Small towns are nice, but getting repairs means hours of driving. I need my 41 spindles reamed and there is not a reamer in Ruidoso, nm. A friend has a .8135, but it needs to be a .8125. I've been to every shop, it seems no vehicles have kingpins any more. Tempted to go after them with a brake hone.
you could try a shop that works on big trucks , or maybe an automotive machine shop. or you could ship them to someone who can do it. i'm sure you already know that both bushings need to be reamed to size AND be in perfect alignment to each other , so it takes the right tool if you were closer i'd say bring them over in the AM and we will do it
Call Bob at The Adult Toy Factory ( yes it is a real shop) in Las Cruces, NM. He should be able to fix you up.
I guess I could go to Las Cruces, but its an all day deal to hone 2 spindles. I've already wasted a day, not even the Ford dealer has reamers.
Thanks for the replys, I know you are telling me straight. There is a truck repair in Alamagordo and a machine shop in High Rolls. I'll call them in the morning, I know, I should have bought that reamer set on Ebay. I've already done 2 sets of Kingpins in my 75 years. Its getting hard to build a car in 6 months, at least I got my title squared away today. LoL
^^^This. You can send them to me and my buddy will do them in his machine shop, just did some yesterday for a customer.
then i suggest you buy a reamer. i know you said you only need it for one job , but if you ever plan on building another car you would be all set up. i NEVER regret buying quality tools....they will last a lifetime , or several lifetimes. you can even make a few $$ doing it for others. or your widow can sell it at the estate sale i have two reamers.....one was my father's. it's a Bluepoint and he bought it new in 1929. the other i bought at a swapmeet this spring for $10
I think I'll just go down to Las Cruces, Nice harley ride and the weather is getting perfect here. I do have 2 places to call in Alamogordo in the morning, Its only 50 miles away.
Thanks every one, I will post some pictures soon, Its comming along nicely. 1930 AV8, with a 53 flattie, 50 rear, 3 speed top loader, 41 split bones front end. I did end up with a R&R roadster body from Tennessee, it should be here this next week. Since I winter in Florida, I will not be able to work on the car from January thru May, but It should be on the road by next August.
2.5 hours from Ruidoso to Albu. Today I put everything in the Harley saddlebags and rode over to La Luz, NM near Alamogordo. A place called Double B machine. 50 bucks and I was on the road in 2 hours. A really neat shop and a nice guy, he does a lot of flathead stuff, now I have a place to get my drive shaft done. You just can't beat New Mexico weather this time of the year. By the way Fogger, you have a fine coupe there.
I should have bought a reamer a long time ago but I find it easier to just do what you did.......I take them to a local machine shop and $50 later I am on the road. Dn
Any good machine shop will have a Sunnen Hone setup. have the bushings installed in the spindles bosses being sure to align the grease holes. Have the bushings pin-fitted to a thumb press fit with the pins. They'll last virtually forever if kept greased. So much nicer than reaming you can tap the spindle stub after installation and it will swing around sweet as butter.
The machinist told me today, you have to be very careful. The reamer has a tendency to dig in and you get to start all over. I believe him, I screw up so many things.
$10, you can afford to use it for a center punch. most of the good in line hand reamers I've seen are $100 up. My good friend has a very old .8135 reamer. I would call that worthless. It needed to be .8125. Anyway the job is done.
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