Superbell broken axle

Jeem isnt wrong for being su****ious, it is strange that he only has cl***ified posts and wanted posts for Superbell axles. Doesn't mean he is a bad guy but it is enough to make you curious

 

You're not going to have a Bonfire of the Vanities and throw out all our technical books, are you?

 

You would think that the O/P would have stuck around to see what happened to this fire he lit.
Mercury Kid, are you out there?

 

Here is a SuperBell I saw at a swap meet that was SuperBENT! I was surprised that it didn't break and I had to take a photo.

 

I have nothing against Speedway, but if in fact they put that statement in their catalog I will question whether I want to buy from them. If you sell a quality product you shouldn't have to make a statement like that. Furthermore , with the new Implied Warrantee laws , " as is " is for the most part a thing of the past.

 

Not really
There’s a half dozen people out there doing them and im doing more now quite frankly than I want to.

Anything I say about people that buy these cast axles is directed to those that know better as in ….. know and or are aware of the difference … Cast v Forged and are aware Fords came w forged.
But purely out of being cheap or fallowing the herd buy cast …. Short of someone getting hurt deserve a bent up hot rod.

Why some are bending and some are breaking is obviously inconsistencys in the foundry’s making or mixing the molten steel / iron or whatever it is they do.
There’s no reason in the world to buy a cast one when you can buy a forging.

 

I'll go back on record. I can't even get my head around the idea that Pete n Jake's would sell anyone a cast axle. Their axles have 100s of thousands of miles under them. The axles shown (looking cast iron) are a stupid idea right from the start. And most every Asian import is done the "their" spec, regardless of what their contracts state. They're also knock-off masters. Bottom line to me, anyone that sells somebody a cast iron axle, knowing it is, belongs in the federal pen. Yes, it's THAT SERIOUS. I'm still astounded this even came up. Whomever is making/selling/knocking off is a ****in ***** and should be dragged through a field of wet cow pies behind "The California Kid"...

 

question....are you guys nailing every pot hole you see? I mean sometimes you cant help it but, is this a hard impact fracture? I've ridden in hot rods with guys that dont know how to drive a hot rod....they think its a caddy and nail every bad spot in the road. Makes me wonder how it was driven.

 

That looks a lot like my SuperBENT axle I've posted on many of these kinds of threads . . .

For what it's worth, mine was a Superbell. This is how it came out after a 45 mph head-on collision (70-80 mph combined force of impact).









And here is where it lives now.


As you can see it bent, but did not break. I was quite impressed. I've since ordered 2 new Superbell axles for my Model A projects - one plain 4" drop and one plain 4" drop and drilled

 

Right on Bull. THAT is EXACTLY what I mean...

 

i have yet to see a post that clearly shows, with pictures, the differences between a cast and forged axle.

 

Are the inconsistencies a result of the foundries mistakes or the lack of control over knock offs being made. So far I've seen pictures of Superbells being bent and "not" breaking as oposed to the photo of an axle of questionable source actually being broken. This forum always begs for pictures we need pictures. Prove it with pictures! I've seen the pictures and have drawn my own conclusions. Go back and look at the bent Superbells if you still have doubts. We have one broken axle against multiple bent Superbells.

Also factor in the thousands of axles out there still in reliable service. That's my $.02.

 

There are two sides to every story. I have bought from Jason in the past and you will not a find a better person to deal with. Just remember two sides to every story.

 

I just wanna say many of us didn't just buy them and would probably do things differently the second time around. That having been said, I would rather see more hard facts and do***entation regarding Super Bell axle failures rather than opinions and insults. One can only guess how many of these axles were produced and it wouln't suprise me if it at least matches the amount of surviving Ford beams out there. That many customers are not just going to toss them out based on one or two questionable claims.

Again, I'm referring to Super Bell failures only.

 

The Mercury Kid sent me these pic's with permission to post......................
I think I see a Super Bell Logo in there.
Hope your head looks better than the windshield..........................

 

Appears to be a Superbell logo in the center of the axle in the first pic.

That windshield looks painful.

 

That definitely gives you a sick feeling in your stomach.

 

Ouch! I could see why neither party wants to touch this now, more than just a simple part replacement. I wonder if ther was a visible crack before installed, rust stains seem to suggest it began from the top which would be opposite from the norm.

 

Why is it so hard to take a GOOD pic of the broken axle? Mercury asked for my email to send me a pic, I asked him to just post it here. Just one CLEAR pic. It's not a hard thing to do.

 

It's not a sin to not know how to post pic's here on the HAMB. You should have sent your E-Mail addy to him and he would of sent the pic's to you as he did with me. He did send a high rez pic of the ends of the broken parts but I did not post that pic as it was to close up and not real clear........................

 

Honestly, it makes me wonder how the car was driven and what it hit. The only place I have EVER read of a Super Bell axle breaking is on the HAMB. How is it no other major publication has discovered these flaws?

If the axles are ****, then something needs to be done, but all the evidence that's been produced is questionable. Who besides the OP REALLY knows how the car was driven or if it's a SB axle? Without more evidence, all this talk is speculation and hear say.

 

So, now every car with a SB axle will be parked?

 

No such statement on the website. Close but it's in reference to the data and information provided on the website.

"Disclaimer Speedway Motors makes every effort to keep all data at this site accurate and up to date, but makes no warranties or representations regarding the data. Users agree that all access and use of this site and externally linked pages are at the user's own risk. SPEEDWAY MOTORS IS PROVIDING THIS SITE AND ITS CONTENTS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE OR ITS CONTENTS. SPEEDWAY MOTORS DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING FOR EXAMPLE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN ADDITION, SPEEDWAY MOTORS DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE VIA THIS SITE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT. Price and availability information is subject to change without notice.

Except as specifically stated on this site, neither Speedway Motors nor any of its directors, employees or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the use of this site. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including (without limitation) compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss of data, income or profit, loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties. "

 

Companies will have Chinese companies copy a product. Menards had a company copy some Lasko fans and they copied them right down to the logo. Menards rented some storage space to try to hide them but the Feds found them and locked the storage facility down. All of the product had to be destroyed.

If this is a cast copy, I would think that Pete and Jakes would be very interested in seeing who is using their logo unless they are the ones selling them.

 

Look on Speedway's page for 'seconds'.

How can there be an argument about this? On two other sites there are picture reports of broken cast iron Superbells, one on a famous Oregon show VW. (Yes, an ultra-heavy fenderless VW!)

And nobody saw it. The accident was well covered. The owner/builder was the former owner/builder of the sectioned '59 Ford, "My Blue Heaven".
Not a youngster, he did some hospital time. The axle broke with no collision, just snapped!
Another Oregon accident involved a '32 sedan, on a rod run. Super Bell, Snap!
Do a search...

 

The searching and evidence needs to be from the person making the claim. If someone goes to Speedway with a claim, they better have something other than a story and questionable pics.

 

Volksrods.com

Then punch in

Loss of a great car. - Cut-Weld-Drive Forums

That's the VW site with pictorial report on the show VW with the broken Superbell. Read it all.

 

Look at how porous that axle's grain structure is. And another point is how often have you seen a cast iron axle ductile or not bend? I would like for these cast axle companies to put there axles in a press and see how long it takes for them to snap, not bend. Just like kicking a rod out the side of your block, it always cracks a hole, not bulge your block. I have put a few pinions threw the bottom of cast center sections of rear ends. If cast is so good why don't the railroad's build their track's from cast iron?

 

Exactly.