Technical 1934 ford 4'' drop axle retaning original steering and shocks??

so ive got a 1934 ford pickup, left hand drive was lowered but spring saged so in my wisdom I went out bought a 4''drop beam axle. new spring but the axle wouldn't go over my original bones at the bat wing and seeing as there is no caster adjustment I thought id up grade to some hairpins so it all fits make new mounts for the hairpins.
problem is now my steering arm sits up high and im of to the shop to buy new spindles with the 3 3/4'' drop so the steering arms clear the chassis hairpins etc.
has anyone done this retaining the original steering box etc?? also I was supplied what I think are high boy mounts for the hair pins and I was going to chop them down to sit the hair pins inline with the chassis.?? any ideas or help from anyone that has done this mod retaining original shocks and steering box

 

Why wouldn't the wishbones work again? You would have been better off with the stock spring perches too that you could run your lever shocks off, also that's a Ton of caster you've got there!


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the new axle is thicker so the bones don't fit without turning-machining the axle down about 1/4'' also the hair pins will allow for adjustable camber of the axle.
as for the shocks the perches are also adjustable so the spring isn't bound up, I can easily make a mount to except the shock either of the end of the perch or the shackles
my question has anyone tried this combo before and what did they do about the steering arm of the steering box.
buy the way ill probably set the caster at 10 deg

 

also I couldn't find any stock perches on the net, mine were trashed getting them apart in the press

 

I would have just machined the axle down 1/4 inch, would have made life easier.

And your really dont need it to be adjustable, the bones would do that job for you and 10 dagrees is too much shoot for 6.

Also, you could have just cut the tops of the old percch bolts off above where the bushings go and welded them to the new ones.

Its been done many times the way you are doing it, you would usually heat the upper steering arm and bend it to match the curve of the axle so it lowers it, and your also gonna have a problem when you mount your hairpins interfeering with your pitman arm.

 

looks like I got it all sorted machine the axle back to take the original radius rods,
then ill get new stubs with the 3''or4'' drop arms this way ill have clearance and all should be fine.
ill update the combo when its all sorted so as a reference when drop axle installed but using original side steer etc

 

only sad thing ive lost is adjustable caster but when the 7 deg or so is set in its there for good I can do that with the arms and a bit of welding

 

dropped is the word you are thinking of. Its a DROPPED axle

 

I have the original square back spindles that run a set of adaptors for the round brakes just sitting on the axle to look at steering clearance between the radius rod and chassis etc, with the stock spindles (side steer arm and drag link arm) and the stock drag link steering arm coming back with the drag link attached seams to be allowing enough room and clearance

From the top of the radius rod to notch in the sump 5’’

From top of radius rod to chassis 6’’ so that' all cool there

From top of radius rod to bottom of side steer arm 2’’ ¼

From the top of axle to the bottom of axle mount 3’1/2

So i need a set of spindle steer arms that will come of the new spindles (round back type bolt on arms) and put the drag link in the same position as stock. Im under the understanding that the 1’’3/4 ones are measured from the centre bolt wholes of the spindles to the top of where the tapered stud bolts through.??
these will only give me ¼’’ above the radius rod. These would do and if worse case i may have to bend them up ¾’’-1’’ higher up then it all should fit running the drag link in the original position above the radius rod

 

oh and this is with full vehicle weight on axle

 

oh shit where I said drag link PLEASE read tie rod arm, sorry folks my bad,

 

Im not familiar with how they measure the steering arms.

Do your 40 ford spindles have stock arms on them or are they aftermarket 40 type spindles?

The drag link can be almost touching the radius rods (wishbones) as in their travel they arc up a little bit, so being close to the wishbones is good, also if the car settles you wont ever have to worry about the tie rod getting to close to the center of the front crossemmber.

 

in the photo I showing stock spindles, as I used these to mock up where id like the arms and tie rod will be roughly. ill be running after market round back spindles with bolt on side steer and steering arms

I can use suicide arms but not sure how long the are, does anyone no?? from centre of back bolt hole to centre of tapered stud whole for tie tod

or I can use 1''3/4 drop arms but not sure if ill have to bend them

 

You have every thing correct , just run the stock spindles, The tie rod end boss on the spindle should be horizontal not tipped as yours. If you are worried about the tie rod hitting the drag link or frame just flip it to the bottom by tapering the spindle end 1/2 thru at 7* and reinstall. The tie rod should just pass over the top of the wishbone with about 1/4" clearance as it swings. Check out that as a solution.

A casual look at you shock issue my suggestion would be to move the shock rearward just a touch so the arm end is just to the rear of the axle and make a newer longer dogbone that mounts via a stud using the hole in the axle. Everything clears.

