This is probably a dumb question but here goes , when you put a dropped front axle in a car , in my case a 31 Model A , do you get a true drop of what the axle is ? In other words if I put a 4 inch dropped axle in will I get a true 4 inch drop , no other changes , just the axle , or does it run more or less . thanks Vern
I think you get less . I think originally they compared to a stock A axle that has about an inch.If you got another 3 inches by dropping you ended up with 4. In the end its a matter of oil pan clearance,and being able to get in,and out of driveways that count as well as not having the axle hit the ground if a tire blows.
Answer is nope. They usually measure the overall drop, and don't account for any curve the stocker has. And every one is different.
For instance a 32 axle with a 4 inch drop actually drops the car between 2 and 2.5 inches from stock.
Yeah I don’t why they do that. Doesn’t make sense to me, but usually a 4 inch dropped axle is around 2” over stock. Like other said, depends on the axle company, of if it’s an original being heat dropped.
That's very interesting , I think I need to go back to the drawing board on putting a dropped axle on the 31 , thanks guys , I would have been BUMMED out buying a 4'' dropped axle expecting 4 inches of drop and ending up with maybe 2'' , Seems to me they ought to be offered as what your final drop will be not just the drop of the axle , but that's just me , tanks again for the info . Vern
Dropped axle, Reversed eye spring, Flatter front cross member all combine to lower the front Go to Anson Axles Instagram page for a good look at dropped axles.
If you want 4 inches of drop from current height, and the dropped axle gives you 2 of the 4, then you need to do the rest with suspension. Such as a flatter leaf spring, reversed eyes on leaf spring, modified crossmember, as some ideas. Plus playing with tire height and wheel diameter.
I think the drop is measured from the spindle centerline. so a stock axle has some drop built into it from the factory.
The number on any axle is the distance from the top of the spring perch boss to the top of the kingpin boss. So on a stock model a axle if the top of the kinpin boss is 2.25" higher than the perch boss, and you have it dropped to a 4" axle, youve lowered the vehicle 1.75" If you install a reverse eye spring you lower the car the height of the eye which I believe on a 28-34 is 1.5" but maybe Im a little off I dont remember. Often though you are removing a worn out standard eye spring and installing a fresh reverse eye spring and it'll basically give zero drop haha.
I'm familiar with a dropped axle and reversed eye spring but flattening a cross member is a new one I've never heard of that ?
Just watched You Tube on a flattened cross member , Now I see what you were talking about , thanks for info ,I see speedway sells one that will lower the car 2'' Vern
I would say that the cross member drop would be fairly nontraditional - at least for a kid in his parents garage back in the 40s/50s. They did all sorts of stuff with OA though.
My brother has a 29 coupe with a 4" dropped axle, and a reversed eye spring. His tires tuck up very nice into the fenders. No need for a flattened crossmember on a full fendered A.
My '32 pickup had a nice drop but I used a Ch***is Engineering 4" dropprd axle, a Model A flat crossmember, a mono reversed eye front spring, combined 6o/15 wheels and tires. HRP It was pretty low. HRP Stock Dropped
So go stick a tape measure above your tire. Subtract two inches for the axle, one inch for the reversed eyes, and another inch for flattening the spring out a bit. Is that enough? Fairly easy to get another inch from flattening the spring even more. That enough?
In the 'old days', Marty Costello was thinking about buying 'Mor-Drop' axle co. from Mr. Moore. American Auto Supply had Mor Drop axles on the wall, exchange basis: $10.95, '28-'36. I took my stock '36 axle down to Mor-Drop, and the old man laid my stock axle under a dropped one. The drop was 2-7/8". That was his standard drop. I have 2 of those original dropped axles today. One under my '27 tub and one under my '27 Highboy roadster. Checked them the other day, they are both 2-7/8" drop over stock '36. Other people's drops may vary...but this was the Oakland Standard.
So Vern, this has been covered before but I just took a few measurements for some one-stop numbers. Taking the measurements from the spring perch bosses up to the top of the kingpin bosses: >The stock A axle is 1 3/8" >The Okie Joe 4" dropped A axle is, go figure, 4" >Stock '35 axle(a common swap) was 2" I used straight edges for the dropped A and '35 axles and nylon strings on the stock A as it is a runner. These measurements are about as precise one might get on a built car. I would trust them for anything I would order. So a 4" drop axle on a Model A is 2 5/8" overall drop from stock. I asked OkieJoe about that when we flew over there. He said 4" was and is the most common drop because, "It just works and looks so good." Your A is already awesome but I actually think the 4"(2 5/8") drop would look great on your A! If you didn't like it, it would be an easy swap and sell. A new front cross member would be a lot of unnecessary work and possible spring interference (IMO) for what you could easily get from a 4" dropped axle, reverse eye spring, and your present tire combo. Save your time and money - you are way closer than you think! JMO, D
That's good information right there: thanks. The way axle drops are described is very ambiguous, and doesn't tell you a lot if you don't have an axle in front of you.
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