over/under kingpin bushings?

does anybody out there know if theres such a thing as "oddball" kingpin bushings? i'm trying to retrofit '59 drum spindles off a truck onto a '33 axle (mopar stuff) and all the critical dimensions match up except for the kingpins. what i need is a bushing set that matches the outer diameter of the truck spindle AND the inner diameter of the car kingpin.... any ideas? or should i just bite the bullet and ream the axle out to fit the larger truck kingpin? any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

MSC or other industrial supply place will have bushings by ID and OD.

 

cool! thanks for the headsup. this axle is drivin me nuts but it looks so good i can't not use it...

 

What size are the pins?? I have a Mopar reamer around here...dunno application.

 

i'll tell ya as soon as my buddy shows up with his micrometer. i'm wonderin if i'd be ahead to just ream the axle to fit the truck pins?.... it's got plenty of meat so i don't think takin a sixteenth would weaken it at all.

 

That is the right way.

 

they're .875...

 

If you can't find the correct I.D. - O.D. bushings then I would ream the axle, but it depends on how much material you are removing. I definitely wouldn't reduce the axle material around the kingpin by any more than 10% to 15% max.

 

If you can find some one with a lathe, a set of custom kingpin bushes would be a snap.

 

i only need to open it up about a sixteenth, so i don't think it's takin too much. theres alotta beef on this ol' tube axle.

 

thanks man. it's always good to hear from the guys been doin this awhile. this is my 1st go around and frankly, it's a bit overwhelming compared to playin with muscle cars. i'd probably have given up by now if not for the encouragement on this msg. board.

 

Will check out my Mopar reamer and see what it is.

 

heres a stupid question for you.... is this something best done by a machine shop? or with a little caution, can i get away with drilling the kingpin bosses on the axle by hand?.....

 

Machine shop would be best. Old machine shops and truck shops will have reamers or other machines which will do the job without screwing up the holes.
I don't think I would chance doing it by hand.

 

i'm havin some trouble findin a shop that will take it here in western co. seems simple enough with the proper tools right? ream out 2 holes about a tenth of an inch.....don't know why nobody wants to take it on. how about maybe a reamer attched somehow to a drill press? better chance of gettin a good finished hole in the right spot. ... i'm grasping at straws here.

 

Plenty of long distance trucking goes thru Colorado. I can't believe there is not a large truck repair place in your area that can do the job.

 

so far, i've gotten nothing but "we don't do that" i wonder how these places even call themselves machine shops, much less stay in business!

 

any good news on that reamer? i've been shot down by every stinkin machine shop within a hundred miles....

 

this just in..... i found a general automotive repair shop willing to do what no machine shop in town could or would do!! and for about $40.00!!! so a little free advertising is in order.
if you ever happen through western colorado and have car trouble, call the folks at BEAR AUTOMOTIVE. friendly, helpful and reasonably priced.. they went outta their way to get me in 1st thing in the morning.
thanks guys for all the input on this problem and i'm sure i'll be pickin your brains more before this thing moves under its own power.

 

"i'm havin some trouble findin a shop that will take it here in western co. seems simple enough with the proper tools right? ream out 2 holes about a tenth of an inch.....don't know why nobody wants to take it on."

A tenth of an inch (.100") is a LOT of metal to try and ream. It'll dull up the reamer faster. Reaming is meant to be used to clean up a bore or hole to an exact size. Drilling a hole will leave some amount of error due to drill 'wander', etc. Drill a hole a few .001" undersize and ream it to the exact size needed, but not .100", at least not with my reamers!

 

hence the guys who know what they're doin, handling it for me besides, its an eyeball number to get the idea across. i'm bumpin from car sized kingpins to the truck version. i'm pretty sure if they hafta drill it, they will 1st.

 

Since I have lived with a lathe for many years, I would get some 1" round aluminum bar stock and make new bushings to fit. the critical dimension is the OD for the press fit, then bore out the inside to about .010" under the king pin size so there's enough material to ream for a good king pin fit after they are pressed in. Don't forget to drill out the bushing where the grease goes in. Alum to steel is a good wear factor.

 

'ALUMINUM???' IF the hard old axle forging has 'wallowed out' after years of highway use, (!) how much of a 'fix' will an aluminum bushing be???
(The spindle bushings are at LEAST br***, or better, silicon bronze)
A repair bushing in the pin bore MUST be 304 stainless.
(I'd rather be a stainless bushing than an aluminum punch...)

 

You guys know your communicating with a 11 year old thread? .... but I agree... br*** is better!








Bones

 

McMaster Carr has hundreds of bushings in stock. I would find some that are close and take them to a machine shop and have them machined to fit.

 

@A****er Mike @woodiewagon46
@tom topping

I suspect that after 11 years he got it figured out. Hell, he's probably already worn out the bushings and kingpins and replaced them a second time.

 

I didn't even notice the date. Lets hope he finally figured it out, it would be nice for him to let us know.

 

and he has been banned.....