~Okie Adams~ dropped axle =Q=

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okie Adams Axle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Anybody on here ever see one / got one / got a photo ???
Searched a couple ways but nothing.
I know the Baskerville’s roadster has one and there from Blairs S.S.

 

Blairs Speed Shop sold me a Mor-Drop. But that was in 1958.

 

When I saw him June of last year someone asked about any of his old axles and he said maybe P Wood or Eric Vaughn might know where some have ended up

 

Thanks
I will ask him if I see him at the show.

 

in case you hadn't heard, Okie was killed in a fire, november '07.

i couldnt tell if you knew based on your last reply.

 

I believe I have an Okie Adams axle on my Deuce I'll post a photo tomorrow . In fact if you click on the Limeworks link below you'll see it coming at you in color !!

 

I have 2 pics of an Okie Axle:

 

The info I got is wrong then , that's way more S shape than mine, Nice piece of history you have there Kris.

 

Got one.
From an old lakes roadster.
Would really appreciate if someone with the knowledge would put up some info on old Okies.
Not that known around like Mor-Drops and Dagos.


Paul

 

I have a Oakie Adams axle on my 31 coupe

 

Okie Adams?

 

I have a good friend that has one in Buena Park he was aked to bring it to the roadster show and he was getting 2500 for it word is only 100 were ever made last I heard was he still has axle guy passed on it.

 

I have been offered a new dropped axle for mine plus cash. i dont want to sell however

 

This axle was given to me a few months ago. I think it could be an Okie axle but I'm not sure,. I talked to an Okie Adams axle expert at the LARS swapmeet today and I asked him if they were all stamped. He said no. I asked him if they were all made from 32 heavy axles and he said no. He said one easy way to identify them is that they are wider between the perch pin hole and kingpin hole than stock. He also said someone faked some a couple of years ago but they used the wrong punches. Aaron Von Minden has an old stamped one under his 34 coupe. Here are some pics of mine. Can someone measure a stock 32 heavy axle kingpin center to kingpin center and post the measurement? The guy I got this from had it for over 30 years. It's a 32 heavy axle, it has a little rust pitting.

 

Didn't hear that Okie Died in a Fire.

He used to make those AXLES 1ST @ Cook's Machine Works-Cyclone Racing Equipment. He was one of our Machinsts and would drop by time to time with one of his Killer Banjo's.

Front Axles weren't the only thing that Okie made. He also made Low Buck Quickies Much like the Bart Built units that used a stocker housing.
He later went to work for Don Blair.

He used the stamps that I have here with me. He I.D.'d them when I dusted them off. The person to inquire with regarding the validity of it being a fake or a real Okie would be Dick Wade from West L.A.

He's a wealth of information when it comes to this stuff.
Look in the Last Hop Up Annual and you'll see his 2 deuces, but the stories are kinda mixed per Dick.

 

i have never heard of these axles till now, but gotta say holy moses are they cool lookin!

 

Do you think there would be any chance to get him to chime in here with some info?
Do you know him Kevin.

Mine is not stamped as far as I have seen but it is wide between the holes.

Paul

 

plan9
Yes I knew that (it’s very sad anyone died)
I was referring to p wood

 

Some stuff I was told
(Pete Eastwood said) “most of them are in privet collections and are highly prized and rarely change hands.
Only about one hundred or so were made.
They are made by cutting off the king pin boss then the rest of the beam on the end just outside the perch boss got chopped off. Then a new forged S shaped end welded on and the king pin boss got welded back on.
Not all are stamped / marked. The ones that are say Okie and some say Adams”


This info was confirmed by a few other guys I talked to (except for the “forged part&#8221


I suspect the ad on ends were simply flame cut plate.
I did find the one referred to above that was coming to the swap for $2500 and got some pic’s of it.
It appears to have started out as a standard 32 to 36 axle
From the looks of the others here it appears the shape of the ends evolved .
Here’s the one I saw

$2500 was a bit much for me

 

very interesting

I know mine was done around 1959

the original builder of my truck said it was one part he was NOT happy with

I always wondered why mine looked to be cut and welded....and often wondered if its safe

cool to know thats how they were made.

still not sure if mines Okie or not....but the fact that they were welded makes me alittle more confident

good info man

if you get the contact info on the authority on them P.M me

 

BTT (this tread isn’t over and it’s more interesting than the Stockton Wheel one )


What do you all think of the safety factor here ?

And what would you think of a axle that has welds in it
say inside the spring perches with one piece ends?

 

DONE PROPERLY, I don't see a problem.
Look at how some tube axles are made,not much different.

If there was a safety problem with Okie Adams axles,
people would have figured it out by now.

 

loudpedal has a real one, i have the Orig. drawings that okie did, i know his son.. and im pickin up an okie axle soon, some axles posted on here are NOT okie axles just filled dropped axles...

 

Boy is this confusing! One photo on this tread shows Okie's stamp on the filled end, while another poster says they were stamped on the web. The "S" shape may be a key. I know that Zimmer sold a nice filled axle in the 50's that had a nice smooth shape that wasn't quite as abrupt as the photo of the stamped axle on this thread shows. Kind of like a treasure hunt, you've got to have a "providence" so I suppose photos of two axles with the same shape and stamp location would be definitive.

 

Here are a couple shots of mine finally on my 34.. It was Great to find one. It Fits my car well

Aaron

 

The more I learn about this I'm more and more possitive mine is NOT an Okie axle.
Would be cool if you could give us some more info if you have.

Paul

 

I'm pretty sure I have one on my roadster, I heard these are welded together. My responce to that is Gray Baskerville drove on one for over 30 years daily.

heres a picture of my hot rod right after I pulled it out of the barn it sat in for 36 years:

 

Paul
To me your’s looks a lot like one I did some repairs on recently.
It was a filled 33 -36 and the ends of it (out side the perch boss’s) had
1 ¾'' more material than A stocker. I can only assume whoever did it sectioned on ends from a second axle before filling it.
Iv stretched one that far before just to see if I could do it and the effected area was getting thin. (unlike yours and the one I straitened)

 

Alot of good info on this thread. Still not sure if mine is a Okie Adams or not. Too 31 Whitey and AV8-rider...man my axle looks EXACTLY like your axles.

 

Anyone know if this is a okie adams i couldnt find any marking but looks very much like his. It has been touched before as you can see someone started drilling. i know the picture is crappy but i will try and get another one. thanks guys