How is the front axle measured. Measuring from king pin to king pin I get 52" on my 29 Tudor. Looking on line at adds for a dropped axle ,they are recommending a 46" axle . That seems too narrow. Does anyone have any suggestions on this?
a 46" axle would allow for disc brakes and wider wheels/tires under the stock front fenders what are your plans?
Many newer brake kits will space the wheel farther out than stock. So you'll need a couple inches there. And most guys will use a tire that's wider than stock, so there's a couple inches there, too. And most aftermarket wheels have more offset than stock, so theres an inch or two. And hot rods usually look better if the tires are slightly inward on the fender than out at the edge, so means a 46" axle will probably be about right. Right? If you are using stock '40 Ford brakes and wheels on your A it will probably still be an inch or two wider than the stock A parts.
Check out the Posies rod and custom site. It shows a range of axles and how they are measured. Two measurements are important, the kingpin centre to centre, and the Spring perch centre to centre. I needed to increase the front track on my 31 (in Australia track front to rear has to be within a certain range). So I am changing my 46" tube to a SoCal 47" "new traditionalist" IBeam. 47" through the kingpins but still has the narrower Spring perch centres. This will give me 1 inch greater track but keep the four bars etc in the same location. I have run two separate disc fronts on the car (magnum and Speedway) and the wheels are still well inside my front fenders.
Just have the original axle dropped. I think a dropped Ford axle looks better than anything that can be purchased new.
So what I am getting from this is: if I were to put a disc brake kit on a stock width axle the wheels might be too far out. I do plan on putting discs on. If I were to have my stock axle dropped woundn't that shorten it up a lot?
yes, it would some...maybe to 48"-49" depending on who and how it was dropped what you need to do is tell us ALL your plans....fenders? what wheels? what are the wheels offset? what tires? etc?
Well I do have a full fendered car and plan to use them.I will probably run a 5 spoke bullit type wheel as I have acess to them from my mustangs.So far the body will be stock but I want it to sit right ( not sky high like it does w/ the orig 21" wheels). By the way I appreciate all the views you guys are giving me.
my `28 tudor has a 47-3/4" Superbell axle, F-100 brakes , 155sr15 tires on 4-1/2 wide X 15 American wheels with 2-1/8 backspacing and 3-3/8 front space f100 brakes will not stick the wheels out as far as most disc brake kits i may be bias , but i think i got it right you will have to do some figuring as to what works for you
36-3wndo ,I noticed even with running narrow tires and rims your front wheel well is close.I will have to rethink using bullit wheels as they are 17 x 8(probably much too big).If I go w/ AR wheels I can order almost any size and back space. Your car does indeed sit right . Is your axle dropped from stock?
4 inch dropped Superbell axle 47-3/4" center to center on the kingpins yes, those wheels at 17 X 8 would be a bit big
Thunderbirdesq here on the HAMB also drops axles, he did a '33-'34 axle for me and it turned out great. Hot Rod Deluxe just featured him in the magazine, a nice article about him dropping axles. Here is a link to the article; http://www.hotrod.com/articles/guys-drop-hot-rod-axles-old-fashioned-way/ Give him a call and tell him what your looking for, I'm pretty sure that he can adjust the width while dropping the axle. Here is his contact info; Andy Kohler Williamsport PA. 570-494-7362 You can also check out his work on instagram, search ''kohlerkustom''