ok so back story real quick, i have a 1940? ford banjo rear end i plan to use on my lakes roadster with a 226 flathead, i am currently overseas and can not simply take the rear apart and try it so i will ask, i want my spring in front of my rear end (mine is currently behind my rear) instead of simply cutting the perches off and welding them back on, could i just swap the axle housings? you know put the left on the right and vise versa? im not too sure on the internals of the rear but i know it is extremely simple and im not sure if there will be any clearance issues but i have looked at the diagrams of it and pictures of people taking them apart and i cant really see why it wouldnt work. but if im wrong correct me. thanks for the help in advance and merry christmas to all! thanks DRSS
awesome! thank you! i really couldnt see too many problems with it but figured i would ask to get it out of my head. again thanks
You will have to set up bearing pre load which is done by the gasket thickness on each side. This should be the same as disassembly and assembly.
When you get back to nofuk and get to work on it find somebody that knows how to set up a banjo. If you are just switching sides make sure the gasket thickness is the same as you found it. We used to do it on track Ts years ago. MMC Ret.
Someone did a pretty good tech article on rebuilding these a while back. Should be in the archive. It's not that difficult.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61502&highlight=banjo Not the one I was looking for but it should work OK for you. I was wondering about the spring in front vs spring behind set up. I know it's a common mod on modifieds but I have my spring still mounted behind. I have a wishbone set up with a ball and socket from a front wishbone. With weight on the spring I can unbolt the cap from the wishbone ball and it doesn't move. It is forced by the weight of the car upward into the centre cross member. If the spring was in front the ball would be forced downward under the weight of the car. This is just an illustration of the opposite dynamics at play here and I was wondering whether that was likely to impact handling or suspension characteristics at all. Comments?
Striper, thanks for posting that. This is something to consider depending on whether you are running a torque tube or open drive set-up.
So what do you think about it. I have an open driveline. I like that the wishbone is being pushed up into the chassis as I can see less likelihood of failure at the ball pivot but I am unsure whether there are any other pros or cons.
Don't over analyze the problem, Ford's 3 point suspension was the best in many ways and the banjo is simplicity by design, system works well w/ spring both ways, ask any old lakes racer. Just make sure ring gear is in properly.
Keep your head down and God bless. Thanks for your service and what you do. God speed sailor!! HM3 Greenlee USS Biddle CG-34 (decom)
Tdogs banjo rebuild. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=462776 There is a banjo social group with some info, but it's pretty quiet. Stay safe.
thanks for the replies and the little discussion, yes im just going to be swapping sides. guess ill to a full rebuild or possibly piece a quick change together, to put in it while i rebuild the 226..... oh how i love planning