hi, working on my 1937 ford panel truck. i am going to install the speedway front disc brake conversion with their deluxe kingpin kit and i have everything i need but a bushing reamer. my question is is it possible to find a reamer kit and does anyone know where i can get one? also, given the cost of the tool and the fact i probably will never use it again, not to mention the quality of the finished project,am i better off just taking the job to my local machine shop? thanks for any info provided.
When you say deluxe kit , are you referring to the ones with needle bearings? If so they don’t need reaming .
This might be the right size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2VMT5L2/?tag=atomicindus08-20 I was able to borrow one when I reamed my Model A bushings. Maybe your local Model A or Early V8 Club will loan you one. Some prefer having a shop hone them. Buying tool might be cheaper.
IMO. Stick with the Ford style bushed kingpins and grease them. If Henry Ford's engineers had thought the needle bearing king pins were a good idea they would have done it!
I have been reaming kingpins since 1970 or so. I purchased a self aligning reamer and because I had the use of a hydraulic press, I became the "kingpin guy". Because I belonged to a local Model A club and V-8 Club I probably did a couple of dozen sets of spindles and bushings over the years. Last winter I rebuilt the front end in my 1946 Woodie and after hearing a lot of talk about honing, I decided to have a local machine shop press and hone the bushings for me. I never doubted my work and every job I did came out great, but now I am convinced that honing is the way to go. The shop used a Sunnen (not sure of the spelling) machine and the fit was absolutely perfect. It doesn't sound like you are thinking about it, but as others have suggested, do not use the needle bearing kit. Have a machine shop hone the bushings to match the king pins and you won't regret it.
What woodiewagon said. Local automotive machine shops will have a Sunnen bushing grinder and the correct mandrels for any size kingpins that you might ever install. The red machine is a 1928 Sunnen bushing grinder. I’ve been using it since 1975 when the original owner had retired and it was headed to the dump. It’s anyone’s guess how many sets of kingpin bushings this one has honed.
I gave up reaming king pin bushings years ago. No matter how good the reaming job is, it will never be absolutely round. It always leaves a small amount of roughness from reamer chatter. I install the bushings and take them to reputable machine shop and have bushings honed on a wrist pin hone, to the proper size. Honing will guarantee a perfectly round bushings with the proper clearance, guaranteeing l9ng life of the pin and bushings provided they are greased often. I learned all this back in the dark ages with my first car, a 48 Ford coupe. Jimmy Banta, a superb machinist set me straight. I followed his advice and have had long service life from King pins and bushings. At 78, I have followed Jimmy's advice with great success. After 40k plus miles, my deuce roadster is in need of new king pins and bushings and will receive the same repair treatment! Of course proper and frequent lube doesn't hurt either!
I've reamed 100's of King pins in my 44+ yrs of doing this professionally and never had a problem using a reamer with a guide. I've never seen one of my jobs go bad in any of them, most made 100,000 miles when the vehicle was maintained and greased regularly. Everything from these old model A's to semi tractor rigs. And everything in between, including twin i-beams. Sure I agree honing is best BUT it's not like these king pins spin or swing at high rates of speed nor are they constantly being rotated in full circles, they work in a limited swing at a limited slow speed. I would put my ream job up against any hone job per mileage achieved on those parts. Infact just did another set of king pins just last month for a cargo van. It's all about fit, the fit of the pin to the bushing and the fit of the spindle to the kingpin boss, I've seen replaced kingpin jobs go bad in less than 10,000 miles due to bad fit between the spindle and kingpin boss because lack of experience on setting up that fit too. There's more to making them last than just the pin to bushing fit.... ...
That link to amazon is not a proper king pin reamer. Look at ebay for a real one if you must, they work ok, but if its the only job you will do take your spindles to an engine rebuilder and have them done on the Sunnen hone.
Reamer size for ford is .812 you want a pilot reamer, you also want it adjustable. While its not required that it be adjustable. I greatly prefer to be able to ease it in til its just right. Never had a single issue reaming a king pin bushing
Amen. Its not all that hard or complicated. Not saying everyone has to do all their own work but its a pet peeve of mine when a fellas askin for the "how to" because he WANTS TO do his own work. Then all the fellas who pay others to do their work chime in telling him he should just pay someone too. That wasnt his question.... rant over
I just went through this a few months ago. I found the self piloting reamer at Snyders for over $300. I figured I wouldn't use it enough to justify the purchase. I ended up paying a local machine shop to use the Sunnen rod hone similar to pictured above. Turned out outstanding.
Back in olden times, I ran down to Monkey Wards and bought a Ford sized kingpin reamer for probably $9. Over the years I have picked up a few more (many unused) for cheap at garage sales and swap meets. I've done untold king bushings over the years and they always seemed tight and worked good. Obviously it doesn't make sense to buy an expensive new tool now-a-days for a one time deal. Take them to the shop and have them done. One thing I've noticed is that the new Chineseum bushings have more steel and less bearing material. NORS kingpin sets from eBay have been a good source of quality likely US made stuff.
Im a fan of honing king pin bushings. I recently upgraded to this Sunnen hone. Ive done probably 50 pairs of early Ford spindles for local friends and shops
You guys are doing it all wrong… You need to have a buddy that’s a retired engine builder who has a Sunnen machine in his basement shop. Drop by, ask him if he’ll hone your bushings for you, and he gets you a beer before he does them and sends you on your way!
One of the first automotive tools I purchased over 50 years ago was a king-pin bushing reamer. I've used it several times over the years and haven't had an issue with any of the bushings I've used it on. Had the king pins out of the spindles on my roadster a couple of times since I installed them years ago and they show minimal wear. They'll last a lot longer with regular lubrication...
funny, was just telling a guy about that a few days ago... he said... whats a brake hone...... back in the day we always rebuilt the wheel cyls,,, now they replace every thing because the part store people don't know what you are talking about either
I’m not a “time is money” guy, but having a 300$ tool that you may only use once, may not be a bad thing. Shops aren’t open on weekends (around here) anymore. For the majority that means taking time off work, taking the parts down and coming back the following week to pick them up. As opposed to doing it on one’s time at home, weekend/after work, etc.
@Budget36 so true and add to find a guy that’s going to do a good job at it. I was lucky to find a couple king pin reams over the years and then scored a KR Wilson kit this one in the wood box for 100 bucks. They are out there and most folks don’t know what they are
Okay, what's the deal with needle bearings? Several posts seem to indicate they're a bad thing. I'm curious to know the pros and cons.
My set wasnt 300. I bought a complete set with 8 adjustable pilot reamers for 100 bucks on fleabay. Came in a greasy old wood box that was like new inside with wax paper on the reamers. 100 bucks and I never have to wait on anyone. I can do my ford kingpins, I can do my 33 dodge. I do probably 3 or 4 sets of ford buahings a year so it was 100 well spent
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