Technical i-beam axle

i have a i-beam axle i was planning on using on my car. problem is the car has a track width of 56" track width and the axle i have is 78.5 track width. was thinking of narrowing it (street use) but seeing most here say no. so without going to speedway, what car/truck would have a axle closer to the 56" track?

 

I've never seen an axle 78.5 wide. I'm not even sure that a semi truck axle is that wide. How are you measuring the width? Axles are measured king pin center to king pin center.

 

Track width is usually center of the tire, it's not measuring just the axle.

 

Got my info off the net. The car is a let's say a 65 (mine is ot by year only) rambler american and the axle came from a 66 dodge a100. I figure the chevy II's would have around the same track width.

 

I had an A100 axle, it was half a foot too wide to fit the Barracuda.

 

I did some more reading and it seems to be 60". I guess the other was the width of the truck. Wish I had known that they had the 8 3/4 rear in I would have gotten it too. So I'm wrong on the width but it is still to wide for my car.

 

Plenty of axles out there; find one that's the right width and be done with it.

 

An A100 is 78.5 wide (the body), so I highly doubt that the track width is the same. The axle from king pin to king pin is probably way less. It may still be too wide for your application, though.

As a metallurgist who has seen lots of hack DIY stuff like that, don't narrow the axle. Find one that fits.

 

Did you measure on the actual car what 60" would look like, factoring in the tire width you're planning on using?

 

No I have not. I can't walk and it is in the back field.

 

Nothing better than putting a tape measure to the actual parts you have. Reading it in a book won’t prove a point.

 

and then you still have to set some wheels and tires next to the car, and measure yet again...

 

I appreciate the mobility issues but you really need to measure it or have someone do it for you. Measurements on the Internet should not be relied upon, you need to see what it will actually end up like yourself.

 

If you need a narrow front axle , look at Mail jeeps , dj-5 or so . Very narrow 3” tube axle w drum brakes . Usually $100 if you can find one now . I’ve got a few but live in south Florida.

 

Yes I really do, and I understand. I was just looking to see if anything might be close. I'll see if I can get someone to give me a hand. Thanks fellas.

 

Brain fart on my part there.

IF the op hadn't been on here since 2010 I'd think we are being trolled on this one as tread width on a Model A Ford is 56 inches stock. That should be pretty close to the tread width of Chevys of the same era if you are looking for a parallel leaf spring axle.

Front tread of a 35 Chevy pickup is 56 37/64.

 

No sir no trolling but a miss read on my part. Thank you for the info you just shared. Just so happens a buddy is building a 29 chevrolet truck. He is not going to use it, so I'll grab it.

 

This is close to the house

 

Here's front track width for a 55 first series pickup straight from GM, 57.00. 55 first series is a 47-54.

https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/vehicle-information-kits

 

Another fairly narrow axle is from an early (~61-67ish) 2wd scout, including the postal scouts. It's a straight i-beam, parallel leafs. No drop, smile, etc. Circumference-finned(3 or 4) brake drums, 4bolt.
Marcus...

 

The DJ or 2wd drive jeeps has a straight, straight axle as well.

 

A solid tube axle?

 

If your car might be a '65 American then an I beam axle in stock width is going to be a tough one to find narrow enough to fit. They were 66" wide and most vans or trucks are around 74" wide.
I used a '58 Chev truck axle under my '39 Chev coupe and had to narrow it 5" to fit my body. Narrowing an axle gets all sorts of alarmists and naysayers, but done properly it is plenty strong. The area at the center of an axle has the least amount of stress than any other area of an axle.
The key to narrowing and axle is to make a Z cut to give the longest mating surface to weld on. That means you cut once in the middle, and if you need 5" removed you remove 5" from one side from the top half, and 5" from the other side from the bottom half. Then the two halves get butted together and the 5" welded along both sides of the axle. I grind the welds smooth afterwards, and add a 3/8" thick plate inside the web of the I beam on the backside also.
Here's a few images of what I do:
Edges of the cut beveled, and round tube clamped inside the beam to help keep alignment perfect.


Box tubing clamped to the top to also ensure alignment. I also check kingpins at each end before tacking to ensure they're on the same plane.


Once it's tacked every place I can get to with as many tacks as possible, I weld up the side without the round tube. Then grind the welds smooth and flip the round tube to the welded side, and weld the other side. Then finally remove all tubing and weld any other areas needed. After final grinding I clamp the flat bar long enough to cover the whole welded surface on the backside, and do both plug welds and perimeter welds to the plate.


I've done a half dozen of these axles now, and my '39 has about 12,000 miles on it now over all sorts of highway trips, and around town.

 

Another approach would be to take the actual wheels and tires you plan to use and set them under the car exactly where you want them to be and measure between them at the mounting surface.

Then get the spindles (Ford round-backs would be a good choice) and brakes, work back to determine the axle dimensions, and have WAC build you an axle.

Straight tube axle looks 100% better under a "gasser" look car than a heavy old truck axle anytime.

 

Well I disagree about a straight tube axle looking better under a gasser. I've got both currently, and had both before. The I beam is much more traditional, and looks much better than a plain old tube. Especially if the I beam is drilled to make it even neater!!