Axel ?????

Just wonderin what years did the "32 Heavy" axle come out? I know it is called a 32 , just wondering did come out in the 23-34 big trucks?

 

i believe they were early 1932 passenger cars, not trucks...those were different

 

A lot of folks believe the 32 Heavy was a commercial axle only, But thats not the case, It was used on all 1932 Ford passenger cars and pick ups, The 1933-1936 axle is the same but the 32 is all on it's own.

Some people will probably disagree with me on this, But this is my experience backed up by research,..... however Ford did a lot of weird things.

 

So far, I haven't encountered a '32 I thought was original without one or a '33 or later with one...all '32-36 interchange, but only '32 has the heavy beam.
Passenger and commercials (pickups) got the same ones, actual trucks (long wheelbase, different frame) had axles and nearly everything else different from those.

 

So you are saying that a 34 truck axle isnt the same? Is it still usable??

 

Your right Bruce, What I should have said in my post was that the 32 was all by itself in configuration (heavy web in the end),... but you are right about there interchangeability.

I have a question for you Bruce, the front wishbones on the longer wheelbase trucks, it seems they were heftier than the passenger car bones,... (I have used them before,... split) But were they any longer ?

I have a pair on my 34 coupe,... was surprised to find how heavy the wall thickness of the tube was.

 

Truck stuff...hiboy, what kinda truck? Commercial/pickup, same as '34 passenger, interchange with all '32-36...if '34 big truck, entirely different.
Truck wishbones...I don't have any dimensions, but '32-34 big truck ones would have to be very close in length to '32 passenger...almost identical layout back to the trans crossmember. I think this would apply to all Ford big trucks until they dropped the transverse spring later in the thirties...wishbone went back to trans crossmember, and engine/fourspeed length was same as passenger setup.

 

You can definalty tell the difference same width but alittle taller. I can take pics if needed

 

I have a line on a 34 that I want to try and get parts from (just to be sure it is a 34, they had the taller body line on the back of the cab, right?). I was hoping to know what to look for before I approach them about buying the axle.

 

Just to muddy the waters a bit - has anyone else heard that a 34 commercial (e.g. 1/2 ton pickup) has a different axle to the passenger models ?

Here's a pic of a roadster that we used to own, and you can see that the axle is a bit unusual. It's a bit hard to see in the pic, but the I-beam is taller in the centre of the axle and tapers back down to the normal 33-36 height by the time it reaches the perch bolts.

The guy who built it is very clued up on early Fords and he told us that it was a 34 pickup axle.

 

That axle is very cool. That is worth the trouble of getting one. I am hoping that I could get lucky on this one. I will have to look into this a little further.

 

...and all this time I thought the 'big beam' axle was installed on later 32s with the heavier V8 engine.

 

That actually makes sense. Ford would have probably wanted to "beef" up the front end for the extra weight and power...

 

I was actually about to start a thread about this exact same thing.

I just bought a '34 commercial truck and was noticing that the axle was very similar to a '32 heavy.

So what are the differences exactly? Does anyone have the dimensions for each?

 

Back to the weak link story, Even though Ford beefed up the front axle in the new, bigger, more powerful '32, They milled it smaller in the area where the stress and weight were. I always assumed Ford was trying to make it stronger with the heavy axle for both motors, '32only because of the V8 but I still guess they decided it was not worth the extra metal. Henry was frugal, you know.

 

#1. 1928-31 Model A

#2. 1932 only

#3.1933-36

#4. 1937 Tube (was told by Bruce these were used up to 1940)

#5. 1937-40 I-Beam

#6. 1941-1947

#7. 1948

 

harms way is correct 100%, the 32 axle is however the same dimensions as the 33 to 36 axles just a LOT cooler lookin and a little thicker, people very commonly replaced the axles with 33-36 axles when something went wrong, the big trucks are not even close to the 32 heavys, bigger bosses and way bigger spindles.........32 axles rule!!

 

Corrections to the above list:

The 37-41 Pass/Comm axles are the same.
The 42-47 Pass axles do not have the shock stud mounting hole between the perch and the spindle boss like the 47-48 Pass axles.
There is also a split on the 42-47 Comm axles which may have to do with shock stud mounting holes but I am not 100% sure.

 

Hows this?

 

Thanks guys. I think I am armed with info I need. I will go scout it out this weekend..

 

Perfect !,... except the #3 axle is 1933-1936