Technical 1932 Pickup Rebuild Thread UPDATED 1/11/16

As in Tony Nancy drag racer, trimmer and hot rod builder. It was an AMC powered deuce roadster.

 

it's morning already


I'm soaking this thread up with a sponge...you and NealinCal should join forces and write a '32 book like the Tardel/Bishop AV8 book.

 

'32 Dropped Axle Set Up – Part 1


To get started I first set up some saw horses and mocked up the axle, wishbone and spring perches.


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Here are the the 1932 – 1934 spindles washed and ready to work with.


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Before the heating and bending of the steering arms to fit the dropped axle some preparation is necessary. Since I will be using Lincoln Bendix brakes the tops of the spindles will need to be clearanced to fit them. In the pictures below you can see that originally the tops of the spindles are round. To fit either original or aftermarket Lincoln brake plates the tops must be ground flat. I do this on a 16” grinding wheel and it takes a couple of minutes each. If you are using the Ford/Lockheed hydraulic brakes this step is not necessary. I usually do it any way in case the customer ever wants to upgrade to Bendix brakes down the road. That way it won't be necessary to remove the spindles from the vehicle,, modify them, repaint them, etc. Saves a lot of potential future BS.


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After the spindles are clearanced I bead blast them back to clean, shiny steel. It's not that I care about ruining the old paint with the torch, mostly it's that I don't enjoy inhaling burning paint fumes. I also don't like working on dirty or rusty parts, especially when I have the capability of cleaning them easily.


Also note that I do not remove the old bushings. Always leave the old bushings in place during the heating and bending process because it doesn't matter if they get destroyed. If you put new bushings before hand you'll be replacing them with another new set after, so don't bother. In cases where the spindles I'm working with are missing a bushing or two, don't have any at all or the existing ones are beyond sloppy I keep a set of used ones on the shelf that can be installed for the heating and bending process. I also have a pair of setup kingpins that I keep on the shelf for mocking up while things are hot.


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I have a pair of 1/4” steel plates that I made to bolt to the spindles for mounting in the bench vise.


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I wish that I could have taken some pictures of the actual heating and bending process but holding a lit torch in one hand and giant crescent wrench in the other doesn't leave any free hands to operate a camera. As far as the heating and bending goes, evenly preheat the entire steering arm that you are going to work on. Don't take the torch to a cold arm and immediately concentrate the heat on the spot where you want to make a bend. I preheat the arm until the whole arm takes on an even golden/blue/purple tint. Also, never quench the hot arms with water, oil or anything else. When you are done bending the arms set the spindles aside and let them self-cool until they are back to room temperature.

Here the drivers side lower arm has been heated and bent to its new shape. Basically, the arm is first drawn toward the spindle just outside of the kingpin bushing boss, then back outward at the middle of the arm creating an “S”. The arm is also lowered to restore the tierod position to just above the wishbone. I don't have any kind of a fixture or jig to determine the positioning during bending, I simply free-hand it. I've done enough of these over the years that I can eyeball the bends and usually get damn close on the first try. Sometimes I even nail it right off the bat! I do place a straight edge across the vise mounting plate and make sure that the tierod hole is the same distance from the straight edge as when I started.


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In the following photo you can see how when the spindle is fully turned the crook of the S-bend fits around the end of the axle. This is actually more articulation than the spindle stop nuts will allow.


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Here, the unmodified arm of the passenger side spindle clearly shows the interference that occurs with a dropped axle.


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To gauge when the spindle arms have been dropped the proper amount I lay a piece of bar stock across the wishbone. When the bar can lay on both the wishbone and tierod pad on the spindle arms without any gaps, the arms are at the correct height. Setting the arms to this height actually places the tierod slightly higher (relative to the wishbone) than stock. There is a reason for this and I will explain why in a later picture and caption.


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After both lower spindle arms have been properly modified I turn my attention to the drivers side upper arm for the drag link. Before bending the arm I made a pattern of the shape of the axle out of welding rod. I then heat and bend the arm to follow the pattern. Lastly, the arm is heated just outside of the drag link mounting pad and the pad is tilted back up so that it is at the same same angle as the top of the spindle like stock.


