Tuesday 10 April 2012

Workshop Progress update 3



25 X 25 X1.6 square tube has been formed for the structural elements, this is strong yet light, and allows the inner and outer skin to be attached, originally this vehicle was wood framed, and all that rotted out and fell apart.
Sheet metal bracing has been spot welded to the chords to add strength, and also looks "aircraft".
More internal bracing to support the rear bulkhead.



The rear bulkhead and parcel shelf area will be constructed with a double skin to reduce NHV (noise, harshness, vibration) being transmitted into the passenger compartment.
Inner 1/4 panel sub-structure has been formed and trial fitted, ready to weld into position when the inner wheel-arches are shaped.


As parts are formed, they are temporarily held in place with Clecos, which are used in the aviation industry for holding sheet metal panels in place for riveting, they are easily inserted and removed while trial fitting parts'

The wheel tubs were formed using the shrinking dies on the Pullmax to tip the edge, then an extension welded on to the tipped edge, and shaped with an air planishing hammer, and finally, smoothed with the English Wheel.

After the 1/4 panel alignment was secured, the tailgate was constructed, using holden Rodeo hinges and latches.



Ford 8" & 9" Diff I.D. and Specs.

The Number 1 Question - How do I Know If My Rear Is An 8" Or 9"?
The easiest way to tell is to try to put a socket on the lower bolts.

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On the 8" shown here, the socket goes on straight without hitting the case.

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On the 9" shown here, the socket won't fit this position or the bolt on the other side of center. Note the pocket at the bolt location necessary because of the larger pinion support.

Where to find a 9" rear axle?

67-73 medium and big block Mustangs and Cougars
66-71 Fairlanes, Torinos, Montegos, Comets, and other Ford intermediates with big blocks
57-59 V8 Fords and Mercurys
77-81 Lincoln Versailles & Trucks
67-68 ZA, ZB Fairlane (h/duty only), Some XR (h/duty only), XTGT, XT (h.duty only) all had 8" (standard was Borg Warne)
69-71 ZC, ZD, XW, XY, XYGT, XWGT with 351 had 9". Also in some h/duty applications.
72-78 LTD, ZF-ZG Fairlane, XA, XB, XC, XAGT, XBGT with 351 had 9". Also in some h/duty applications.

Types of 9" axle housings
67-73 Mustang/Cougar - light duty, thinnest housing material, small axle bearings, 28 and 31 splines
57-68 passenger car and 1/2 ton truck - medium duty, stronger than Mustang type, 28 and 31 splines
Ranchero/Torino - heavy duty thick wall housing, 3.25 inch diameter axle tubes with flat tops
69-77 Galaxies (coils), Lincolns (coils), and late pickups (leaf)- 3.25 inch diameter all the way to the backing plate, coil housings have upper control arm mount

9" Housing Identification

57 - no dimples, flat center band up the center of the rear cover, bottom drain plug.
58-59 - two dimples on back of housing, flat center band, some had drain holes.
60-67 - two dimples, flat center band, oil level hole in back cover.
63-77 Lincoln, LTD, Thunderbirds had 9.375 inch centers, housings were cut away at the gasket surface for ring gear clearance, one curved rib at the front top portion of differential, strong but no aftermarket gear sets.

Axle widths

Note: The lengths stated are for a complete axle from brake drum to brake drum.

For 64-73 Mustangs subtract 5 inches to get the bare axle housing width.

65-66 Mustang 57.25 inches
67-70 Mustang 59.25 inches
71-73 Mustang 61.25 inches
77-81 Versailles 58.50 inches
74 Maverick 8" 56.50 inches
75 Mustang II 8" 57.00 inches
67-73 Mustang, Torino, Ranchero, US Fairlane 9" 59.25 inches to 61.25 inches
57-59 Ranchero and station wagon rears, 57.25 inches
66-77 Bronco 9", 58 inches
77-81 Granada/Versailles, 58 inches
67-71 Comet, Cougar, Mustang, US Fairlane, 59.25 inches
71-73 Mustang, 61.25 inches

64 US Falcon 58 inches
67 Cougar 60 inches
67 US Fairlane 63.50 inches (coil springs)
72 US Ford Van 3/4 ton, 68 inches,
73-86 US Ford Van 3/4 ton 65.25 inches
57-59 Ranchero and station wagon 57.25 inches (narrowest 9" housing)
66-77 Bronco 58 inches but has 5-on-5 1/2 inch diameter bolt circle
67-73 Torinos, Rancheros, US Fairlanes 59.25 inches or 61.25 inches
67-71 Comets, Cougars, US Fairlanes 59.25 inches

