Projects '23 Model T Gow Job - AKA: Sand Creek Special

Narrowing in on some of the last parts for the rear axle build. Found a set of '26-'27 brake shoes, they just need new Linings which are available.



My blaster worked fast----WOW, same day turn around....he's going on vacation so he wanted to get it done. I knew / know there is still work to do, I just wanted to see how much. The back panel is toast on the bottom. I knew it was bad, but blasting showed me how bad. A little on the drivers side lower cowl--again, i knew about it. Nice to have clean metal to work with though----I'll see if I can get it in some Etch prime tomorrow

 

Making stuff........where there's a will, there's a way

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Where would we be without a little creation? I'd be lost!! I do not know what it is, but's looking good!
Be safe, have fun!

 

I do get the one eyed comments on occasion using my brake lathe as a metal lathe. But hey, you got to use what you have sometimes. And the truth is, the finished products came out decent and once again, I gained more knowledge on what I can and can't do.

So my experience 10 years ago building the T rear axle for my stock pickup left some, "I know it could be better" thoughts in my head. One of the things rarely discussed in T land is of bent axle housings. Some people know about it and don't have the means to correct it (me, 10 years ago), choose to ignore it and slam it together (Also me 10 years ago), or move forward to actually correct the issues.

Knowing what I know from building rear axles of off topic cars for years, that one T axle build, and the fact I have spent the last year narrowing "modern" rear axle housings for muscle-cars, I decided to do something about it.

Obviously narrowing rear axles, I already own an alignment bar and the knowledge of what goes on with axle alignment and correcting it. What I needed was a set of alignment pucks to fit a T axle. I tried reaching out to a handful of people, and was met with "I cant fit it in right now" or a little sticker shock to do the job--not that it was unreasonable, because time is money. A little dejected, that all actually turned into a blessing, and you'll see why.

As a good friend who tried to help, and I measured the bearing bore in my housings (2.213") and looked at the aluminum tubing I had purchased, things soon played out. Because the 2.250" x .375" wall tubing isn't made to be accurate on the ID, we discovered the center hole was off by about .039" to one side. Well, if your following the math so far, you'll notice I needed to turn the actual size of 2.252" - 2.213" needed----.039" to remove. So theoretically the tubing should clean up all around even, using the center hole to register it, even though the center is offset some from manufacturing.

So my friends lathe did not have the proper attachments to do what we needed. My brake lathe however, has a 1" shaft so theoretically it fits....and it did. So I quickly realized I could not fit a 9" long piece of material on the lathe shaft, and cut it all at once. I cut 1.5" off (the width I wanted my adapter pucks) and refitted the remaining tubing and proceeded to whittle away-----which is the pic in my above post. It also still necessitated me flipping the material over to finish the cut on both sides as the reach of the bar could not get to the end of the material





So I then, took the lone 1.5" wide piece I cut and started to whittle that down, and realized working with the smaller piece was more advantageous to me. After I got it to my desired 2.213" size, I soon discovered the bores in the T housing are not very concentric. Back on the lathe, on and off a few more times to sneak up on the size I needed, and found that 2.205" made for a decent slip fit in the housings....at least in these housings. This is where I was glad I was able to do these because if I had them made by someone else, they would have not fit.





After getting that one to fit, I "simply" made another, these were for the inside bearing bores. I might have made them another thousandth or two bigger, but its a compromise of fitting the bore well and not pressing in where I couldn't get them back out easily. So it is what it is.




You would "think" that the outer bearing bores would be the same. And yes, by measurement they were indeed. However, having a finished puck in my hand again said otherwise. They fit, but they were on the tight side. So I decided to turn the second set a bit smaller so they act more of a Go - No Go gauge. I think I made these about .008" smaller....by this time, all the math was starting to blend in. But I achieved what I wanted, and put a nice bevel on the ends to all ow me to see easily where if at all they would hit first before entering the housing.




I bought some pre made bronze flange bushings, to reduce the 1.5" ID down to 1.25" ID. The reason being I'd like to get a new bar that is 1.5" to stiffen things up for my modern axle builds when I narrow them. At 65" long, a 1.25" 1018 cold rolled bar can still move a bit when welding axle ends back on to those housings. So I can use these bushings for now and pop them out when I get a bigger bar down the road and open up all my other alignment pucks to 1.5" ID.




On to my axle work stand / jig , I set it up, slid my alignment bar in and see if the end pucks slid in. They did! Amazingly as this axle was well used and abused and left for dead outside. I will admit the drivers side puck didn't quite slide in. While trying to see where it hit and moving the bar slightly and it slid right in. Rotating the axle on the stand so the slop in all this moved to a different point also yielded the same result of it sliding in with ease. So, will I mess with that one side and maybe correct it? I'm not sure, it seems pretty good and this is far more accuracy than almost any T axle build gets in it's life. The way a T axle is set up, there is some forgiveness in their design, and as one friend pointed out today, I may just end up chasing my tail for the accuracy of .010" - .020". He's probably right. Now I need to find time to pull my pickup axle back apart and straighten those housings, as I know the one side is tweaked as evident by how the outer bearing goes in with some resistance.

 

I love it! I thought there was a story behind what you were turning. Very well documented! This is what I like..... Making the old gray matter stretch a little and doing it yourself. Looks like the brake lathe got what you needed!

 

Thank You very much. I appreciate all the feedback.
Sometimes we have to step back before moving forward, this was a perfect example for me, if you knew what led to all of this within the past week.

 

Back in the day the rivets were popped in the outer forgings and that top hole that the spring shackle attached to at 12:00 was turned to 3:00 or 9:00 so you could lower the car a good 3-4 inches. With your alignment bar, a cutoff saw and some god MIG or TIG welding and you never have to fool with rivets.

Bob

 

That is very true Bob. Obviously on my build I've already handled that, plus that would make running the Rocky Mountain Brakes almost impossible---for my application anyhow. But still a good thought and I'd be happy to offer that service if someone was local and wanted that. As I've said I started narrowing later housings last year and have done 15-16 so far and learned a whole bunch doing them.

 

Any updates?

 

Unfortunately no. Between day job and being in demand for working on other peoples projects after work has led me with very little time. I look at my engine - short block - on the stand almost daily, hoping one day to complete it. My friend has started to work on his again which is giving me some motivation, but my work load dictates otherwise....when did it become that people don't build their own cars anymore? I love the money, but geez.

 

I found that 15 minutes a day, doing something however small, keeps me going forward.

 

guitarguy, Hope you get some time for yourself soon! I am looking forward to see your next step!

@Wayne67vert I tried your 15 min. thing, so far working!

 

I am going top try and sneak in some type of work......September has alot of vacation time at home so maybe just maybe I can pull something off.