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At this point the spindle arm modifications are complete. The spindles will be left mocked up on the axle to self-cool and I will move on to the next step.

 

The HAMB needs more of these kinds of tech. posts. Great job with the pics and text, this takes 99% if not all of the questions out of this early hotrod mod, thanks for taking the time to document...good stuff.

 

Great stuff.

 

'32 Dropped Axle Set Up – Part 2


With the spindle arms finished I will now turn my attention to the tierod. When setting up dropped axle assemblies for 1932 – 1934 (and Model A) we always use the original, early tierod. It's not that there is necessarily any performance advantage over the 1935 – 1948 ball joint style tierods, we just think the early ones look bitchin'! When properly set up they work bitchin', too!


I started by disassembling my original tie rod and washing all the individual parts. At this point inspect the inner cups and cupped portion of the outer plugs for excessive wear. Most of the time they are thrashed and should be replaced. Thankfully, good rebuild kits are readily available. In my case, the inner cups and outer plugs were worn out so they went into the scrap metal bucket. Below are the original tierod end housings and clamp bolts/nuts.


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Model A and early '32 tierod housings use press-in grease fittings. New ones are available but the problem with the press-in fittings is that they do not have internal check balls to keep the grease from oozing back out. To remedy this I drilled the grease fitting holes to 11/32” and then tapped the holes to 1/8-27 tapered pipe threads for screw-in fittings with internal check balls like late 1932 – 1934.


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The tierod housings, clamp bolts, castle nuts that hold the tierod ball studs in the spindle arms and tierod seal support cups were bead blasted. All the threads were chased, too. Every time I use original hardware I chase the threads. There's nothing more frustrating than hardware that won't screw together. Especially when everything is painted nice and I'm trying to do final assembly. Original Ford hardware is not hardened so always use thread cutting oil when chasing threads to prevent galling.


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At some point in the last 20 years of storage the tie rod got bent. After about 15 minutes and some patience it's nice and straight again.


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Typically when an axle gets dropped it also gets narrower. (There are some services that do a stretch-drop that keeps the axle the stock width. Some people like that, I'm not one of them.) With the axle a couple of inches narrower that means that the original tierod is going to be too long. To remedy this I saw 1” off of each end of the tierod.


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I then draw a mark 1” inward from the ends of the original threads.


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Using 11/16” - 24 left and right hand dies I cut new threads to the marks I made.


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At this point the set up of the tie rod parts is complete. Since I'm going to have the rod powder coated I didn't bother bead blasting it. I simply wire brushed the ends where I needed to cut threads.

 

'32 Dropped Front Axle Set Up – Part 3


Next I will be addressing the spring perches and lower shock mounts which I purchased new from Speedway. They are forged steel and look to be of very good quality, especially for $40 and $30 a pair. To be honest, I don't have a lot of experience with aftermarket spring perches and lower shocks mounts. Virtually everything we work on or build has used original perches and lever shocks. Since I plan to put a ton of miles on this truck and want to use it to haul stuff like a truck should I wanted to use tube shocks.


Below is one of the new spring perches from Speedway. In this picture is something I absolutely can't stand seeing on traditional hot rods or stock-style vintage Fords – nyloc nuts. I absolutely HATE them. I don't know what it is exactly that causes me such disdain but I can't help it.


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For me, part of building a hot rod is sweating the details and sticking to a consistent them. All of the original Ford front axle hardware uses castle nuts with cotter pins. I really, really hate seeing original hardware with a random sprinkling of nyloc nuts. Below is the new perch, lower shock mount, a restored rear axle/hub castle nut and a new hardened rear axle/hub washer.


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The axle/hub washer is a perfect fit down in the pocket of the shock mount. The only thing I had to do was chamfer the edge that goes against the shock mount because the corner down in the mount is radiused.


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After getting a measurement of where to put the hole I cross-drilled the spring perch with a #29 bit. I also trimmed 1/4” off of the bottom of the perch so they didn't stick out past the nut excessively. The result is an original looking castle nut and cotter pin and no more ugly nyloc.


