I have been planning on making a g***er out of my Hillman truck and I need a straight axle.Now the Hillman is narrow and a Anglia axle would be great.But I don`t have one but I have a few F100 axles and was wondering if it is safe to cut and shorten a I beam axle?
If you cut it in the middle,and weld it properly,there shouldn't be a problem. The vast majority of stresses are from the spring perches outwards.
Oh one more thing.Anybody have the widths of both the Anglia and F100 axles say from king pin to king pine? Don`t want to fool with the spring perch on the f100 axle and if there is a big differents in the two the springs might be too close togeather!!!
.....met a fella once that narrowed an econoline alxe......looked good......he said it was safe... lot's of clamps, a heavy pc. of angle iron and weld a little and quit, weld a little and quit......walk off between welds.... never tried it myself, though....
Dont know the dimensions, but the F100 axle is way wider than an Anglia, and will require a pretty severe cut.
Never tried that -but if I had to do it ,maybe this would result in a stronger joint???? [start3" from center- by making a cut, vertically-half way thru -then cut six inches across [horizontal cut] thru the flat center of I beam-then vertical again....... spreading the cut over a longer area to spread the "torsion" of the cut=confused yet? Just should'a ignored this post!
I think you should think twice, this one is not very expensive and I quess that would be safer in a g***er... http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/paging.yes/dept_id.320/display_id.2128/qx/Product.htm
Also, the ones that the companies like MAS sell for T-buckets & race cars are very cheap for the axles alone - they'll also make them any width you want & I think any kingpin...
Anglia axles are very narrow, you could try and locate an axle from one of the English Ford commercials of the same era, they are slightly wider and are beefier than the little Pop beams. I think E83W Fordson would be a good choice. A **** photo, but here's one on a T I put together some years ago.
I have done it a few times for guys. Make DAMN sure your welding is up to par and also that you mauntain kingpin angles. You will find a degree or two makes a world of diference.
my friend ed built an english ford prefect (just like an anglia except 4 doors instead of two) several years ago and needed a really short axle. he had the original axle but wanted something stronger. one of the axle companies made up a tube axle to his specs for an upcharge of $10 bux or so. sounds like the way to go to me.
I know buying a new one is the way to go but up here in Newfoundland Canada shipping is a *****.Most things you buy that are big will be costly.A $150 axle US can cost me up to $300 Canadian with shipping and the change in the dollor.
The Last person I talked to about welding cast said that pre heating was the key. and lots of bevel cutting to ensure good adhesion. (He is a Cert. welder) That said, after all the heating and beveling and quenching, the cast part we welded together BROKE. Get a tube axle. not nearly as cool looking, but you can cut and weld on it to your hearts desire and it will be stronger than when you started. and it wont snap at random, dig into the asphault and kill your car and possibly you too. Grim I know, but easily avoided.
Axles are FORGED STEEL...not cast iron. That said...I have a broken cast iron vise that I welded using pre and post heating 10 years ago. Still in excellent shape even with the constant abuse. You don't QUENCH cast iron!!! I would weld and use an original Forged Steel axle without worry. You need to have proper welding capabilities though... Fitzee...ya better BUY one!!!! Hahahahahahahaha....
I'm no expert........with that said: Personally I wouldn't suggest you do this UNLESS you are an EXCELLENT welder. IMHO --> TIG only - No MIG - No O/A - maybe ARC. I also like Choprods suggestion of maximizing the weld area. However I would suggest to make it simpler you just cut it on an angle - no real benefit (in my mind) for all the zigs and zags - they might even be detrimental as they may cause stress risers. To reiterate we ARE talking FORGED STEEL AXLES not cast!!! If it's a cast axle forget it - no how - no way. You might even consider an additional reinforcement - boxing the rear section across the splice would add to the strength and be virtually invisible. I've only welded one axle - it was round - I sleeved it and rosetted it - used tubing slightly thicker in wall than the origional. Been fine for 12 or 13 years now. I realize you're talking about an "I" beam axle - that IMHO is MUCH MUCH more difficult.
I have no worries on some one to weld it.I`ll leave that to my buddy Ern.his has been a welder some 20 years.Spend much of that working out west on oil rigs.Man knows his ****.As for the tube axle,now that I think about it I have a late 30`s Dodge axle.But I think the I beam would look nicer. Thanks for all the input,I can alway count on you guys to solve my problems.
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