What's a good width for a fat fendered gasser front axle? I have a 1956 Chevy 1/2 ton axle I want to use on a 41 Ford Gasser, the stock Ford axle is 48" king pin to king pin. The Chevy is 54" pin to pin should I narrow the Chevy axle? How wide is your gasser's front axle??? KJ [email protected]
Put wheels and tires on the axle ,roll it under the car and see how it looks? You want dual eliptic springs?
I don't have the 41 axle anymore! I bought the Chevy axle setup with new 3500lb trailer springs, Chevy rotors, Speedway caliper mounts and a set of Chevy calipers! 55-59 Chevy Truck Original Axle Measurements 54" Kingpin Center to Center 31-7/8" Spring Pad Center to Center 4-1/2" Factory Drop .866 dia. Kingpin 2-1/8" or 2-1/2" Kingpin Boss 37-41 Ford Car Original Axle Measurements 48-1/2" Kingpin Center to Center (top) 38-1/2" Spring perch Center to Center 2-1/4 Spring Perch Boss 2-1/8" Factory drop .8125 Kingpin dia.
I can give you a long list of good reasons to use the Ford front end parts. One of which is, the Ford spindles have a much better king pin inclination that the Chevy's, which leads to fewer problems. Just 40 years of experience speaking here.
I've used that same '55-'59 Chevy 1/2 ton axle on 5-6 different gassers, and it's an excellent choice. I don't know how it will fit your '41, but a little quick measuring will answer your questions. Measure the width of your front fenders outside to outside, and then figure out what tires and wheels you'll run on the front. It really doesn't matter much what the original width was, as you're going higher, and a narrow front axle will look weird once it's up higher. You can usually figure about 12" more width to the outside edge of the tires from kingpin centers, (with skinny front tires/wheels) so that will end up around 66" total. I don't have any data on your overall width, so you'll have to add that measurement to see if you're in the ballpark.
Check this Link: http://www.droppedaxles.com/CHEVY_AXLES.html#TXTOBJ7D8154316162C31 Think about swapping yor axle for the earlier axle 41-55 1st series. You will still have a dual spring set up........... Jeff
I've read about Pete, and know who he is. Wasn't blowing off his post, just suggesting the Chevy truck axle works. They've been used for decades in straight axle gassers and Chevy trucks. The poster said he doesn't have the original axle, so he needs some advice and help with what he's got. Hope that's OK with you?
Sometimes the best advise is to swap what you've got for what you need. But I'm not saying that's the case here. If you consider all the options, you can pick the one that's best for you. And as far as being ok with me, I was just making a suggestion like everyone else on the thread.
49-54 chevy truck axles i think is 94.5 back to back I know they are differint from 55 to 58 i used 49 axle under my 54 chevy post car> dont hold me to it but check into. buildit pondit loveit
Just didn't want you to think I was "blowing off" Pete's suggestion. I respect his vast knowledge, and history, and know he's got a lot more experience than most of us. He really doesn't need anyone to point that out, unless someone's been under a rock most of their life.
Believe me, I wasn't jumping on you. I was actually resonding to the original posters post instead of yours. It looks like you've had experience and good results using the same basic setup that the OP is thinking about. I was just suggesting that he consider a suggestion from someone else with experience. Some times you can spend a lot of time modifying stuff that worked better before you started. Been there done that. My old Anglia went 120+, straight as a string with the stock front suspension under it. As far as living under a rock, I've seen folks building "gassers" who have never heard of Chuck Finders, Don Long, Blair's Speed Shop, etc. and could care less who they are. It doesn't hurt to listen to folks with experience, even if you don't agree with what they have to say.
I guess i'm going to have to mount the springs and center it on the springs to see how much I have to chop out of the middle! I would like to keep it 48" to 49" pin to pin! I have build a couple of 50's Ford gasser's but never an older Ford! Thanks for the information!! KJ
lots of gassers were built 50 years ago by people who never heard of local california racers and shops---The state of Ohio comes to mind...
Built my first gasser in 1967, and 7-8 since then, along with a bunch of other non gasser style cars. Back when it wasn't a fad, and I'm still building them. When people see my Austin they often say, "it's neat that you're building a copy of the old gassers" But I think of it as just building another one again. I've always enjoyed the building part of having a gasser as much as the owning/driving part. Guess that's why I'm deep in the middle of another gasser style car now. They're just my kind of car, whether they're in style or not. Nobody will ever know of me. Just a guy who enjoys building cars for himself.