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Moving right along, I rummaged through our original nut bin, found two nice matching 1/2” castle nuts and restored them. I installed the new SoCal shocks onto the mounts, measured where to put the hole and cross drilled the mounts with a #29 drill bit. More original castle nut and cotter pin goodness, no more crappy nyloc's.


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'32 Dropped Axle Set Up – Part 4


After completing the tierod, spring perch and lower shock mount set up the spindles had fully cooled. I removed them from the axle and bead blasted them again to remove all the discoloration and scale from the heating and bending process. Ordinarily, I would remove the old bushings before re-blasting so that I could also make the bushing bores nice and clean then I would install the new bushings and take the spindles to have the bushings honed. I held off on removing the bushings so I could mock up the axle assembly for these pictures and so that my Dad can have a look when we get back to work tomorrow morning.


Deciding this was a good stopping point for the day I mocked everything up and took pictures.


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To elaborate further on why I set the tierod height slightly above stock is shown in the picture below. Because the dropped axle is narrower more of the tierod end crosses over the top of the wishbone than originally. The tierod must be set slightly higher so that the head of the tierod end clamp bolt does not hit the wishbone at full lock. Here you can see that it passes over top with a little room to spare.


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Not bad for 5.5 hours work. In coming installments I will address the modified kingpins with Torrington bearings, installing the brake plates and setting up the spring. Stay tuned!

 

This is some if not the best tech. text and GREAT pics ever posted here, again thanks

I agree on the nylocks, castle nuts all the way.

 

Just as we would expect, nothing but the best work in this build!

 

Wow, super good tech article!!

 

Best tech ever. Especially since that's exactly the same set up I'm planning to use, I even got your kingpin and spacer kit a couple years ago : excellent quality parts.

 

I'm loving this stuff. You just made me even more glad that I buy up all the '28-'34 tie rod ends I find at all the swap meets that I can find. Of course, I buy up whatever else early Ford stuff I come across too.. Love original Henry stuff.

 

So, that's where all the tie rod housing are hiding. We're actually running low on good originals so in most cases I use reproductions and save the gennie parts for the customers who demand them. Now, maybe if I actually hit a swap meet once in a while I could have a stock pile of tierod parts too!

 

What are you going to run for upper shock mounts?

Beautiful work on the steering arms. I bent mine down then back up to clear the axle, then built a new tie rod for corrected length. You way would have been much less work for the same result..

 

Cool.
Al.

 

Dennis. You may want to tell the masses why you are running the lower shock mounts pointing inward. I know why, but this is your thread.

 

Great work.

 

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to use for upper shock mounts. We have a pair of nice original F1 mounts that I might use or I might build my own. I'm going to wait until I get the front axle assembly installed then I can do some mock ups and decide at that time.

 

Good point, Danny!

In case anyone was wondering, I have the lower shock mounts installed inboard of the spring perches for a reason. Look at the picture below and imagine what would happen if the shock mount was reversed. The shock would be right in front of the upper steering arm. Not good!

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Luckily a '32 frame is narrow enough that you can run the shock mounts inboard and still have them tip-in adequately at the top. Years ago we built a '32 5-Window for a customer that had a stock front axle assembly under it. At first it had rebuilt original shocks that worked beautifully. The owner wasn't satisfied with the ride and handling so he insisted we install tube shocks on the car. I put Pete & Jake's spring perches, lower mounts and shocks then designed some upper mounts that bolted to existing holes in the frame. I ran the lower mounts inboard on that car (with fenders too) and it worked out just fine. Naturally, without fenders you have even more freedom with how the top mount is positioned so I'm not worried about it for this project.

 

Aren't the rods hollow with a plug in the end? Did you cut through the plug?

 

Yes, '32 - '34 tierods are hollow and a tapered 2" long plug gets driven into the end. I did cut through the plug. The rods are thick wall and despite the plug not running the full length under the 2" threaded portion after cutting the ends of the rod down it does not seem to affect the end housings ability to clamp tight onto the rod. Every once and a while you get a plug that won't stay tight in the rod after cutting through it. In those cases I thread the inside of the rod 7/16" and install a Grade 8 bolt with thread locker, cut the bolt head off and sand flush with the end of the rod.

