to modify . Those modifications did not include any meaningful " geometry" changes other than a slight ,MOL insignificant change , in scrub radius . And FWIW , speedway sold out of & no longer has available , any of the TP acquired inventory , including spindles & axles , or any replacement compatible parts .
Early Ford KPI is 8* and I think the ‘49-‘54 Chevy spindles are 4*, Total said they improved the spindles for the motorcycle style wheels popular on their T-Buckets. I take that to mean that TP changed the KPI to give a better scrub radius with the ‘cycle wheels. Speedway then modified that statement to say “….changed to work with current radial tire construction.” That spindle takes an Econoline .742 king pin and although Speedway’s catalog says it will mount common GM and Ford disc brake kits I would verify that statement with them- the only kits I see listed in their catalog (mine is a 2021 edition) are priced from $680 to $765. Either my reading comprehension is f;&#ked up or they need a better copy writer. The only brake kits I see listed is the 835-140150 and their ‘151 and ‘152 offerings. Apparently even their tech guys don’t know what works with what, but one thing is certain, you will be locked into Speedway’s front axle as @Mr48chev said, and maybe Speedway’s (with Wilwood components) brake kit if you buy those spindles. Edit- As long as you would be buying spindles anyway buy early Ford style, whether original or repro and save yourself some headaches.
I used a pair of the Speedway spindles on my T roadster. I could have sent a pair of stock spindles to Speedway to be modified, but opted to buy the new spindles already "disc brake ready" for the slight increased cost. I built my T years ago and used a 4" drop tube axle from the old (now defunct?) M.A.S.. I don't think Speedway ever offered an axle that was advertised as being specifically built for their modified vs. stock '49-'54 spindles that would have suggested any significant, life-changing camber difference. The front wheels on my T don't have any appreciable camber either way + or - , but unfortunately don't have a number I can state as the as-installed camber. The car has always had a speed range of front tire "shake" in the vicinity of 30-ish MPH that I can't seem to solve. I have it down to a minimum with tinkering with caster and toe-in, but now wonder it has to do with something like a possible 1/2 or 1 degree change to the built-in camber/kingpin inclination of the Speedway spindle, and using it with an axle that's built for "stock" '49-'54 Chevy spindles. Now you have me wondering??? I always suspected that the "not for use as replacements" disclaimer might have had to do with liability on an actual '49-'54 Chevy because of the front end weight of a full-size car compared to a T roadster or other lightweight hot rod. I probably haven't helped one bit, in fact I might have raised even more questions. Sorry. Lynn
Couple years ago, we replaced the stock Chevy spindles and drum brakes with Speedway's spindles and disc brake kit. This was on a MAS axle from the '70s; we had no problems. Didn't notice anything different other than the configuration of the snout; don't know if we would have noticed the change of a degree or so. Had to change the steering arms and tie rod to work with the new brakes. Car has regular wheels and tires (not bike wheels) and seemed to drive just as before.
Once again, digging through my ancient Speedway catalogue, "if " (and it is a big if) the "49-54 Chevy car modified spindles" listed in the spindle section are the same as the "Total Performance spindles" mentioned in the spindle chart, the changes to the spindle would be: Being machined to fit a disk brake kit (can't use stock hubs or bearings), a longer axle boss length and a smaller spindle pin diameter. I believe this is why the "49-54 Chevy car modified spindle" won't fit a stock 49-54 Chevy. By the way, has the OP ever mentioned what vehicle the spindles are for?
i have my axle on order from ron and will be hitting him up with questions as soon as i can. right now he's dealing with some family stuff so i'm hanging back. i share your specualtion about negative camber and due to my inexperience with solid axle suspensions had me a bit concerned about tire wear and/or stability at speed. fyi to all it is a solid axle t-bucket and i plan on using mustang 2/pinto brakes for a variety of reasons largely practical, in my case.
hey all i appreciate the thoughts on this. i'm taking it all in and if i get anything solid i'll pass it along to y'all for reference. i may be overthinking this but that's how my brain works. that, and some safety concerns. the spindle question is for a t-bucket project (mid-60s style as much as i can manage) with the obvious deviation of the front brakes; mustang 2 discs and rotors. i have an axle and other suspension bits coming from ron pope (he built my frame to spec for me).
i've read about that shake with some cars. solid axle cars are new to me but somewhere chip quinn (member here) talked in detail how to deal with that and that's something i have to go and search out again... forgot to take notes.
Yes, M.A.S. is no longer in business. Bill Carson, W.A.C. here on the HAMB, bought the inventory of M.A.S. and is doing well selling his own axles, which in my opinion are better quality than the axles that M.A.S. supplied.
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