WHERE TO GET 37-48 Ford Straight Tube Axle and Dropped Spindles?

I've searched online, and haven't found what I'm looking for.

I'm trying to get rid of some aero drag on the Flatcad-basically the axle that is exposed at the wheels.

I want to switch to a tube axle, with forged ends, and dropped spindles, to keep the same ride height.

Where can I get them?

Thanks in advance!

 

Speedway F100 axles are tube center and forged? machined ends. Used with stock spindles, they have a 3"+ drop. Wouldn't be too difficult of a swap if the wheel base works. Effie spindles should be easy to get. But Speedway axles are made in China and they have had camber problems in the past, hopefully they will be getting that fixed. The axles are $399 though

 

2 years ago, I took a new one in trade. The guy claims he bought it at Borgeson here in Ct, and he said it was made by them? I do know it had welded ends, but I can't say if they were forged. I would think so, as how would you run a bead of weld doing a cast end on a steel tube?

I had the carton, but it lacked a brand name, as I recall.

 

Thanks, but I think I'll p*** on the Speedway axles-I can't inagine running at speed with Chinese junk!

Fabbing a front axle is an option, if I can find the spindles.

I tried Borgeson, but could only find dropped axles. Not sure how they do it, but only some of the manufacturors claim to have forged ends.

 

Yea, you are correct. I misread the ***le... duh. Thought it said dropped axle, not straight. Been using lacquer paint today

 

Here's one thread I found doing a search on "tube axle". Looks like there are a couple HAMBers that might be able to help, check out BCCHOPIT's posts on the thread. Ends are not forged, but look strong.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=300171&highlight=tube+axle

 

Thanks Ebbsspeed! I sent a PM to BCCHOPIT, but I'm still looking for a source for dropped spindles!

 

In the more than 50 years I have been a car nut, I have never seen, or heard if, a "dropped spindle" for a beam axle, tubular, I beam, straight or dropped.

Perhaps I am misinterpreting your terminology, but I infer you to mean a spindle with spindle shaft offset vertically from the king pin bosses. Is that what you are wanting?


Ray

 

Ray, yes that is what I'm looking for. I know they make them for later models, nut may not make them for this application.

I guess if they don't, we need to figure out how to use the straight axle, and still keep the front of the car 2" off of the ground-I just don't see how it will be possible!

 

I have seen a '41 Ford locally that has dropped spindles. The Ford spindle shaft was removed and an offset plate was used to mount a spindle from (I think) an AMC Pacer so the new shaft was a few inches higher than the stock one. It's been a few years, but I think the whole thing was bolted together.

It's not something I would do but it's one possible solution.

 

We manufacture tube axles, straight and dropped. The tube is 2" od 1/4" wall DOM tubing. The ends are machined from DOM tubing also. Of course it is all welded in a jig.

I have never seen any dropped spindles for the early Ford, only dropped axles.

 

The AMC spindle mod is an option. There was a thread on it here several years ago. Sounds like RPM might be able to help too.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Buddy, you do realise that a tube axle as I understand it has a cast piece that is welded into the tube at each end, are you sure you want to run at speed with cast ends.

Who knows where those ends come from???

Especially since complete cast axles have become somewhat of an issue lately.

I dont know that you will find dropped spindles for any beam style axle, but I maybe wrong. I've never seen any around.

Any thought to having something fabricated that could clamp around your current axle to achieve close to the shape you prefer.

 

Russ, The tube axle I'm speaking of is made with 2", .250 wall DOM tubing, not cast. They then weld forged ends on the tube, and are very strong.

I may not find dropped spindles, and will simply have to fiure out how to replace a 6" drop axle with a straight axle, and keep near the same ride height.

A fabricated clamp won't help-look at the pic. They area circled causes a lot of drag, and I'm trying to get rid of as much drag as possible.

 

Let's think outside the box for a moment. What about fabbing an aluminum streamlined cover to go over the axle parts that hang out?
20's and 30's streamliners had fairings over their suspension pieces, and while it may not be the least drag, it may be the least drag for the money and effort. You might actually be able to create some down force there. Justathought

 

OK, I got the picture.
Is the rest of the axle under the car also a problem?
It sure is a tricky one to solve...

 

Is it feasible to reconfigure the frame and run a straight tube axle directly across, with no need to have a dropped or modified spindle?

Also, I was thinking about some trailer axles I have seen, those with "drop center" load floors for fork lifts, skid loaders and the like. The point being, they use a heavy plate welded to the axle tube, extending vertically, and a spindle attached. Now, I realize they do not have to turn, but depending on the wheel size and offset, adding a king pin boss for a spindle to such a design should be doable......perhaps upon further investigation not desirable.....but it's a thought.

A Jeep Cherokee 2 wheel drive front axle is a heavy wall tube, runs straight across, has a forged yoke at the ends, and ball joints pressed for the hub/spindle. May be usable in that configuration or.....if the idea in the above paragraph has any merit, could be used as a basis for a dropped (actually raised) king pin boss. The weight of sufficiently strong components may be a deterrent..........

Just brain storming................


Ray

 

Hey, Buddy;

40tudor & harrison beat me to the correct(easy) answer.

AMC spindles bolt on w/4 bolts, & IIRC, there are 2 versions, depending on if drum, or disc. Have a choice of solid or vented rotor; although each rotor-type has a different caliper bracket, & caliper. In any case, I think either disc-type would work well for FlatCad.