Tips On Shortening Nine Inch Axles

1972 and earlier 31 spline axles have the ability to be shortened.
28 spline axles are tapered and cannot be shortened and re-splined.
1973 and later cars have a 5-on-5 bolt circle and the axles cannot be shortened.
1967-1973 Mustang axles can be identified by wheel flange:
Oval hole = 28 splines.
Two large holes and counter-sunk center = 31 splines.

Types of 9" Axles

28 spline axles cannot be shortened and resplined (they're tapered)
72 and earlier 31 spline axles have the ability to be shortened
73 and later 9" (cars) have a 5-on-5 bolt circle and the axles cannot be shortened
67-73 Mustang axles identified by wheel flange: oval hole - 28 splines, two large holes and counter sunk center - 31 splines.

Why is the Ford rear desired by many building hot rods and race cars?

The 8” and 9” have an extra bearing in the front of the pinion to give it extra support. This third bearing reduces flexing of the pinion under hard acceleration. These rears also utilize the axle bearing to retain the axle, unlike C-clips used in some other rears. If an axle were to break, the C-clip retainer, located in the carrier, can not keep a broken axle in the housing. The drop-out carrier also makes maintenance easier.

Strength - There are four usable styles you can find in a junk yard. They range from light duty to extreme duty but in all cases the larger 31 spline axle versions are stronger than the 28 spline version of the same unit.

The 67-73 Mustang type is considered light duty uses both axles.
The 57-68 early passenger car and half-ton pickup rear end is considered a medium duty unit and came in both 28 and 31 spline axles.
The 70-79 Ranchero/Torino are considered a high performance unit again being produced with both 28 and 31 spline axles.
The 69-77 Galaxie/Lincoln and 73-86 half-ton pickup used both size axles and the 31 spline version should be considered the strongest available and can be used for extreme duty applications.

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Removable Carrier Axle-Ford

ID tag. Ratio. Ring Gear Diameter (in)
WCZ-E 2.80:1 8
WCZ-F 3.00:1 8
WCZ-F1 2.80:1 8
WCZ-G 3.50:1 8
WCZ-H 3.89:1 9
WCZ-J 4.11:1 9
WCZ-P 3.50:1 9
WCZ-R 3.89:1 9
WCZ-S 3.50:1 9
WCZ-T 3.50:1 9
WCZ-V1 2.79:1 8
WCZ-W 3.25:1 8
WDC-DW 2.75:1 9
WDC-EB 2.75:1 9
WDC-EE 3.00:1 9
WDC-EH 2.75:1 9
WDC-EK 3.00:1 9
WDC-EL 2.50:1 9
WDC-EM 2.50:1 9
WDJ-B 2.80:1 8
WDJ-C 3.00:1 8
WDJ-C1 3.00:1 8
WDJ-C2 3.00:1 8
WDW-AB 2.79:1 8
WDW-U 3.00:1 8
WDW-Z 3.00:1 8
WDX-E 2.75:1 9
WDY-AA 3.00:1 8
WDY-HH 3.40:1 8
WDY-S 3.40:1 8
WEB-BF 2.50:1 9
WEB-BK 3.00:1 9
WEB-BM 2.75:1 9
WES-F 3.00:1 9
WES-G 3.25:1 9
WES-H 3.50:1 9
WES-J 3.89:1 9
WES-K 3.50:1 9
WES-M 3.25:1 9
WES-N 3.00:1 9
WES-P 3.25:1 9
WES-R 3.25:1 9
WES-T 2.75:1 9
WES-T1 2.75:1 9
WES-U 3.50:1 9
WES-V 3.00:1 9
WES-Y 3.50:1 9
WES-Z 3.00:1 9
WES-AA 3.00:1 9
WES-AB 3.25:1 9
WES-AC 3.00:1 9
WES-AD 3.25:1 9
WES-AE 3.50:1 9
WES-AG 2.75:1 9
WES-AH 3.00:1 9
WES-AJ 3.25:1 9
WFA-AA 3.00:1 9
WFA-AH 3.00:1 9
WFA-AL 2.75:1 9
WFB-A 3.25:1 9
WFB-C 3.25:1 9
WFB-D 3.00:1 9
WFB-G 2.50:1 9
WFB-K 2.50:1 9
WFD-A 3.50:1 9
WFD-B 3.91:1 9
WFD-C 4.30:1 9
WFD-D 3.91:1 9
WFD-E 4.30:1 9
WFD-F 3.50:1 9
WFD-J 3.25:1 9
WFD-K 3.00:1 9
WFD-L 3.00:1 9
WFD-M 3.25:1 9
WFG-AL 3.00:1 9
WFG-AA 2.75:1 9
WFG-BJ 2.75:1 9
WFL-A 3.00:1 8
WFU-E 4.30:1 9
WFV-T 2.75:1 9
WFY-A 2.75:1 9
WFY-K 3.00:1 9
WGB-V 2.75:1 9
WGB-W 3.00:1 9
WGB-AB 2.50:1 9
WGB-AD 2.75:1 9
WGC-A 2.75:1 9
WGC-K 2.50:1 9
WGC-N 2.75:1 9

