I have a project in my mind's eye that is a little bit compact. To get there I'm considering narrowing a 33-34 beam axle. It's been discussed before, so what I'm interested in is pictures of any that have been narrowed and recontoured to get kingpin inclination back to spec. Hopefully we won't get into a discussion of the why's and wherefores and just show some examples of the end results. And yes I am crazy. And I know prep and welding technique are very important. And the weld seam needs to be zee'd and reinforced. And stress relieved. So if you have pictures please post them. Thanks...
I narrowed mine 10 years ago. Its been 140 mph, and it runs the quarter mile many times a year. I check it every spring, and it has held up great.
In 1960 My dad built a trailer and use a Whippet axle. It was too narrow so he cut the center out of another Whippet axle and welded the three pieces together. I still have the trailer and a couple years ago a guy told me you can't weld axles. I told him that I wished he had told my dad 60 years ago because that was how long ago it was done.
Would this be narrow enough? https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/original-dropped-1937-ford-v8-60-front-axle.1274252/
V8 60 axle is the same width, I'm thinking that it is allegdly a few pounds lighter. Narrowing a Ford I beam safely probably has as much to do with who did the welding as anything. If my buddy Bill welds it I'd trust it at any speed.
Zibo had 2 -40 Ford coupe build threads that I read years ago. Zibo shortened a 40 axle using the following the one that X38 posted. This is a link to Zibo's axle cut and weld. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...udget-belly****on-40-ford-coupe.742104/page-4
Haven't done a early Ford, but have done a number of later Ford and Chevy axles and they worked out great. My current '39 Chev coupe has a 1958 Chev truck axle up front that I narrowed 4" using a Z cut for strength. I also plated the back side of the web with 3/8" plate after welding the axle together.
Thanks for the response and links. As for the welding, I'll be doing it myself. And yes I have the experience and equipment to do it properly. Finding a place near me to get it x-rayed will be the next task. Probably one of the airports... Here's the procedure I'll be using: blast axle to get clean metal. Cut to desired length with zee'd cut. Weld prep to get complete penetration. Root p*** with tig and preheat. Wash p***es with preheat to above the surfaces for grinding. And to be a little bit different, fish plate both sides with Chevy bowtie shaped gussets. Yeah it'll get the diehard Ford guys goats... Once ground to a decent finish x-ray. Then recontour to get 1 degree negative camber each side. Why not just make another tube axle like I did for the Whatever project, you ask? Because I want an i-beam. We'll just have to see if I can get a round tuit...
The web in these old I bema axles is very thin, so really no reason to plate both sides after narrowing. I find most are 1/8" thick webs, so a 3/8" plate on the back is even overkill, but that's what I use. I use round EMT tubing about 18" long clamped to the beam after making my Z cut, and beveling the edges of the cut. The round tube keeps the two halves perfectly aligned during the weld process. Once it's clamped on the axle I check alignment of the I beams, and also of the kingpins. I piece of solid round stock through each kingpin allows me to check the two ends off a flat surface prior to tacking. Once I've tacked every place I can get to while clamped, I remove the clamps and the tubing, and weld the beam by going a little on each side at a time so it doesn't pull the axle while welding. Then a final check with the round bar still in the kingpins to tell me it's all still true.
Kind of where I got the idea. Remember, I'm the great plaigerizer! And similar to 1971BB, I'll be fixturing the axle using the kingpin bosses to keep it in alignment. A side benefit, the axle came out of a field, and has a slight whoopdee almost exactly in the middle. Straightenable, but this way I save press time... Hey I'm also lazy!
Not my look, either. My sorta-speedster idea is more along the lines of big, over-engineered pre-war designs. But the twirled mustache look is certainly eye-catching!
Jim when I read the ***le of this thread my brain said, not gonna be many examples and that possibly you were gonna be the only one. I do not have any examples to show. I have done it and could offer some advice as to how, but @JimSibley is right here and he can help just as much if that is required.
Plating the web is actually not much of a requirement. The strength of the axle comes from the flanges not the web. The main purpose of the web is to hold the flanges in place.
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