Am putting a dropped beam under a Full F. 34 PU. Am concerned about tire/ fender clearance. I know this has been done 100's of times (cars pretty much the same). Here are my options, drop my orig. (king pin to king pin 48.5 inches) or SoCal makes a forged after market one at 47 inches. Would also like to use disc brakes. Would appreciate suggestions from those of you that have done this. What axle width, and wheel/ tire combo's have worked for you. Appreciate your help.
Not to start a s-storm, but I think the Speedway catalog has some axle width recommendations, based on model year. Where you buy it is not in my recommendation!
I can get you the info on the set up (axle width and tire size) under this Deuce pickup later today if you like the look/stance.
Baron - yes that would be appreciated. From the pic, looks to have adequate tire /fender clearance. Is truck running disc brakes? Thanks
The reason that 1" narrower axles were developed was because disc brakes move the wheels outboard. Unfortunately when they made narrower axles they took it out of the middle and this requires a narrower spring. I have often wondered why they went this route instead of making a disc brake kit that would leave the wheels in the stock location. My thought is that putting a spacer on the spindle and using a complete rotor/hub of the shelf was the easy way. If you can find an early Super Bell kit that has proprietary hubs and uses 68-72 Mustang rotors and calipers I think that they are a little bit narrower.
Flip: I bought a Socal axle last time around. Competitive price for a forged axle. I'd give them a call and let them walk you through the whole deal. Tim
Just got off the phone with Mike. Axle is one of the narrow 46 inch ones(not even sure if they are still available, not that you'd want one anyway). Running 56 F100 front brakes, and the tires are 205/75-15's on a 5 inch wheel(custom off-set to move them out 3/4" to make up for the narrow axle). Probably not much help other than tire size. I second the So-Cal dropped I-beams. Had them on a 1/2 dozen of my cars. Excellent product(s).
You have the stock axle? I dropped my stock '32 truck axle 4".....reverse eye and removed several leaves..........w/drum brakes. Rides fine.
To start with, if your stock axle is 48 1/2 " kingpin to kingpin, it is not for a 1934 Ford. 1934 fords has a axle with a measurement of 50 1/2" kingpin to kingpin. What you have is a axle from a 1937-1941 Ford which has a kingpin to kingpin length of 48 1/2 " . This axle can be dropped ending in a kingpin to kingpin length from 46 1/2" to 48 1/2 '. I would recommend having yours dropped and stretched to maintain the 48 1/2" length.
Baron- Thanks for the leg work. Sounds as if that offset would pretty much equal a 47 in axle. Just not sure how much the disc brakes widen the track, but good advice to connect SoCal. They could probably answer that for me, 2935 - thanks for your input. Yes I have an orig. axle, getting it dropped gets it to about 48.5 inches, disc brakes pushes it a little wider than drum so concern about tire/fender clearance with this setup. Regarding the ride, was wondering what effect the narrower axle/shorter spring might have on it. Was hoping to hear from some one regarding the fender clearance when running a dropped orginal with disc brakes. Again thanks for your input.
Caddy - I must not of explained it correctly. What I meant was after the original 34 is dropped 4 inches, I was told the kingpin to kingpin would be very close to 48.5 inches. Hopefully that clears it up. Thanks
You could also go the 37-41 route and have it dropped and end up with 46 1/2" Kingpin to Kingpin. This axle uses a 38 1/2 " spring which could cause problems with your bones hitting the tires. The disc brake setup would probably move the wheels out far enough to clear the bones. The longer spring length will provide a better ride. Posie makes a spring for this application. You would also need 1/4" spacers to use your bones.
Get on touch with okie joes in Oklahoma, I think his typical drop is an inch narrower than original or it can be stretch dropped to maintain original axle width. His website is shows some examples of the different drops on axles too.
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