Conversion from 28 Spline to 31 Spline
To change the third member to 31 spline, the only parts needed are the differential side gears, they are available from Ford. The other part of the conversion is the carrier bearing size. There are two carrier bearing inside bore sizes, and two carrier bearing outside bore sizes. There are three possible combinations, small ID-small OD , large ID-small OD , and large ID-large OD. Factory 31 spline axles came with the last two bearing configurations, but not with the first. On 28 spline carriers, the axle bore on some of them are not large enough to allow the 31 spline axles to pass through. The carriers with the large ID bearings can be bored out to use the 31 spline axles. Not a precision job, just big enough for the axle to pass through, I use a cut off end from a 31 spline axle to check when it's large enough. I takes less than an hour to do both sides, and could be done at a vocational school by a novice. The small ID bearings won't have enough material left for reliability if bored out for 31 spline axles. Also if your housing has the small axle bearings, you will have to have axles custom made, as there are no factory axles with 31 spline and small axle bearings. Both the large axle bearing, and the extra large axle bearing (some F150 trucks) had 31 spline factory applications. From about 1970 on, the big Fords, Mercury's, and Lincoln's has axles big enough to respline with 31 splines if they are shortened about 4" per side. Both 4 1/2" and 5" bolt patterns are available. If you want to redrill to a 4 3/4" Chevy bolt pattern, use truck axles, as there is more room for the new pattern without hitting the other holes. The drum pilot may have to be turned down, depending on the drum used. The Chevy drums of corresponding size to the ford brakes will fit if the pilot is turned down.

Early Ford spindle I.D.

EARLY FORD SPINDLE IDENTIFICATION.


Well, if your like me and prefer to scrounge the swaps  or your favorite web based seller for original stuff to use on your ride, then this might be of help to you. If on the other hand you prefer to by new, that’s cool. But this wont be much use to you.

This is a combination of info I have found out over the last few years from various sources I don’t lay claim to this being my information, its common knowledge to a lot, but seemed every time I asked I got some murky answers.

Ok. First things first. I will be talking about mostly the 28-48 spindles here, or ‘early ford’ as they are refered as.

From my research it seems that the early ford spindles break down into 3 groups.

1928-1936
1937-1941
1942-1948

Again, the Model A spindles will essentially be left out as most people don’t use them, but I will add what I have read/found on them where appropriate.

You can break the above 3 main groups into more the year related groups.

1928-1931 A model of course, car and pickup
1932-1934 Car and pickup and I guess Ute too.
1935-1936 Car / Pickup / Ute
1937-1941 Car / Pickup / Ute
1942- 1948 Car / Pickup / Ute

Now all kingpins are the same diameter, however they do not all interchange for use, they can be used for set up, but the machined groove that allows the locking stud to hold them in place varies depending on which spindle your using. I know this after buying a pair only to find they didn’t work and having to get the groove machined into them. The reason for this is that the early spindle 28-36 have the bearing on top of the spindle. The later spindles the bearing sits on top of the axle inbetween the spindle boss’s. So consequently the length varys slightly too. I will take photos of my roadsters to show what I mean.

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Note bearing location.



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Note bearing location and bolt on steering arm.

This is an after market copy of the 37-41 spindle commonly used on new hot rods.
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So back to the 3 groups.


