ok what do i have or what is stock for a 35-40 chassis stock 40 spindles axle is 48.5'' to king pins all I have swapped in realistically is a 48 inch wide axle - using a stock 36 unsplit wishbone so IF I need to drop the steering arms 'stock RHD' to get under the wishbone considering its only 1/4'' difference each side from stock do I 'simply' drop them straight down? thanks anyone in the UK can do it? I have a spare set too and can post world wide even? thanks steve would prefer to take the bone and axle and spindles to someone and have some stock style perch pins fitted, and the steering arms dropped, and the tie rod narrowed the little bit all in one go
I had to tuck mine in a little bit at the top to clear the axle. Your axle does not appear to have that issue.
They usually need to be tucked under/in a bit like Nick showed to have clearance when turning. Otherwise they will hit the axle. Then tilt them down in about the same spot as the tuck, up close to the spindle itself. Then you need to tilt the eyelet back to perpendicular to the kingpin, right where the eyelet meets the arm. All this is done making sure you retain the Ackerman. Another thing to consider is the possibility of inserting the tie rod ends from below. You can taper the holes halfway from the bottom if they aren’t already, and it will work just fine.
Not very complicated with the extra clearance your modern axle provides; we give them a little twist toward the flange, then bend them down, and finally level the eye. '35-'36 wishbones take even less down as compared to the '37-'40 'bones in the pictures. Be sure to check space between the wishbone and tie rod and it moves up as the spindles swing. You can use a backing plate or a straight edge to gauge the correct location of the eye. Use the old bushings, thrust bearing, and kingpin when bending and replace with new parts when done. We use a length of pipe that fits over the spindle snout along with 18" pipe & 12" crescent wrenches for this work.
do you reckon I will ghet under a 36 bone with the steering arms designed for a 5'' dropped axle and hairpins? Right Hand Drive 5" Drop Axle Blind Hole Spindle Steering Arms Steel (roadstersupply.com)
Do you have a torch? Just bend the original arms. Then you will never have to worry about the bolt-ons coming loose (I have been in a car that had the arms work loose while driving down the interstate).
The design of the "blind hole" is ripe for installation problems; most probably caused by the proximity of the bolt hole to the register on the spindle. Best practice I found is to spot face the spindle and use flanged head bolts. You should also run a bottom tap in the holes and match the bolt length to the thread depth. If you run across arms from any one of the various alias companies Hoffmann Group operates; it would be a good idea to pitch them.
We had one hell of a time bending these for a dropped V-8 60 axle. Had to bend them down, tight at the spindle.
And you can tell that by looking at a couple of digital pictures. The steering eyes are in the same location Henry had them in relationship to a backing plate, checked before and after. But you are probably somewhat right; it is not exactly on target since the A chassis has a shorter wheelbase than the 40's car the square back spindles came from.
If you don't have the resources or a contact for magnaflux, you can get a rough idea how it turned out by giving it a ring test. I suspend the spindle with a coat hanger or TIG rod through the cotter pin hole and give the steering arms a light tap with a wrench, the forging should ring quite nicely almost like a bell, if its a dull thud well you may have a problem. I would have them magged if that is an option just for the peace of mind.
hello please regarding acker man set up is thus 35-40 frame 112 inches wheel base swapped out stock 37-40 axle at 48.5'' to eyes with 48'' wide so cal axle with stock unsplit bone used rhd 37-40 spindles 70-77 chevy rotor mimic's the total depth of a stock 40 hub - oh yes it does.... eyes as stock - or 2'' from plane actual length goes from 5 and 7 inches of input down to 4.5 and 6.5 maybe a bit longer steering is sped up som,ewhat I favor. dropped total 2'' I hope it fits as its a guess just how much clearance can you puit the tie riod from the bone IF its unsplit? thats the question, as stock its quite far away = too far? tyhanks think I may refit some volaire rotors and widen the front the 3/8-1/2 inch each side.
If there's no interference between the tie rod and the bone at any point in the steering travel you're good to go. Suspension travel should be irrelevant with bones / hairpins, but not so 4 bars. Sufficient clearance for paint is optional. Chris
those blobby thhings were burned enamel paint blobs red lead i think i dropped them too much, 2'' could have been 1 3/4 like I first thought, ho hum
so for future reference - if you have the 35 to 40 frame....... IF you want to use a stock unsplit wishbone, get a 35 or 36 wishbone. these are 36.5'' on perch centres and look different at the front spring perch than a 37 38 39 40 bone - 40 bone is 38.5 on the perch - the king pin is 48.5 inches on centres the stock 35 36 axles are 50.5 inches on centres - the spindles on 35 differ from 36, and they are also different from 37 38 39 40 which are the same. so if you use a 35 or 36 wishbone stock, you can still use a 37 38 39 40 spring the reversed eye springs are the relatively inexpensive 2040l springs, laden the eye to eye is 39.5 inches the cheap front shackle with shock boss will clear by miles even with a 6j wheel, that is actually 7 inches outer rim to outer rim = well a 16'' wheel with a 195 tyre does a vintique gennie.. so, the 48'' wide axles you can buy - so cal etc..... these are available off the shelf at 36.5 inch perch - stock up to 36 you need to get the axle with a 2'' perch to fit a stock 35 36 bone. you will need new perch pins - flat top, with the tapered washer. the drop OF THE 48'' axle is less than the 47.25 the 35 and 36 wishbone is of a different shape to 37 up - i.e. the bone is higher to the forgeing at the front!!! , so the steering arms when fitting 37 to 40 spindles only need dropping 1 3/4 '' you could probably get away with 1 5/8 I plan on doing my other pair 42mm the beauty is I think, the arms can dome straight down when fitted to a 112 inch wheel base I forgot to measure my track, but it was i think 57.25 with the stock 48.5'' axle so its going to be 56 3/4 '' centre of tyres thats with the 70-77 chevy rotors on do watch out when fitting the econo disc kits to stock spindles, as there isnt the same amount of outer bearing inner surface machined into them as the aftermarket jobbies, - so the outer bearing will not travel up as far
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