I was wondering if anyone out there has some experience installing a 4 or 5" Dropped Axle in a 1936 Ford. I would like to know what I will need to upgrade a stock 36 front end. Also what you may have used to address the rear of the car as well. Thanks for any info ! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The TCI rear parallel leaf system works fantastic. And the drop axle with a reverse eye spring will do nicely in front. Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
might look at a site like posiesrodsandcustoms.com that sell complete kits to help you figure out more or less what you will need for dropped axle set up - look for narrow wheels too
I don't know about Speedway axles, but lots of cheap new ones are cast, and have fractured. Original, forged Ford axles are much better, why not look for the real deal?
Yeah. What flynbrian48 said. Pull the original and send it out to be dropped. Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've used all three of the major axle droppers in the US currently operating. They are Okie Joe, Ansen Axles, and Kohler Kustoms. Out of all three I would recommend Andrew @thunderbirdesq at Kohler Kustoms. Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have a dropped '32 heavy under mine and I believe I lost some "width" when they dropped it. You can get by with that on a fender less or a narrower Deuce fendered car but on the fat fendered '36 your wheels are gonna be way in there. I would want more control of how they drop the axle is my point........................................................
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1936-ford-dropped-axle-help-needed.1003346/ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/dropped-axle-in-a-36-ford.838816/ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/drop-axle-for-1936-ford.799512/ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/who-makes-35-ford-forged-dropped-axles.1051588/ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...-from-grandpas-stocker-into-a-hot-rod.757229/ There are more, the search function is your friend.
You can get them stretch dropped to accommodate that issue. Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've also used a couple of Chassis Engineering forged axles when I can;t locate a original to drop. HRP
Please don't ruin that awesome car sir. Get your axle stretch dropped and reverse eye your spring. It will sit incredibly nice and be something you can be proud of especially around here. You can also take the easy road and get 2" drop shackles for 36 and up. Since you have fenders it's not like they would stick out even though they're kinda ugly(not the fenders). I know I'm being totally opinionated on this and self righteous, but why any one would suggest anything other then leaving the buggy spring set up on a "traditional" or antique Ford for that matter is mind boggling to my low IQ, lol Good luck I love your car paint and all. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Drop your original axle or for twice the money buy a Chassis Engineering complete set up and have everything new( it narrows the front 2" and allows for a better turning radius. Drop the rear with a reversed spring and less leafs Ford had it nailed pretty good with buggy springs front and rear. IMHO
I say if you can save some money by purchasing a cheap axle do it, the dough you saved can buy a nice paint job, a stereo system and good medical insurance.
To put it bluntly, why the hell would anyone buy a cast axle? Cast axles may be just right for a trailer queen, but DON'T drive the ride. If you can't afford a forged axle, you shouldn't build a car. PERIOD.
Not that I would recommend a cast axle, but to post a picture of a failed axle on a wrecked car does not tell you if the axle failed and caused the crash, or if the crash caused the failed axle. There is a pretty serious difference between the two story lines. We have no idea what that axle may have encountered when it broke, and the broken axle may have saved the rest of the car, and more importantly, the car's occupants. I have reviewed a lot of wrecked cars, strange things happen in crashes. Gene
LOL I run tube axles because I don't give a shit about cool. *Most of the time when you see a busted axle the car hit something that did not move. My experience is that it usually doesn't hurt much more if the axle breaks. That said there are axles that I would not buy new if I could avoid it, I won't mention names because they have all been outed before and the search function works on this site. Even companies that produce forged axles have had problems with quality control. The upside to using an original Henry is that it is already 70+ years old, and if it was going to break it would have already done so. An original Henry dropped by someone who has a good reputation is always going to be your best bet. *Most is the operative word here.
I have seen numerous accidents where the axle was hit dead-on into an immovable object. (concrete structures, R.R. abutment, etc.) Never once did a Henry axle break...but bend they did. Chrome Vanadium steel was Henry's 'recipe', there were 5 that Ford twisted with a steam machine at the Chicago World's Fair in 1938 (?) Twisted, didn't break. The '32 above (post #18) is not the only instance of a cast axle breaking. A popular VW with the California Dago axle setup ran a chromed cast 'I' beam from a major purveyor of axles, (not Super Bell) and snapped it over a small bump. (a heavy VW bug!!!) A few breakages in Australia, all cast. Look it up. NOT forged. Don't chance it.
I should have been clear when I posted that picture, I stole that from the interweb when I googled busted axle. I don't know the maker, retailer or country of origin of the failed part, I just used it as a visual aid to drive the point home that saving money on parts that, if they fail, will harm or kill you and your loved ones it is not a good deal.
LOL my shit is hot but I ain't never built anything that could corkscrew an axle. That deal with the henry in a twist has always been cool, and always will even if you have seen it before. Someone might considerate to be salesman ship, a lot like tossing a melmac plate on the kitchen floor, but it is cool none the less. I wonder if any of the aftermarket forged axle people have ever tried it.
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