has anyone here built their own kingpins? what steel used?

I,m building a bugeye sprite g***er style, planning on making it appear as though a brit expat built it. I,m using a model A axle with MGB spindles so i can put the wire wheels with knock off hubs on it.Ive got the spacers built and the MGB kingpins are surprisingly close diameter wise but are too long. so i need to make new ones. at work i did a rockwell hardness test on the "A" kingpin (can't remember the number now) and also same test on a piece of non hardend o1 oil hardening tool steel and they came out very close to the same. any input on successes or failures you've had would be great

 

The kingpin angles are the same? I know this doesnt answer your question, but it has me curious.

 

yup same angle i was shocked as hell when i checked this

 

For a g***er the bar stock you have should be fine. You said the MG was close to the same but a little long. Why not cut the length down and make a set of bushings? Seems the ez way out to me.

 

I thought about cutting them down but they just wouldn't look right. i figured i could machine something better ill post pics tomorrow so everyone can see what I'm dealing with

 

Get larger king pins and turn and grind them down would be easier on the mind. Why not use a Anglia front axle under your G***er? it would be the right width and Anglia spindles were the size that practically all spindle mount wheels were designed for.
Just a thought.

 

How close is close on the kingpin OD?

I wonder if kingpins are surface hardened or the same hardness all the way through?

Like RAY With says, new bushings to fit would be the easy way out.

 

I JUST CUT UP A SET OF HENRYS FINEST, FROM A '37-'38 LINCOLN. THEY ARE HARDER THAN KELSEYS NUTS ON THE SURFACE AND TOUGH IN THE CENTER. IF YOU MAKE NEW ONES, USE 4130 AND HAVE THEM HARDENED TO 58-60 "C" ROCKWELL. YOU COULD USE ANY STEEL THAT HAS 30 OR LESS POINTS OF CARBON (8620). HAVE FUN!

 

I have made them from drill rod in the past. You can get it the right diameter, machine a step on one end, and tig a cap on it.

 

I made a set out of stainless about 6months ago for my grandpa. It was for a homemade tractor with a ford front axle setup.

 

I have done spindle swaps and pressed in new bushings and had the the machinist in town hone them in his engine shop sunned rod hone.

 

I think 58-60 is to high Yes, it would be very hard! harder than a file! BUT it would be very brittle. the 4130 would be my choice. you can buy it hard already around 28-32RC it can be cut and machined.

 

Is it me or do i need to see a pic of WHY MGB king pins are to LONG for MGB spindles ?

I would expect they would be the correct length for the matching spindle.

If they need t*******, Why not cut them with a Water Jet & modify them to look like Ford Pins ?

I think we all need to see pics for a Legit answer

 

Over the years, I have converted several sets of Pinto spindles from ball joint type to straight axle. I just used drill rod for the kingpin in the off the shelf condition. Just turned down the end and used a heavy washer to TIG on.

 

here are the pics

[/IMG][/IMG]

 

I am cheap and spindle mount wheels are e**ppennssive $25 for the "A" axle free spindles (i work part time for a british car resto shop) $40 got me 4 mgb wire wheels with roller bias tires plus i get the knockoff hubs which is pretty cool. also fairly light weight 60's disc brakes and matches the theme of the car the "A" axle comes out to about the same width as the 56 chev rear I'm using tires stick way out but most stuff will when the body is only 52"wide. did lengthen the wheelbase from 80" to 86"

 

I like this guy...

 

i gave the bushing idea some thought and determined that the axle end is what would need to be bushed to take up the slop. and it didn't seem like the right way to go since this is the area where the kingpin does not need to move and will be pinned in place. on the drill rod plan, a question for GAB-KC. that car pictured looks like a pretty serious drag car. does the drill rod hold up well to the abuse and no worries at speed?

 

I make king pins for off-road racers. I use 4130 rod, and precision grind it to within .001 or 2 finish diameter. Then I have it case hardened (for wear purposes) to rockwell 61, and then finish grind, in my case, to 1.054. These take a POUNDING, with no problems, so far.

 

I'm thinking all these guys are calling drill rod what we T&D guys would call O-1. Your first idea sounds good to me. O-1 is tough stuff, left unhardened will be the way to go.
Grease it once in a while. It's designed so the bushings wear, that's why it's soft bushings.

 

Your local spe******t steel supplier should be able to give a good answer,but basically it's your common or garden HSS. Plenty touch enough for a king pin.
The axle eye will be larger than the BMC part ,right? .So you are going to have to bore the spindle bores so you can run bronze bushes and pins to suit the axle eye.
I think I would be more worried about the spindle being bored out too far to retain integrity in the forging.
Perhaps a MS buch in the axle eye would be better.
To answer DeSoto,the BMC front ends typically have a trunion on top for the top arm/shock absorber link. Something which falls to peices often if not lubed every once in a while. Hence the foot long king pins.

 

NICE WORK!!!!!
if it can take the kind of abuse that these trucks see i would have absolutely no worries for my purposes......probably way out of my range but if I sent a drawing what might it run to have a pair made?....... wallet just ran and hid under couch........
also is 4130 machinable for the rough cuts down to the point of grinding? I have a source that can get the steel. and another friend thats a tool and die maker

 

I've tried running un-heat treated 4130 on bronze bushings. It wears the shaft pretty quickly, on a race truck...... Probably be OK on a limited use, light hot rod.

 

Hey ***ony, On those shafts you make, the shafts survive and the bushings wear, or does nothing wear once the shafts are hard?

 

Send me a drawing and I'll try to hook you up, especially if you can live without the heat treat (actually a case hardening) tltony@cox.net

Tony

 

Just normal bushing wear. The king pins are case hardened to Rockwell 61, the same as a stock king pin.

I make the king pins for off-road use longer than stock, so that we can double shear (capture the top end). The reason is because we have trouble keeping the king pin from getting loose in the beam end and wallowing out the bore. Total over-kill for any kind of street car, but it's a big problem solver for the off-roaders.

Tony

 

Pre heat treating it can be easilly machined. You could even turn it on a lathe and finish it with emory cloth probably good enough for your purposes. Just go for it, it's just a hot rod

 

I dunno Man,

I think if ya cut the MGB pin to length, Attache a "HAT" to the top like a Ford.. Ford one were just spot welded on.

Cut the notch for the wedge pin that holds thru the Axle.

Sleeved the Axle boss to fit MGB King pins.

And Trimmed off the Bottom you would be in !

Ya got PLENTY on King Pin to work with without making a NASA project out of it.

But then, Things can look easy in pics over the internet.

 

The car pictured has not been completed and it is a track roadster. The others that I have done have been on the road in track roadsters for about 15 to 30 years and have not had any problems. The reason that I used the drill rod is that it has a ground finish and is dimensionally true. Any wear should be in the bronze bushings. I used Oilite bushings.

 

slow progress latest pic and the rough drawing of what i need to make