Call me crazy, I am fitting mechanical wide fives to my A project. I have a complete 35 wide five mechanical brake setup with spindles. Will the model A spindles work? This way I can keep all the model a steering bits that I already have. Or should I stay with the 35 spindles and get one of those bolt on steering arms and 35 style tie rods ? I'll pot Some pics on the progress Thanks in advance TBone
Well the spindle fits the backing plate. Comparing the spindles side to side it looks like I might need to run a spacer on the A spindle to properly locate the inner bearing Sent from my SCH-I545 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well I hate to give up but I don't think I can get the A spindles to work with the 35 Wide Five Brakes. The A spindle doesn't sit far enough down into the hub and drags on the grease seal and is not fully seated into the inner bearing. This pic is with the 35 spindle bolted in Pic of A spindle bolted into hub - Notice castle nut is pretty much flush with end of spindle At this point it looks like I need about 1/4 of extra clearance on the A Spindle. That's when I noticed the dust seal bottoming out on the inner grease seal of the wide five hub. After a close exam of the A spindle it looks like it was just pressed on. So armed with my trust hammer and chisel I knocked it right off At this point I gave it another test fit and indeed it fit further into the hub and now the large diameter base bottomed out on the inner grease seal. Not only that the inner bearing still wasn't fully supported. At this point contemplated on machining the A spindle to get it to sit further in but the figured I would need to machine the drum and possibly the backing plate. Figured it was too much work for what it was worth and I ran the possibility of turning good parts into junk. In the end I have decided to go with the 35 spindles, I will have to heat and drop the steering arms probably about an inch to clear the wishbone. If I missed something or someone else has somehow made it work I am still open to trying, otherwise I will probably be offering up the A spindles and steering arms in the near future
Just in case you did not think about how to bend the arms the same? I put the backing plates on, then transfer marks onto them, as to where the tie rod boss is, before bending. That way, you have a positive mark of where it was/how high it was, on each plate.
Great Tip thanks. I was thinking to level the chassis and measure to floor, bend then remeasure, but backing plate method seems easier.
Just a minor correction. The '35s were wire wheels, 5 on 5 1/2. You probably meant '36, am I correct? Charlie Stephens
Hi Charlie, thanks for the correction. I am not an expert on the wide five, I had 35 in my head for some reason, I have updated the title
Looks like you're using a '33-'34 front axle. Place the kingpin thrust bearing under the axle kingpin boss and above the bottom kingpin spindle bushing as per '35 to '48 installations. If you insist on using the "A" kingpin, you will have to grind a new locking pin notch in the kingpin. By doing it this way, you will not need to bend the steering arm for tie-rod clearance under the wishbone.
The 1936 is definitely something I know very little about. Fordbarn might be a good place to ask. I seem to remember that the 1936 was a one year only deal with a longer snout on the hub. Going to a 1937-39 hub might help, but as I said I know almost nothing about the 1936. Charlie Stephens
'36 spindles are set-up for the thrust bearing on top, the thrust bearing located under the axle wasn't used until '37.
I'm working on fitting 36 wide five drums to 32 spindles. Basically the same project you are doing... They sell a spacer that is basically a valve seat that you slide onto the Model A spindle and then the innter bearing. It spaces the inner bearing out away from the spindle, and supports the Brake drum. It sort of looks like the spacer is on that bottom spindle... It looks stepped where the top spindle doesn't have that step. Maybe you already have the spacer that you can pop off the bottom spindle and put on the top. But nothing wrong with using the 35 spindles either. It's all a big puzzle game.
Hey Elrod, what looks like a spacer on the lower spindle in the pic is part of the spindle itself. I need to order a bunch of odds and ends so maybe I'll add the spacer to the list and give it a whirl. I would like to keep the A steering so it's above and not below the wishbone, just my personal preference, that and I have all those parts.
Correct it's a 33/34 front axle with 33/34 perch pins. I am using the A wishbone though so maybe thats causing the need to bend the steering arms. As for the spindles I think that's the way I have it setup, will grab some pics and post up later. I don't have the 36 style tierod and ends to mount up to verify it hitting but it sure looks like it would.
Here is the little $20 kit on speedway. It's just a couple piston rings and some valve seats. http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Hydraulic-Brake-Adapter-Rings,3286.html I think Dennis Lacy says this kit is junk and he has a better kit with the right size spacer.
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