No big deal, as whole mess is just moved up from the original axle center-line to whatever new point you want your drop to be. Nice thing is, you can dial-in any drop from 0" to 7 (?). Actually, more, but the drop plate needed will become heavier/thicker as you use more drop. Safe? Very - if a little thought & care is taken in the construction. & I know that won't be an issue for you. .

For the guys that can't seem to get over using AMC parts, or non-Ford parts, or non-aftermarket-manufactured parts, etc: I'd use them for that exact reason. Esp 'cause they're reasonably priced & it's DIY. .

Marcus...

BTW. forgot to add: if you make the spindle drop plates round, w/a little thinking on size 'n' shape, you get a inside wheel cover. "Free" aerodynamic aid. "Ahem"... "for Safety"... .

 

Looks like Mike Britton has a simple solution. Rollie Free was an old family friend and Bonneville racer and when I was young wanted me to understand aerodynamics. Any flat surface that could be rounded of eliminated would reduce drag. He mentioned that a 4 cam Porsche owner removed the outside mirrors on his car and gained 2 mph. So Mike's suggestion to make covers for the exposed axle ends could help.

 

I think Mike is onto something...also saves a lot of trouble!!!

 

Wow! lots of great ideas here, and I sure appreciate it! We brainstormed today, and have a solution.

Mike, it's a great idea, and by far the cheapest and easiest. When you have limited HP, like a flathead does, you need every advantage you can get. So, we ruled this idea out.

Ray, this is the idea we settled on. It will be the most work, but will be the 'cleanest', and should give use the best results! Kudos, Sir!

The AMC idea has a lot of merit also. We don't run front brakes, though, so decided to use the straight axle, and machine the rotors off of the hubs we have.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

 

Good luck! Keep us in the loop.

 

Contact B.R.P. (Bicknell Racing Products) for the axle and spindles and hubs to run in your application. He manufactures this stuff in his "state-of-the-art" facility for D.I.R.T. Modified race cars, and have proven their raceworthiness. His stuff is not Speedway Motors cheap, but neither is life and good health!

 

I sure will! If you watch the FlatCad Bonneville build, you'll see the install, rebuild of the engine, car mods, aero, etc.!

Thanks! I contacted BCCHOPIT today, and I believe he is going to make us a custom axle. Like B.R.P., it won't be the cheapest around, but who wants that junk anyway??!!

 

I have all the fixtures to make Teo, Bicknell, PMC axles and I just added Troyer this week.

This is a Bic I did on Monday but don't tell them that they hate me

 

I would imagine that allot of the aero distruption would be from the webs of the I beam axle your using and not too much from the axle itself. What would be wrong with going to a dropped fabricated round tube axle? The straight axle isn't going to be any better than a dropped one fab'ed of the same materials. The dropped spindles with the AMC method would be a greater disturbance than a simple set of early Ford spindles on the end of a dropped axle. If you really want to clean things up down there, how about spinning the centers out of some Moon discs and running them on the inside of the front wheels?

 

Looks like you've arrived at an answer but let me put a little more frosting on the cake. Eliminating the existing crossmember in your frame (along with the transverse spring) opens up all kinds of possibilities. The straight, undropped axle, if tied to a pair of Torsion bar arms ala Lee Osborn/Steve Panaretes could run right thru the area where the existing x-member is. The Osborn style torsion arms literally hide behind the axle. No need for funny-non existent spindles. The ride height could be set wherever you want it and fairing over the axle ends would be simplified. In the bargain you might eliminate what I perceive to be some minimal clearance issues; oumo drive to crossmember.

 

A dropped tube axle would be better than the dropped I-beam I have, but still not as good as a tube straight axle. Anything hanging out in the wind will cause drag-not a big deal for a street car, but we're pushing hard to make a run at 200 MPH with a flathead!

We will have inner wheel covers next year, to aid the aero. Thanks for the ideas!

Dale, we decided on pretty much the same thing, using the current 4-link setup, but not the Osborn style torsion arms.

I'm not familiar with Osborn style torsion arms- could you please post a pic, so that I understand what you mean in that aspect? You may very well have the answer I'm looking for! Thank you!

 

Buddy: First an apology for that undecipherable last word in my post. It should read "pump".

The Osborn design is not totally unique to him but i think he was the first to use it in a rod. The Kurtis Kraft Midgets were, I believe, the origin of the design. The torsion bars are longitudinal and hidden inside the frame rails. The anchors are back near the firewall. The bars protrude from the front of the frame just far enough to accomodate the arms which then extend out towards the spindles. The front crossmember is little more than a spreader to tie the boxed frame rails togther. The arms aren't attached directly to the axle-rather they just rest on a pad on the axle. Looking directly from the front, the arms are almost invisible as they are behind and parallel to the axle. Sorry about no picture. The Bill Lindig, Jack Howerton built AMBR has a similar system but in that car the outer ends of the torsion arms are shackled to the kingpins and the axle has a big "smile" which leaves the arms out in full (frontal) view.







Dale, we decided on pretty much the same thing, using the current 4-link setup, but not the Osborn style torsion arms.

I'm not familiar with Osborn style torsion arms- could you please post a pic, so that I understand what you mean in that aspect? You may very well have the answer I'm looking for! Thank you![/QUOTE]