Can anyone give me ideas on what width drop axel you guys are running on your stock frame 40 fords? Get ready to get stared on my forty , thinking 4 inch drop, what width king pin center to center are you running thanks! Rich
The word you want is -dropped- Its a dropped axle. Words have meaning. If you call it a chair and the next guy calls it a table, it will be difficult to understand each other.
Magnum used to make an axle specifically for the 40 which SuperBell now makes. It is 47" kingpin to kingpin.
I have a magnum axle in my 40. At the time it was the only one available that would work with the stock unsplit wishbone
A trick to do that will give you more axle selection, as well as more tire clearance involves a bit of Ford switcheroo. Use a 35-36 wishbone, and the corresponding 33-36 axle, in your 40. It will give you more drop, and can narrow up the kingpins at the same time. How? Because the earlier axle has more room between perch to kingpin than the 37-40 axles. More space to get the S curve going better for that drop.
Funny I had no issue figuring out what the original poster was asking. Ford axles have several widths and variations on the wishbone boss to king pin boss width. The 37-40 the have a very narrow (short width) wishbone to king pin which make it difficult to get a large amount of drop. He is asking which axle can be used to give him the most drop but will not effect tire to frame clearance Note the difference between the 37-40 in the rear vs the 33/34 in the front
I am going to look at a new super bell a guy has,for a 40,that he never used, so wondering what my measurement should be on that axel, to give some decent clearance! Thanks!
What alchemy says.35-36 wishbone and its corresponding axle.Not sure if the 46" Magnum might be to narrow.
my 40 with the Magnum axle, reverse eyes 165 15 tires and F1 brakes has slight front tire rub on the fender lip.I can drive in a circle with the wheel cut full and they don't rub but if you touch the brakes they rub.I have read that the F1 brakes push the wheels out some over F100 or 40 brakes so on my car defiantly not to narrow
My '40 has a 4" Magnum axle. When it had a 3 speed ,un- split wishbone. Later split the bones to accommodate an automatic.
I dropped the front end of my 40 Ford in 2002. Chin pan was 9" above the ground before and 4 3/8 in above ground after. WATCH OUT FOR SPEED BUMPS ! Here's what I did. I used Magnum 1937-40, 4 in. dropped axle that is 3/4 in shorter in length than stock. THE STOCK 40 AXLE KING PIN TO KING PIN DISTANCE IS 48 1/2 IN. THE MAGNUM AXLE KING PIN CENTERLINE DISTANCE IS 47 3/4 IN. The Magnum axle is a cast axle but, I have had no problems. Centerline to centerline distance of perch bolt holes is same as stock. This moves the wheels in a little bit more for better tire/fender clearance. Also used Magnum dropped steering arms and Posie 39 in. reversed eye spring #2040 and Posie #2056 2 in. wide spring shackles. I had to shorten the stock tie rod by about 1 in. and make the drag link about 1 in. longer AND rethread it 11/16-18 right hand thread. Tires on front are 5:60 x 15 Coker wide whites using stock drums with 15x5 1/2 early Ford truck rims (total rim width is 6 1/2 in.). Tire dia. is 25 .88 in. On stock rear I used BF Goodrich (from Coker) 7:60x15 with 3 3/8 in. whitewall. Tire dia. is 28.66 in. Rear rims are 15x6 with 4 in back space and 3 in front space for a total width of 7 in. I did not have to split the wish bone and was able to install stock 40 sway bar. Final thoughts: Installing only the Posie reverse eye spring will lower you car with stock suspension 1 inch. I think installing a 4 in. drop axle lowers your car another 2 in. Of course, smaller dia. tires, longer shackles and removing spring leaves will lower it even more. One thing for sure, when you change one thing, something else changes. For instance, you have to hold on to your inside door handle when you open the doors as it wants to open all the way. Also, have to re-aim your headlights. Lastly, installing a narrower axle changes your turning radius and shock travel. Let me know if you have any more questions. Here's some info. that may help. Also, do a Google search on "Lowering front end of 1940 Ford". Click on each of these. 1940 Ford draglink question - The Ford Barn and 40 Ford owners ~ Dropped axle measurements | The H.A.M.B. and how to lower front of 1940 ford - Search
ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT THING I FORGOT TO MENTION. When you rake a stock 40 Ford the gear lube in the rear differential runs down into the torque tube, eventually reaching the rubber encased torque tube center bearing. Over time..........this gear oil dissolves the rubber surrounding the bearing causing it to come loose and the solid inner drive shaft to "whip" and vibrate. Because of this, you must keep checking your "rear differential" fluid level so you don't burn up your rear gears. There was a fellow in TX who made a special torque tube seal to prevent gear oil from running down inside the torque tube. Also, Skip Haney on Fordbarn was making a replacement bearing. Read all the tons of info. in the links in this thread. Torque Tube Carrier Bearing - The Ford Barn
The 35-36 wishbone has the spring attachment points in a different location (higher) than the 37-40, effectively negating some spring / axle drop So the ultimate combo would be a 35-6 axle with 37-40 split wishbome https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/0709sr-1939-ford-deluxe-sedan
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