Model A tierods are solid 11/16" bar and so are the reproduction tierods we get from MAC's. Model A bars are the same length as '32 - '34. Either versions works just as well as the other. Since we have a limited stock of original tierods these days most of the time I use the solid reproductions with original or reproduction end housings. Most customers aren't that picky but the ones that are get original parts.

 

'32 Dropped Front Axle Set Up - Part 5

Today on my lunch hour I addressed fitting the Torrington spindle bearings. The special kingpin kits that we package and sell for '32 - '36 (Part # SKK-3111) start out as typical '37-'41 kits and include all of the usual components like new bushings, kingpin lock studs, spindle stop nuts and felt upper washers/metal felt caps. What makes the kit special is that it includes kingpins that have been shortened 1/2" and the Torrington bearings. This eliminates the large round mechanical brake knobs from the tops of the spindles when hydraulic brakes are used.

Shown below are the shortened pins next to a stock length pin and a Torrington bearing with its upper and lower hardened race washers.

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The ends of the axle need to be prepared for the bearings. First, I flip the axle upside down and lightly run a mill file over the bottom surface of the kingpin boss. The idea here is not to remove a bunch of material, just to knock down any burrs or other irregularities that may be present and give the bearings a truly flat surface to bear against. Be very careful to apply pressure on the the file lightly and evenly. You want to make sure that the bottom surface of the boss stays square to the bore.

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Once the bottom surfaces are dressed I turn the axle right side up. At this time install the spindle and kingpin so that the pin is through the upper spindle bushing and to the bottom of the axle bore without protruding below it. Take two hardened washers and one bearing and stack them with the bearing between the washers. Try and insert the bearing stack between the lower spindle kingpin boss and the the axle kingpin boss. The bearing stack must be an easy slip-fit between the spindle and axle. If it is a tight fit or won't fit at all the top surface of the axle kingpin boss will need to be relieved. The reason the upper surface is relieved is because the spindle never bears against it so it does not matter if that surface is perfect or perfectly square to the kingpin bore. The amount of relief will vary from axle to axle due to wear and/or production tolerances. Once in a while I will come across an axle that needs no relieving for the bearing to fit. Relieve the upper kingpin boss surface a little at a time and repeatedly mount the spindle and check the bearing fit.

In the picture below the top of the axle kingpin boss has been relieved. In this case I used an air powered disc sander to make quick work of it and being careful to remove material as evenly as possible. A mill file can also be used, it just takes longer depending on the amount of material needing to be removed to allow the bearing to fit.

(*Note: If you are painting (with thick paint) or powder coating your axle the upper and lower axle boss surfaces must be masked or the paint build up will cause the bearings to no longer fit. Likewise, if thick paint or powder coating is being applied to the spindles the flat area of the lower spindle boss that the other side of the bearing bears against must be masked and just a thin layer of paint applied to prevent rust. If you are painting your parts with a few coats of typical spray paint this should not have an adverse effect on the fit of the bearings.)

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Once the bottom surface of the kingpin boss is dressed and the upper kingpin boss is sanded or filed adequately the installed bearing will look like this:

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(*Note: In the photos above I am still using my mock up kingpins and the spindles still have their old bushings installed. The bearing fitting process can also be done after the new bushings have been installed and honed to fit the new kingpins.)

After I finished fitting the bearings I removed the old bushings from the spindles, bead blasted the bores clean and installed the new bushings.

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Be sure that when the bushings are installed that they do protrude above the bore or they will interfere with the bearings.

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At this point the spindles are now ready to go to a local machinist so that the bushings can be honed to fit the new kingpins. The bushings can also be reamed by hand and there is a special reamer set specifically for Ford spindles to ensure the upper and lower bushings get reamed in perfect alignment. For years I did it by hand (and still can if I absolutely had to) and one day while doing a set of spindles I said "This is bullshit!" and found a good local machinist. If your only doing one set of spindles every once in a while for yourself, hand reaming is fine. If your doing it on a routine repetitive basis like me reaming by hand gets old, fast!

