The model A front axel. I heard that’s a early hot rod trix. Sounds cool in one way on late 40’s style uild-up or was it more popular on the late 30’s ? It has a longer distance out from perch to kingpin vs a more easy drop ( correct ? ) but perch distance is that shorter than a 32-36 axle ? Is king pin distance also shorter ? I was into the 32 ’heavy’ axles ( sold my 34 sith a 3.5” drop axle ) but now I’m back on the 33-36 axles. Why would the dudes back then used a more heavy axel ( the 32 style ) when they removed parts on the cars vs weight ? Final question. I heard ( some ) newer made axels are sold 2” shorter. ( as if model A axles are ex 2” shorter than a 32-36 ) One I know use a shorter new axle on his 30 roadster ( custom and no fenders ) I will use 16” Ford 40 wheels with 4.5 tires on my 32 coupe, so would a narrower front axle ( std frame, no pinch and std 32 bones ) look good ? Just ask on history etc as I located up a real nice new 33 axle dropped 4” vs if a model A might be a cool way.
memory says the perch to perch space is the same 28 to 34... even though spring is in front 35, 36 may be the same ??? later post have proved my memory wrong...
Final question. I heard ( some ) newer made axels are sold 2” shorter. -when you say “shorter” I am guessing that you mean “narrower” from king pin to king pin. The guy that I bought my old 28 pickup from had previously purchased a “Superbell”narrowed axle from “Posies”. The truck hadn’t been together since the early 60’s and was bought as a bunch of parts ****tered around his property The intent with this axle is to try to center the tires under the narrow Model A fenders. It worked. And even with the low stance on my truck I never hit the underside of the fenders. I was running 1935 Ford 32 spoke rims (3 1/2” wide) with 5.50 16” Firestones on the front. The truck was quick and handled great through the twisty mountain roads where I lived
Why did guys use the '32 heavy? Because, in my opinion, it's the prettiest un-dropped axle that Ford made. Also, many just swapped the entire '32 ch***is over wholesale.
@3w Hank , the above chart will answer some of your questions but the 3/16” greater distance from perch to king pin on the Model A axle is barely enough to matter. I always felt the “heavy” term was more descriptive rather than based on fact. It would be interesting to weigh a ‘32 axle and compare it to a ‘33-‘36 axle.
Somewhere on the Interwebs either here or on Fordbarn, someone did. I think the difference was like 1-2 lbs. Very slight difference.
A model A axle has a factory drop of 1" and the 32 axle has a factory drop of 2 to 2 1/2" An easy way to drop a model A without going to a dropped axle is why it was done in the early days.
Good point. $50 core for a Model A vs. $400-500 core for a '32 axle makes a difference to some. I'm partial to '32 axles since they look so right undropped.
Using an A axle is good for the low cost aspect, but remember they have a 2.25 perch height and won't fit into your '32 wishbones without a little mill time. Once they are all dropped it's really hard to tell the difference between an A or a 33-36. The very slight perch width difference shouldn't matter as most spring lengths are not held to a close manufacturing tolerance anyway.
Looked for a post my kid made years ago about axle weights; but didn't find it. So being bored with blocking fenders, I thought I would weigh some axles. Also a comparison of the difference in perch centers between an A axle and a later one (this is total difference as the other perch holes were lined up).
The standard Mor-Drop axles out of Oakland, CA. had a measured drop of 2-7/8". Owner, Mr. Moore, claimed it to be an 'Industry Standard', (he further claimed that most any dropped axle would be dropped this much) My, the clairvoyance of the famous!
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