Getting ready to put the ch***is together for a ‘41 ford pickup and would like some suggestions on what people have done. I was going to get an axle from Sid but then I started hearing stories of dropped axles and disc brake kits sticking out too far and allowing tire/fender rub. Is this true? We have the brake kit from Speedway, the one that is 5 on 5.5. Can anybody chime in and tell me or better yet show me what is on their car/truck and if the tires hit or not? Wheels will likely be 15 inch. Any help is appreciated.
What rotors/calipers does it use, the kit for a '47 Ford car used 90s F150 rotors and the whole ***embly wouldn't fit stock 16" wheels and was said to widen the track width by 3/4" I believe. Btw, I used 53-56 F100 brakes on the front of my '41.
Not sure what they were for originally. They are 11 3/4 and take a wheel that has an opening of 3 7/16. Not concerned about using factory 16” wheels as he wants 15” wheels and wanted a 5” wide wheel.
On mine, I used a Ch***is Engineering dropped axle, Posie front spring, ECI front discs with F-150 rotors, non-metric calipers and 5”x15” early Ford wheels. Tires are 185/65R15 for now. The stock front crossmember was moved forward an inch to center the wheel. It’s got a 330 Desoto, so it’s no light weight. Still not on the road yet, so can’t confirm clearance at full lock and compression. Does ok with jouncing the front.
Good thinking on the forwarding of that cross member! My '55 F100 axle got moved when my lovely wife removed front Monoleaf springs when the right one snapped. She installed a later axle (1" drop!) from a '58 F100, cleaned all the leaves and reversed main leaves, drilled centerbolt holes 1.25" forward. Truck looks great. She looks better... Oh, we installed the F150 disc brake kit from Summit? Anyway, 5 on 5.5", total width was 1.5", 3/4" per side. I was sweatin' it, my front wheels are positive offset. Ended up great.
Speedway & ECI's F-150/GM caliper kit does no increase the tread width; infact it is slightly narrower (I actually measured it, since disc brake kits usually add an 1" or so per side) We put 15" wheels on both sets we installed. These were aftermarket wheels. We had to grind a couple "lumps" off the calipers; think that info was in the instructions. The '40 had Magnum axle and Posies spring pretty sure it was stock width @ 48". There were no fender clearance issues. Not sure on the width of Sid's axle but I would find it unusual that it would be wider than stock; most dropped axles get a little narrower; but I'm sure he can tell you how wide it is. Stock steering arms are needed with either kit and are normally a tight bend on dropped '37-'41 axles.
I was not aware the front was not centered. I know it wasn’t on my ‘53 F-100 I built years ago so I corrected that. I have only had the truck roughly bolted together with no drivetrain. Thanks for that heads up.
There are two different kits for the 5x5.5 but I think they both use 74 ish f truck 11 3/4” rotors/hubs. One uses a big pre metric chevy caliper and one uses a smaller metric caliper. I have the pre metric and it clears everything just fine with stock wheels even. Both 16x4.5 wheels, same car
Here’s a before and after of the wheel in the fender that led to the 1” crossmember move. It didn’t affect the radiator to grille and hood spacing.
The Jalopy Journal
