34 Ford with 4" dropped front axle and original (Not split ) wishbone, original spindles with bent arms. I wanted to go to the original front shocks. Installed 32 style perch pins for the mount. I think they are beautiful with the arch. I find the left hand perch eye hits the top of the drag link. I have been told to cut the top eye off (not used) but as mentioned previous I like the style. Cutting the eye and it's shaft off seems to be the easiest fix, but I'm willing to go an extra mile. Any suggestions??
Can you taper the steering arm halfway from the other direction and mount the ball to the bottom side? May need to bend the arm slightly upwards then.
Do you have the kingpin locks/turn stops in? Hard to tell in that picture how far the wheel is turned. Are you turning farther than the turn radius is designed to go?
it looks like your clearance problem is slight with the mechanical brake end of the perch just barely hitting the drag link....Is that the case? if so, you could probably heat and bend the link just enough to gain minimum clearance without changing the look of the part in a significant way.
The normal approach is to setup the drop on the axle so it has a wide enough perch width and/or bend the steering arm so that everything clears THe picture above by Flowmeister shows how the bits should be packaged, with the steering arm matching the curve of the axle, and tucking things in tightly In your case you seem to be running a mass produced dropped axle, that either has the king pin centres narrowed, or which has a drop that doesn't allow your steering arm to be dropped far enough. If you are sufficiently detailed focused to want 32-34 spindles, perch pins, side steer and lever shocks ........then run a dropped early Ford axle and set them up to work together Alternatively, run repop perch pins and steering arms that match the repop axle
Why even leave the top portion on the perch if you aren't running mechanical brakes ? It isn't needed any more is it, or am I missing something ? You could cut off just the mechanical brake part and leave the part that the lever shocks mount to. Don Clearance problem solved:
It's quite simple. If you can bend the arm a little tighter to the axle, and then rebend the end so it sits right and you can gain enough clearance, that is one way. If you can redrill the arm from the other side (half and half) and rework the drag link (not that simple) to fit from below you might be able to fit it all in. The steering arm will need to be reshaped to get it in. The above method might actually help with the geometry for reducing bumpsteer. I did the same job on my 33, but with a dropped original axle and a bolt on steering arm. Here's my before and after And after reworking it. I cut off the top link to clear the first setup. If I had done it like the final setup in the first place I could have left the top link in place. Mart.
Please don't cut the top wing off the 32-34 perch pins. They're beautiful spindles! If you can't get it to work, go to a different perch pin or aftermarket ones. Don't hack up another pair of 32-34s.
'34 perches are now reproed with all the original bosses on the top. Pretty reasonable prices as well. Maybe they are even forged? Cut away if you can't bend it to fit.
Cut it off. While it is a nice looking perch, if your not using mechanical brakes you don't need it. I think it would look strange just sticking up there with no purpose. If you cut it and blend the 2 surfaces it could have a nice 45° Line like a routered corner on a picture frame if that makes sense. As far as the plea for not cutting up another pair of 32-34 perches, we're hot rodders, not restorers. It's what we do. If that were applied to "everything 32" we wouldn't have as many cool roadsters, 3 & 5 windows would we? It's an original Ford part, which we all know, looks, fits and functions better than anything new from China. Cut it.
I couldn't care less if it was a 32 part or an 08 part. I just know that non-butchered, non-repro 32-34 spring perches are getting hard to find. My 'plea' didn't have anything to do with keeping everything stock. My pickup is chopped and the bed is shortened. (Original Ford parts). I just like the look of the non-cut perches. Some of us are actually looking for originals, not repro's. And I guess since we're both men, we'll have to go home and have a steak and a beer. It's what we do.
I didn't mean it to sound like I was poking at you. If you need an original pair for a mechanical brake car I totally get it. What I don't get is, if they are yours and you're running juice brakes, why would NOT cutting that piece even be a question. As for me, I've had some pretty shitty Repop parts and I just won't buy any more. When one of the Repop A spring clips I bought (zero road miles/never torqued) fell to the shop floor from 18" and broke in two, I was done. Ford parts for me, even if I have to cut them up. Oh, love steak but haven't had a beer in 18 years. But that's just what this man does.
(Coming back to read this, I realized my response sounded a little snarky.) I understand where you're coming from. Just different view points on it I guess. I have no problems chopping a top, or dropping an original axle, but something about those stupid little perches... And I do agree on the repop parts though. Original stuff wherever you can, because the repop just doesn't seem to last. Good on you on the sobriety by the way.
Why not just carefully heat and bend the perch top arm so it just clears the drag link? If something gets reworked further down the line to create more clearance then it could easily be re-bent back to stock shape. Mart.
I agree with Speedy and Mart, for the same reasons. And if you decide you do need cut perchs, check out the classified. There is a set right now that has already been choped and are ready to go. Maybe a hassel, yes, but then you could sell yours to someone who needs them un-cut (like me) or keep them for when you may need them yourself. And I LOVE beer! johnny
I decided to bend the upper part of the perch. So far so good, I have to replace the tie rod end (adjustable drag link) due to interference with the boss for the Zerk with a 32-34 end that has both the Zerk and the clamp bolt on the same side. I should be good to go, will post photo after I get the tie rod end replaced.
I went the route of heating and bending the upper part of the perch pin. In addition I had to slightly grind a bit off the side of the perch for additional clearance. I changed the tie rod end (adjustable drag link) to the 32-34 style with the clamp bolt and the Zerk fitting on the same side. I believe the problem may be due to the axle being a aftermarket and not a Ford bent axle. The steering arms are all ford and have been bent to this axle and are tightly bent to the dropped axle. Thanks for the responses and suggestions!
For the past 50 years I have always been under the impression that building a nice hot rod meant cleaning the scabs off things like spring perches and spindles and what not along with cleaning the clutter off the body. Now I see guys expounding on their idea that those same scabs re should be left on because they are "original"?
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