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If you are local to Covina, California and need a really good machinist for bushing honing such as spindles, steering sector, pedals, etc give Bender's Automotive a call @ 626-966-1023. They are located on San Bernardino Rd. just West of Grand Ave.

More to come, stay tuned!

 

everybody who plans to assemble a front axle needs to bookmark this thread.

Dennis has taken a lot of time to share the proper steps.

thanks Dennis.

 

Great thread. Thanks Dennis!

 

'32 Dropped Axle Set Up – Part 6


Over the last few days I spent my lunch hour fixing up the spring. This spring was installed 20 years ago at the same time as the Magnum dropped axle. It is an original '32 with reversed eyes, although it still had a full pack of 11 leaves. Unless you're building a dead-nuts restored '32 Ford, having that many leaves isn't necessary considering most of the country is paved and it causes two negatives: A stiff ride and a too-tall ride height.


Below is the spring as I disassembled it. Bone dry with a fine silt of rusty dust.


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I have found through trial and error over the years that a 7 leaf spring (not including the main) seems to be the magic compromise of adequate spring rate and good ride quality for '32-'34 Ford's with 4-bangers, flatheads or other engines of similar weight, like the 283 Chevy I'm going to use. Anything less and I feel that the handling gets too spongy. Below I have segregated the 4 leaves that I will be removing from the top of the pack.


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Tired of my hands turning orange from just looking at these dirty leaves, I gave them a bath in the parts wash sink and a scrub with a wire brush. Amazing, there's black paint hiding under all of that dirt! After this I bead blasted all of the leaves.


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In most cases when the spring eyes get reversed the first leaf in the pack will be too long to fit between the eyes. My Dad had bought this spring 20 years ago already reversed and assembled. Whoever did the job cut the excess off of the first leaf without restoring the tapered shape to match the rest of the pack.


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Using another spring leaf as a pattern, I marked the first leaf for modification. Notice that the angle of the cut lines don't perfectly match. Well, that's because Ford didn't cut them even back in '32. In keeping with their quality control I made the cut lines uneven too.


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A couple of minutes with the die grinder and the leaf looks like this.


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To improve the function of the spring, make it quieter and further improve the ride quality of the truck I will now polish all of the leaves with this 5” sanding wheel with an 80-grit belt. Not only do the spring leaves have to flex as the suspension compresses and rebounds, the leaves have to slide on one another. I'm sure you've all seen “Posies” springs with the teflon slider buttons under the end of each leaf. The purpose of those is to allow the leaves to slide on each other for smoother/quieter spring function and a better ride quality. Since a modern Posies spring won't be installed on or under anything I build, I do what I can to improve the function of the originals. With some extra effort original springs can be made to work very good!


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After polishing, the spring leaves look like this. Shiny!


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For appearance sake and so the leaves don't have such an abrupt edge I put a light chamfer on each end.


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The under side of each end of all of the spring leaves gets a light chamfer as well to keep the leaves from digging into each other as they slide.


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If it doesn't already have one, the long edges of the top leaf need about a 1/8” chamfer so that the spring will fit flush against the bottom of the front frame cross member. This is needed because the inside corners of the cross member channel are radiused (because they're stamped) so a square cut edge on the top leaf will not allow the spring to seat correctly.


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The spring pack side of the main leaf also gets polished.


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At this point the spring preparation is complete and the spring is ready to paint. Later in the build when I cover final assembly of the front axle and suspension I will show how I lubricate the spring leaves.


Next week I will cover the last part of the front axle set up – mounting the front brake plates. For now I'm taking a much needed 3-day weekend and getting in some quality R&R!

 

Great work Dennis.

 

you`re doing a great job, thanx for sharing! i`m interested in the sanding drum that you used on the spring, what is it called and where did you get it?
thanx,
tom

 

I really like the way you are cleaning up the original parts and modifieding them for your build rather than calling 1-HOT-ROD-SHOP for the latest and greatest parts deal. This is the way we use to build them. Scrounge the parts and repair and modify them to our purpose. Great build been watching from the beginning, at first I was afraid you would wander off course but you stayed true. Thanks for sharing with all. Frank