 

I cant fit those spindles (original ones in photo) on my dropped axle as there is way to much meat around the outside edge of the axle, will not allow the pins to drop through check attached photo. so I got the round back spindles for it but they take bolt on arm's etc so that's why I need to no,

 

also does anyone no the length of the suicide style steer arms?? from back bolt whole to tie rod whole?? these are dead straight but I could bend the ends to be parallel

pete and jake sell them

http://www.peteandjakes.com/pete_jakes_catalog.pdf scroll down to page 43 to see what I mean how long is long?? and please don't tell me twice as long from the centre lol

 

ive always used chassis engineering bolt on steering arms, they make a bolt on and a deep drop, not sure what one would suit you best.

 

what are the ones you use and how much is the drop from bolt whole to tie rod?? brand and actual distance??? so do your steering rod arm go under your radius rod??

 

http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/

strait

http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/steering-arms-1928-1934-ford-drum-brakes/

dropped

http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/steering-arms-1935-1948-ford-drum-brakes/

I dont have set to measure here in front of me, im thinking the strait ones would work for you, tie rod on top of the bones, the drop ones wouldnt probably be low enough to get below the bones, the 32-34 bones come off lower on the axle where as the 36-48 bones come off higher on the axle, so if you had the deep drop arms they would come below the bones, where you have the early bones and need the less drop arms to get above the bones.

 

Dude you got a bum axle, That king pin hole should be somewhat centered in the boss. Before you spend any more money I would next be checking if the king pin angle was drilled correctly. If it is and the king pin hole is equal distant when you compare sides to the perch pin holes, Just grind down the excess metal on the axle boss to allow your stock spindles to clear.

 

might be the angle of the picture

 

well ive got things sorted to a degree, ive got the 4'' drilled drop axle siting in the split bones,(radius rids) got me some dropped steering arms drum brake style from chassis engineering, THEY DO NOT FIT, the original drum brake backing plates foul on the steering arms, the bend in the arm fouls on the backing plate will not bolt up, and this will also not allow the steering rod to bolt on as this will fowl heavily on the backing plate as well, also they do no drop the steering cross arm low enough to pass under the radius rod..
so I got some flat plate style from speedway motors, again they do not fit behind the original ford drum brake backing plate, I spaced them out 11 mill to mock up then the back of arm fouls on the axle, but also where the whole is for the tie rod the over hang will hit the back of the drum brake,, its seams obvious no after market steering arm bolts up behind original drum brakes

 

has anyone actually put a dropped axle in with original radius rods running original ford drum brakes??
also the flat steering arms will allow me to run the tierod above the radius rod. looks like some flat plate and custom arms..

 

Send your original axle ,spindles and radius rods down to Gary Page in Maldon in Victoria and get him to drop the axle and tune the steering arms to all match ,,it will be much better with the right parts ,,he is not quick but the wait is worth it ,,,you can extend your brake supports up to retain your brakes ,,,

 

yes ive talked to gary, unfortunately after I had bought all this stuff that apparently works, great guy and a wealth of knowledge. but now im stuck with what I got and I think im on to sorting it all out, on the plus side I have a heap of front end stuff to se;ll open to offers all new unused, vintage parts batwings hairpins. save n al my original axle etc for another project. unless I get a good offer

 

Are you using mechanical or juice brakes?

Scratch that just read the first page, you need to get that axle sorted, stock round back spindles should work absolutely fine on the axle, Repro or not!

I'm abit worried that the king pin bosses even look like that, what's the rest of the axle like?

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Drake is remaking the 32 thru 34 style perch pins for the shocks

 

I have 34 with 4" drop axle and original radius rods, not split. The original steering arms were bent for clearance. Using original perch pins and shocks. I did change to an adjustable drag link but use all the original style tie rod ends.

 

its a vintage parts axle. stock hubs wouldn't fit due to the offset, they swear to me that's how all there's are and I had to run round back new spindles. so the drama is finding a steering arm that works with this combo.
chassis engineering ones foul on the backing plate where they bolt through the spindles there is a hump front and rear on the original deuce hyd backing plates, and they don't space out enough for the tie rod end to clear the tie rod from hitting the edge of the backing plate also..as well as not having enough drop to get the tie rod under the radius rods

speedway flat steering arms get the tie rod over the top of radius rods like original, but the two humps in the back of the drum backing plate fouls so I made a spacer up to clear for mock up purposes , but the tie rod fouls on full look on backing plate also the steering arm fouls on axle. as well as not being a tapered hole, but do serve as a good template, fabing up some out of flat steel wouldn't be to hard

 

ok so a update , all is going very well now, the speedway arms now fit with no clearance issues. just need to notch the backing plate for a clean fit. minimal notching is required and will be unnoticeable, ill have to reposition the brake line bracket for safety and added clearance, but its all looking good from here on in, was just a matter of the correct combination and order, seams so easy now,lol.
ive had the original spring remanufactured to take the correct weight of the flat head, I now will have 4'' of suspension travel and the front should sit roughly a inch lower yet actually work, so now with the front and rear sorted ill be looking forward to driving a plush well handling hotrod. im looking forward to it, cant wait ive missed driving it .