I have a original 1932 frame that I am putting a 1931 roadster body on and need rear crossmember help? Do I keep the stock crossmember in and use a 1932 spring or do I cut the 32 crossmember out and replace it with a model A crossmember and spring what would be the difference in ride height? Does anyone have pics to show me the diff? Also When removing a 32 crossmember do I set the Model A crossmember in the exact location at 0 degrees or do I set it back further than the stock 32 crossmember was placed ? Help 27
I would leave the 32 rear crossmember. A 35-40 FRONT spring will fit inside with no grinding. It is a less wide spring so you can use a late rear and have clearance between the spring and the brakes. They ride really great. All the A sprun cars I have ridden in rode hard. The ride heith can be set with the position of the spring hanger on the axle. I would use 35-36 bones and set them low on the axle so they do not hit the frame rail at the kick up. This also reduces the stress on them.
Hey Andy, thanks for the heads-up on the front spring fitting the rear crossmember without modification! Maybe now I can get my brother change that coil-over crap under the back of his chopped 32 5W Coupe and get to work on it. What do you mean by "low on the axle" as far as mounting the 35-36 rear bones/spring mounts?
What's the mounting distance of the hangers on the rear end to get the proper shackle angle at ride height? How many leafs would anyone recommend to run under roadster body?
A stock 32 rear spring (when looking from above the car down to the ground) has a curve to it. And to match the curve of the spring, the spring hangers on a 32 rear end are kicked out slightly to match that curve. The rear crossmember has a curve built into it as well, so straight model a springs, and other types of springs will have difficulty fitting up into the hat channel because the channel is curved.
from my experience, you need to cut out a section of the centre , and remake it, to fit a 40 style straight spring. now i have an additional problem in australia, spring leaf stock is in Metric sizes here, so a remade main leaf is actually a little wider than original , which can of course be ground down, but the rest of the pack still fouled the curved part of the crossmember. heres a photo showing what i did. notice the centre bolt moves forward a little, you must allow for that as well, by either postioning crossmember back a little, or altering the spring perch to axle centreline length.
What do you mean by "low on the axle" as far as mounting the 35-36 rear bones/spring mounts?[/QUOTE] The stock position is with the mounting holes level with the centerline of the axle. The bones hit the frame at that higth. I like to see them moved down 2 inches. The stresses are less on the bones and the car rides lower. You can always shim up. Shim down is harder. The center bolt hole in the crossmember must be enlarged 1/4 forward.
I used Andy's advice exactly when using a 40 front spring in my stock 32 chassis...as well as doing what he and I think it was, Lowsqire said about mounting the 35/6 bones lower under the Olds rear. It all worked good. The reason for mounting the bones "lower", solved 2 problems with my 55 Olds rear. First, it made the car sit lower. Second, the Olds axle tube is bigger I.D. , and the Ford bone "yoke" would not fit around the Olds tube. I believe they also said that a lowered bone gets more travel before hitting the frame. I did have to heat one small spot on the rear crossmember on just one side (near the spring mounting U-bolts, to get the 40 spring to clear better inside the 32 x-member. I don't know why it was just one side, and I did have to do it to get the spring to end up 90 degrees to the framerails.
By using 35/36 rear bones,or 37-40 rear , with a 35-40 ..2 inch front spring or aftermarket brackets, the wheel location is maintained and will fit in stock crossmember..Using 35-40 rear ,or brackets with 32-34 spring will move rear location forward..
The low on the axle thing works like this.. see the plates welded to the axle? those are deeper than the stock ones, so the bones are sitting lower in relation to the axle, in effect lowering the rear, and providing clearance where the bones run close to the bottom of the chassis rails.
I think Myke did post some pictures of his Deuce frame build where he straitened the spring mount area slightly. Maybe he will chime in here, or search his past posts.
Hi Thread I am in Sweden,can I call you,have à question. What do you mean by put the front spring to spec's. Thanks Stefan
..The distance between your new rearend spring mounting brackets should be same distance as a stock 35-40 front axle and wishbone shackle location measurement..
To clarify...if you leave the original 32 rear crossmember, can you use a 35-40 front spring and still use the original 32 rear axle and original 32 rear bones?
What year banjo are you using? If you have a later banjo, '36 to '40, you can use the stock '36 to '40 rear spring and just grind away some metal off the front face of the spring pack until it fits inside the '32 rear crossmember. It will also retain the correct '32 wheelbase. That is the "old school" method. I did it on my '32 and it worked fine and rides really nice. You would have to reroll the spring eyes on the main leaf and take out a few of the leaves to get it low.
To add a little to this , a Model A Roadster rear spring, once eagerly sought after by all hotrod A builders, now virtually unknown, has the lower T-like configuration than the usual A springs you see laying around which have straight legs in a V look running down from the center hump. I believe that Snyder's sells this correct 28-31 Roadster rear spring for a decent price.
My roadster was done in the 50s. It runs a 35 up cross member and spring. it was bolted into the frame through the rivet holes for the original crossmember that were cut out with a torch. I welded it in. I know the crossmember and rear are 35 up but I can't say exactly what year.
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