The plan is a 40's (period) chassis. So I'm being carful with what parts I use. I understand the new rails are not period correct but I am willing to sway from the plan for safety concerns. So far we have new rails and front crossmember, 32 centre crossmember and a 32 rear cross member. A 32 rear end, top loader and front end ( heavy axle). A 21 stud sidevalve 40's juice brakes and 40's steel wheels. 750 rear tyers and 450/475 front tyres and 47 caps. If anyone has some rhd 32 pedals and the mount for sale let me know. I painted the rear end over my Christmas holidays. I thought it was cool that after a good pressure wash you could tell it had been painted a light green at some stage. I bought this from out of a driving hot rod so it just made me think of where it had been between 1932 and 2018.
If anyone reading used to get the Aussie little pages magazine "Chopped" you might remember an article in it where Ryan flatened out the rear crossmember in his 32. Well I did it the same way. Built the same jig and lifted the centre 4" which makes it pretty much completely flat. My axle is out getting dropped at the moment. It's getting dropped 2" to take it to a total of 3.5" drop and I have reversed the main leaf on the front spring. I can't wait to get it back and see how it sits all together.
Going back and forward with @Stovebolt he asked me what issue of the Chopped magazine had the crossmember article. In case anyone else was wondering here it is. Ryan's roadster did a lot of miles after this mod and he tells me I'm not the first to of used that article as a guide since.
The chassis works sent me photos of my axle with the drop done. It looks awesome, I'll pick it up on Monday.
I picked up some carburettors this weekend that were on my mate Des' roadster. So I got excited and put a pile of shiny stuff together for a photo.
I picked up my axle today. I've got to say Garry's work is second to none. I've got to sort out my steering arm then I can put it on all 4 wheels again and make a drag link.
Yesterday when I got home the first thing I did was paint my spindles and tie rod. Then I put the axle in the whishbone. Last night I assembled the spring. This afternoon my son and I put the spindles on then after dinner I set up the tie rod.
Saturday I finished off the front end. Tightened up everything and put in the split pins. In the afternoon my wife helped me install the axle. Today I had a good look at it. The U bolts were not through the nylon in the nuts. I removed 2 of the top leaves and then set the spindles at what measures out to be ride height.
I didn't get much done this past weekend. Being a public holiday yesterday I took the family to Bendigo for the weekend to be tourists. A couple of weeks back when picking up my axle I mentioned to Garry that I was looking for some rhd 32 pedals. He rang a friend straight away and put me into contact with him. This guy lives in Bendigo and decided to sell me some pedals, so while I was in Bendigo I called in. We had a chat about Hotrods and I bought the pedals. Yesterday afternoon when we got home and unpacked I checked them for fit. Perfect.
Coming along nicely! Keep it up. I have been going back and forth on flattening the rear crossmember on my 29. How’s the clearance for the trailing arms? Wonder if you can get a copy of that article in the states. —louis
Louis, thanks for the compliment. The clearance between the bottom of the rail and the top of the Alex bell is 3.5". The clearance between the bottom of the rail and the top of the rear bones is also 3.5". @Kustom Linez is the man to ask about the Chopped magazine.
The last couple of weeks I have been working on dropping my steering arm and making a drag link. Dropping the steering arm took a few shots. Having my front end painted and not wanting to burn it meant I had to bolt it to another spindle to bend and then check it when cool. The drag link is a reclaimed custom solid piece I shortened and re-machined. After some final checks for ball joint travel and binding issues tonight i gusseted the steering arm.
That body on new rails... spiff ! and after seeing the those mini roadsters around the shop... I realized that I had been neglected...
The steering arm took so much longer than I thought it would but it turned out exactly how I wanted. Today I got the brakes finished up and was able to put the chassis down on the tyres for the first time since I had the axle dropped and chopped the rear cross member.
The Jalopy Journal
