trying to identify the maker of this crazy kit for some reason I vaguely recall a discussion of this on here. some years ago.. I think (early 70's / 80's) someone made a kit that allowed the installation of disc brakes on an early ford axle by cutting the stub off an early ford spindle and bolt another spindle to the remains, an adapter mounted between the two seems to hold the caliper.. somehow this screams 1975 to me.. who knows something about this setup?
1st time I remember seeing that one, is in a StreetRodder article by IIRC, Frank Oddo. Yup, AMC spindle-out parts. Easy way to upgrade to a (then) hi-po, cheap, & easy to do & get both new & used parts disc brake setup. Not so cheap n easy these days. But they worked like gangbusters. Marcus... Thanks okie, I knew the mag, just fat-fingered the title.
Did you see this: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-spindles-to-lower-42-48-ford-spindles.95117/
When I worked at a salvage yard back in the 80's, we sold a lot of amc spindles to guys building trailers because they were flat on the back and bolted on.....
There was a company that made tapered round plates. I used these for MANY camber-and-toe adjustments on trailers that had been fitted with these AMC flatback spindles...Just insert, turn until camber was set. Toe followed, infinite settings were possible. Simple geometry.
It was also a way to get “dropped spindles” in an old school way. We would off set the plates to the top so the AMC spindle was 2” higher than the ford spindles.
My 58 Rambler has those bolt on spindles which makes me believe they were used for many years after that.
In Connecticut when my brother bought a Rambler that was over 10 years old, it had to have a state inspection to get it registered. It failed, I asked the inspector why. he told me that the Ramblers had a problem with the spindle bolts breaking, the bolts were loose, and that is why it failed inspection.
I heard of using them for trailer axles. Since I'm thinking trailer axle here, just what years of AMC/Rambler would have the bolt on spindles? Lynn
1958 through the Concord years 1989. As noted their are 4 versions over the years. Lots of cheap trailer spindles out there. Bolt on replacement spindle | etrailer.com
Funny, my poor Dad hacksawed and ground the king pin bosses off of early Ford spindles to make the trailer axle for our family ski boat back in '61-62, if he had only known about the bolt on Rambler spindles..... That set-up shown looks like it really kicks the scrub radius out to never-never land. I'd rethink running that conversion if I were you. I found something similar when I pulled the front wheels off of my Model A coupe. There are better kits out there.
If all you are after is doing a trailer, there are bolt on spindles on the rear axle on old Chrysler K cars and minivans.
Hey, guys; Thanks for including the new(er) late model read dics w/bolton spindles in this convo. Reminded me of brake-sets to consider for a super-light-weight rods. Marcus...
A friend of mine did a number of those over the years. I don't figure that you were in Yakima Wa and knew Phil though. I wish my trailer had those AMC spindles rather than some early 50's Mopar spindles that were welded to the axle in a high school AG welding shop.
All 1950-83 Nash/Rambler/AMC vehicles used bolt-on spindles separate from the steering knuckle and steering arm (three pieces instead of one like most other cars). There are 3-4 variations, but the most important part is the spindle shaft that holds the bearings and hub. There are only TWO variations of that. The most common uses an A2/A6 bearing set. That would be ALL drum brake and most disc brake cars. 1975-78 models use a larger bearing set (A16/A17), all disc brakes. Those are hard to find rotors for, but if using for a trailer you don't need good brake rotors (unless using disc brakes, and the rotor can be turned off and a hat type used). The other dimension that is variable is the thickness of the base where it bolts to the steering knuckle. There are at least three -- narrow drums, wide drums, and disc. The thickness was different due to the offset needed for the brakes. The big bearing spindle may be a different thickness than the others as well, so could be four variations. For a trailer none of this matters, of course! I've made a couple trailers with parts car spindles, just because I had them on hand from cars that were going to the scrapper. It's easier to just buy a Northern Tool axle and hubs -- what I did for the last trailer I made. Probably cheaper than buying a length of pipe and AMC/Rambler hubs -- unless you just happen to have the needed pieces on hand.
1980 - 85 Chevy Citation also had flat back bolt on spindles with sealed bearings. I built several low deck trailers using those.
I used AMC Hornet spindles / discs when I built my '33 Willys in the early '80s and it has given me good service. True, it does kick the scrub radius out - maybe up to an inch - but I used skinny wheels with narrow tires and the increased scrub radius is not a problem even with manual Vega steering. It drives well on the strip and street. What was a problem early on was the phenolic disc pistons, which swelled up and seized in the caliper bores. I replaced them with stainless aftermarket units that were commonly available at NAPA etc.
I put disc brakes on my 36 5 window in the early 80's using AMC bolt on spindles and a template for the weld on caliper brackets that I am pretty sure I cut out of a hot rod magazine how-to section.
Pictures in here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-ford-spindles-with-gm-snout.1088136/
Look what I found way back in a cubby hole under the old workbench my Dad made for me when I bought my first house. One of his early Ford spindles, hand hacksawed for his home built boat trailer.
The Jalopy Journal