1928-1936 sqaure backed flange, the stub axle is longer than latter spindles and the mounting surface for the brake backing plate is smaller. Spindle slides over axle boss as bearing sits on top of spindle boss




1937-1941 round flange shorter stub axle also round mounting surface for brake backing plate is the same diameter as latter 42-48 spindles. Axle boss is 2.375” king pin diameter is .813” and 5.5” in length


1942-1948 square flange again shorter stub axle and round mounting surface for brake backing plate is same as 37-41 spindles. Axle boss is 2.375” king pin diameter is .813” and 6” in length



WHAT DO ORIGINAL SPINDLES LOOK LIKE IN THE WILD???


28-32 spindles: also note the location of the spindle boss, see that it is below the mounting surface for the backing plate, by about a half an inch.
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37-41 spindles.
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42-48 spindles. note spindle boss's and bearing location.

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EARLY FORD BRAKES.

Now the real reason you want to know all this info is really to do with brakes.

The 1928-1936 spindles as refered to earlier have a smaller diameter mounting area than the later spindles. So this causes a problem the first time you go to bolt your 40-48 brakes on, your backing plates fit, but are loose and the bolt holes done even look like lining up. I found this out as a 15 year old kid. After talking to some old timers it was reveiled that Model A piston rings are just the right diameter and size , apparently you could use them?

I didn’t end up doing that, I had a old machinist make me a spacer ring and then spot welded it in, and welded up the original backing plate holes and redrilled them. Now this is not the only issue, remember I mentioned that the stub axles are longer. Again a problem. This requires a spacer be machined to fit the stub axle to place the bearing ( inner closest to the kingpin) at the right location. Again this was done. There is no different bearings required to do this. Just a friendly machinist.

If you have the 39 on hydraulic brakes, they will fit on all the 37-48 spindles without a problem the ‘wide 5’ drums will also fit without an issue if you want that different look.





This list may be handy to some, a guy I deal with sat down and sorted it out, its yanky stuff, but surely can be converted to parts that are local.


EARLY FORD BRAKE PART NUMBERS.
1939-1948 Left rear wheel cylinder CarQuest/EIS # EW156002
1939-1948 Right rear wheel cylinder CarQuest/EIS # EW156003
1942-1948 Left front wheel cylinder CarQuest/EIS # EW156000
1942-1948 Right front wheel cylinder CarQuest/EIS # EW156001
1939-1941 Front wheel cylinder repair kit CarQuest/EIS # C552
1942-1948 Front wheel cylinder repair kit CarQuest/EIS # C568
1939-1948 Rear wheel cylinder repair kit CarQuest/EIS # C554
1939-1948 Front brake hose CarQuest/EIS # SP296
1939-1948 New brake master cylinder CarQuest/EIS # E1050
1939-1948 Brake master cylinder repair kit CarQuest/EIS # M16
1939-1942 Front and rear brake shoes Raybestos # 38PG(premium quality) or 38RP(Standardquality)
1946-1948 Front and rear brake shoes Raybestos # 37PG(premium quality) or 37RP(standard quality)


EARLY FORD BEARINGS.

1928-1948 Front outer bearing BCA/Bower #09074
1928-1948 Front outer race BCA/Bower #09196
1928-1948 Front inner bearing BCA/Bower #15118
1928-1948 Front inner race BCA/Bower #15250X
1935-1948 Front wheel seal National Seal #5796
1934-1950 Rear wheel outer bearing BCA/Bower #462
1928-1937 Rear wheel seal National Seal #450096
1938-1948 Rear wheel seal National Seal #5877


Please note that the early Ford rear hub seals are different for Australia to the US.

Monday 9 April 2012

Dirt Track racing- California- 1940s

http://archive.org/details/27EG-28-EG-58_HOTRODS

http://archive.org/movies/thumbnails.php?identifier=27EG-28-EG-58_HOTRODS


Shotlist

Shot by Elmer Dyer.
00:00 Slate: �"Hot Rod Picture Dalzell�
VS interiors and exteriors of hot rods, drivers at track somewhere in Southern California
00:23 Moving shot looking backward at hot rods racing on track
01:30 Slate: �""San Diego Bill Bass�" (drivers posing)
01:41 Slate: �""Connie Wiedel LA�"
01:51 Slate: �""Fred Pope San Diego�"
02:02 Slate: �""Dan Marruffo�" (driver posing with friends behind car)
02:16 Slate: �""Jim Rathman�"
02:34 Other drivers posing, prepping cars for race
02:57 General shots looking down at cars rounding track, crowd in stands

Above are some links to Dirt track racing in California- 1940

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Workshop Progress Updates- 2

The original chassis was so badly rusted that it was impossible to maintain panel gaps, this was substituted for a better chassis while the third chassis is down at Graham Robinsons in Castlemaine being boxed and suspension re-worked.


