Technical 1940,s Dodge ,Plymouth Steering arms

Plymouth/Dodge had I beam axle up to 1938, then 1939 both I beam and independent with upper and lower A arms used........essentially the same front end thru to 1956, the two steering arms pictured by 4woody on the right hand side of the pic appear to be those used on the independent front ends, ie, from 1939 to 1956.............I still think the idea of mounting the arms one hole forward as I discussed in my earlier post on this thread has definite merit...........andyd

 

Just to be clear: Of the two on the right (or the two on the left) one is stock '38 Chry, the other is the mystery mid-30's. Go by the paint. the matte ones are stock '38.

Also, I agree with Andy that the idea of moving the arms forward a hole, and adding the 2nd hole to the disc bracket is a good one, and relatively easy.

On my '38 with the holes 2.25" apart that would effectively shorten them by 1.125". Doing it with the mid-30's arms got me 1.5" shorter. Either way will be a significant improvement over stock.

 

Woody so the arms ,one with the 2 end holes and in shiny paint are the ebay ones correct? I am not familar with what Andy is trying to say in regards to moving the arm forward.Does he mean ,illiminate 1 bolt?Not sure what adding a second hole to what disc bracket?

 

Now have my rack mounting brackets.Cost me 40.00 but had them delivered to my area.

 

Here:

I think on P15 D24 (or maybe it was here on the HAMB) there was a thread where the author made disc adapters that also allowed him to effectively shorten the steering arms by changing the mounting- moving it forward. It was still held with 2 bolts, but only one was in an original hole in the spindle.

 

4woody...that's what I meant......that idea was brought up by a guy on the P15/D24 forum and as I have said its a very smart way to overcome the lack of turning circle when a rack & pinion is used.........instead of using both holes on the bottom of the stub axle to attach the arms only one, the forward hole is used as the arms are moved forward one bolt.....of course another bolt MUST be used for the front steering arm hole and this is accomplished by making a hole in the disc brake caliper bracket to accommodate the forward bolt.......this method only works if a disc brake adaptor is used and to be honest I doubt whether anyone would use a rack & pinion and still leave the stock drum brakes so this is a moot point but moving the arms forward is a great idea........this effectively "shortens" the distance from the steering arm tie rod hole to the centre pivot point of the king pin and ensures the rack has enough throw to give a good turning circle..........clever........andyd

 

I have a guy searching his parts yard and today he said he found a set the same as the mystery set on a 1935 Dodge.If you move your arm ahead to the next hole aren't you actually moving it 2.25 inches? Is this alot?I was looking at mine this evening and I could probably do the same as I already have converted to disc and all I would need is a 2" strip of metal to tie things together.I was just curious about the 2.25 shorter arm which is the distance from hole to hole.

 

There was also a thread on the P15-D24 site where someone looked into using the earlier arms on a 46-8 Plymouth. The hole spacing where it mounts to the spindle is different so it wouldn't work. Your Chrysler might be different yet but might want to check into that before purchasing.

 

Cory from what i read in here,the AACA and P15-D24sites is that the earlier arms are 2.25 " center to center on the bolts and the 1940 and up have a 2.0" spacing . My 1941 Chrysler is 2.25 " .

 

This is the Diagram from the P15-D24 Site

 

Woody can you tell me when you used these steering arms ,did you cut the longer one off to match the other and are both the holes in the longer one tapered to except the outer tie rod.Another gent sent me pics of a set the same and they are supposedly from a 1935.I also have a lead on another set.Need to know if they can be cut and if they are tapered before buying and most importantly is that they are 2.25 " center to center on the bolts

 

No reason you can't cut the extra hole off the long one. I did it with a cutoff wheel to keep the heat down.

Both holes are standard 7degree tie rod taper. I did need to use a tapered reamer on mine though to get the tie rod end to sit in it far enough. YMMV.

 

Thanks Woody

 

Here's a thread on a different site...might help, might not.
http://p15-d24.com/topic/19810-cavalier-rack-installation-question/

 

Woody I purchased a set from a gent named skip in Mn tonight.

 

Did you ever figure out what they really came on originally?

 

Skip removed them from a 1935 dodge I believe. He identified them in the photo you supplied before I purchased them .He is called French Lake auto Parts in Minnesota

 

This is the front end that uses Woody"s double hole steering arm.I have mine installed on the car now.I removed the second hole and they worked great. Thanks to Skip at French Lake Auto Parts in Minnisota