The door hinge areas have been realigned and temporararily braced to allow panel gaps to be set.
The cab was sent to be abrasive blasted and epoxy primed.
This process exposed more rust.




Replacement rear quarter panels and tailgate skin was made, and the sub-rails and rear tray sub-frame are being developed from 25mm X 25 X 2.5 mm steel tube.
I have purchased a tube roller and a tube bender from Pro-Tools in Tampa, Florida, to be able to form the curves necessary to reinforce the structure






Early Ford Wishbones

 One of the main factors in a Traditional Hot Rod front suspension is the Ford wishbone. The wishbone holds theaxle in place while preventing fore and aft movement. You can run them stock, or you can run them split. . . but whatever you decide, you need to know what you’re looking at before you start mocking up your front end, or you can wind up with a set of bones that don’t fit whatever axle you're trying to use.

Model A Wishbones (1928-1931)

The Model A Wishbone is the shortest or the group, measuring 39 inches from the center of the spring perch boss at the front, to the center of the "mounting ball" at the back.

The mouth at the front of the wishbone is 2 and 1/4 inches wide, and has very little caster built into it:

Image

1932 Wishbone

Like everything else on a '32 ford, this style of wishbone was only made for one year. It's much longer than a Model A wishbone measuring 47 and 1/2 inches from the center of the spring perch boss at the front, to the center of the "mounting ball" at the back.

The mouth at the front of the wishbone is only 2 inches wide, and has a considerable amount of caster built into it compared to the Model A:

Image

1933-'34 Wishbone

The 1933-'34 Ford wishbone is basically the same as the '32, except that it's two inches shorter. Measuring 45 and 1/2 inches from the center of the spring perch boss at the front, to the center of the "mounting ball" at the back.

The mouth is also 2 inches wide, and it has the same amount of caster as the '32.

1935-'36 Wishbone

There are two differences between the 1933-'34 wishbones and the 1935-'36 bones. The first change isn't as noticeable. '35-'36 are one inch shorter than the '33-'34 wishbones, measuring 44 and 1/2 inches from the center of the spring perch boss at the front, to the center of the "mounting ball" at the back.

The second difference is something you can spot from twenty feet away. Starting in 1935, Ford began casting a spring hanger on the front of the wishbones and stopped using a spring perch that goes through the axle.

The mouth is still 2 inches wide:

Image

1937-'41 Wishbone

While the 1937-'41 Ford wishbone appears the same as the '35-'36 wishbone with the spring hanger on the front, also measuring 44 and 1/2 inches. The one major difference is that Ford went back to using a 2 and 1/4 inch axle, so the mouth on the front of the '37-'48 wishbone is 2 and 1/4 inches wide.

(Photo below shows a 37-'41 wishbone with the front spring hanger cut off and the end rounded over)

Image

1942-'48 Wishbone The 1942-'48 Ford wishbones saw a major increase in the over all length. Measuring 50 and 1/2 inches from the center of the spring perch boss at the front, to the center of the "mounting ball" at the back, this is the longest wishbone Ford ever made.

While the mouth remained 2 and 1/4 inches wide, and the spring hanger was still cast into the front (note: all Ford wishbones from 1935 onward had a spring hanger cast into the front of the wishbone) a step was also added to the front end.

(Photo below shows a "42-'48 wishbone with the front spring hanger cut off)

Image

. . . in 1949 Ford starting manufacturing cars with independent front suspension, and the Ford wishbone became a thing of the past.



The Ford I beam axle as its known was in production from the A model through to 1948. Whilst the T model are also an I beam they are not able to be readily used on later Fords.

The nomenclature of I beam came from the presentation of the axle when viewed in a cross section. Think railway track and you pretty much have what the cross section of an early ford axle looks like.

There are really 6 main types of early Ford I beam 7 if you include the V8-60 which is mostly the domain of the sprint car guys.

These are pictured below. This photo comes from an old Rod and Custom mag from memory or it could have been street rodder? I saved this picture years ago so can’t remember where I got it from. It shows the different types of axle.

Image


The there are a few things you need to know about each axle. The biggest thing you need to know is, are you going to drop it or not? A few years ago that was the main thing rodders did with axles, so certain axles were more sort after than others.


Nowadays, people are sweeping and “Z”ing frames not only at the rear but also at the front, so this opens up a whole new world of use for the latter axles.


The main points of reference are the distance between the spring perch boss’s (these are the most inboard boss’s) as this helps figure out you your spring length (Remembering that after 1934 that the spring was positioned in front of the axle).


The distance between the spring perch boss’s and the king pin boss’s also helps. This is important in determining how much “drop” you can get out of your axle. Also the depth of your boss’s is a measurement to know. This especially helps you with fitting early spindles to your axle.

If you are considering dropping your axle the overall length isn’t that important, as in the process of dropping the axle the overall length shortens. So if your not dropping the axle, but going with a suicide front end (axle in front of the chassis) the overall length may be of concern so you can work out the front track width.


When an axle is dropped the amount dropped is on top of the factory drop. So for instance, my 1932 axle was dropped 3” this gives me equivalent to a 4” drop overall compared to other axles like the A model as the 1932 axle already has a 1” factory drop in it.



The A model axle ran for 3 years, 1928-1931 they have a set curve through the whole axle. The bosses are 2 ¼” The distance between the spring perch and king pin bosses allow for a decent drop, however as the actual axle’s I beams section is narrow the can get rather thin if your chasing a decent drop. The kingpin original distance is 51 7/8” the spring perch centre to centre is 36 ¼

Image


Image7

1932. Single year only and “the” one to have. Often referred to as the heavy axle. You can see why in the above photo. It’s a chunkier axle all round. They can be stretched as far as 5” of drop. These are the axles that made Ed “dago” Stewart famous for his ‘dago’ axles. The ‘dago’ is not thought to be an ethnic nickname, but more that he was out of the San Diego area.


These axles already had a 1” drop from the factory, but as hot rodder are hot rodders, that wasn’t enough.
Measurements are Kingpin to kingpin 51 ¾”, spring perch to spring perch 36 3/8”, Boss’s 2”

This is a photo of an un-dropped 1932 axle.

Image

You can see the thickness in the area between the spring perch and king pin bosses and the greater curve between the spring perch boss’s (the inboard boss) and the kingpin boss’s. Compared to the A model.

This is a dropped version. The other reason I have heard that they are referred to as I beam axles, is the spring perch boss look. The below photo shows how it looks like a capital I. Regardless, the name is common use for any early Ford axle now a days.

Image


1933-1936 are apparently the same measurements as the 32. I can’t verify or deny this but will measure a 33 axle to check. These axles are good to drop though as there is enough distance between the kingpin and perch boss’s to get a decent drop.


1937-1941 from here on in most don’t worry with these axles as they don’t allow a lot of drop. The measurements are. Kingpin to kingpin 50 7/8” .spring perch to spring perch 38 1/2” boss’s 2 1/4”


1942-1947 again, not the most sort after axle. Measurements are. Kingpin to kingpin 52” spring perch to spring perch 40 5/8” boss’s 2 ¼ notice also that there is an extra hole in the front of the axle near where the lock pin for the kingpin goes. This is for the front shocks to mount to.


1948 same as 42-48 but notice that there is an extra hole in the front of the axle near where the lock pin for the kingpin goes. This is for the front shocks to mount to.

Saturday 3 March 2012

Workshop progress updates

As the title suggests, I aim to add photos and a description of what I achieve on customers and my own car projects.
I will start with the current priority build, a 1936 Ford coupe ute, it came here because the owner had viewed my Model A Roadster Pick-up at Motorex 2011, and he felt I could deliver what he wanted.
Stage 1 was to involve re-aligning the cab and doors, fabricating quarter panels and tailgate and steeling-out where the wood framework used to be The door hinges were frozen, and the lower door sections had been busted out.
burst proof door latches were fitted after freeing up the hinges and temporarily bracing the door frames to allow correcting door gaps.
The cab roof had dropped, and it was jacked up and braced with temporary supports to maintain proportions.