I have been told that there is a guy in Oklahoma that can take a stock ford I-beam front axle and drop it., so the car sets lower in front. Does anyone have information about who this is? Or is it just urban legend?
Awesome. Thanks. I picked up a set of '47 running gear this weekend for $100 bucks. Brakes, hubs, dawg leg bones ect. Dont have plans right away for them other than spares for my 31 coupe. I thought about taking the front axle and getting it dropped since I am not in a hurry to do anything with it. Any idea what dropping an Axle costs?
Sid Drapal for a 47. Great guy and great friend. “Okie Joe” which is Joe Casto does the earlier ones. www.droppedaxles.com 405-416-3080
I believe they will both exchange your axle as a core or if you want that exact axle dropped they will do that also
Do you plan on using a '47 axle in a Model A Coupe ? Model A, through 36 axles are more common for use, due to spring perch width, and the length of the area to be dropped.
I have a 47 front axle on my coupe right now. But it is not dropped. I was assuming I could drop one and bolt it right back into my Posi spring and 47 radius rods? Will that not work or be problematic? I have a Model A front Axle that I am not using. I am not really sure about doing it at all. I found another 47 front axle cheap and was thinking about having it dropped.
It will move the steering link, or links closer to the radius arm. It may be necessary to heat and bend the steering arms. This is a common task, and well documented.
Tires may hit the split bones and restrict steering to a much larger turning circle than you might like. This can even be a problem with earlier axles and split wishbones.
Since the distance from the perch to the kingpin is so much shorter on a 47 than an A axle, you can't drop them as much. And, you have clearance problems between the tire and wishbone on hard turns. I'd recommend dropping the A axle, installing it in your car, and getting a shorter main leaf for your spring. All the other parts can be used with some slight adjustments here and there.
Tires will hit the split bones. I put a bend in the mid 48's Bones on my T bucket to clear and I think that may have been part of the doesn't drive great at speed contributors. You may be able to move the back end of the bones inboard several inches with the dip in them to clear the rails but if it were me I'd ditch the late axle and swap everything over to a dropped early axle. You will have to change springs but will loose a lot of headaches in the process.
Nostalgia Sid’s (Sid Drapal) did the axle for the ‘64 pickup in my Avatar and he did a fantastic job. You can’t even tell it’s been dropped by looking at it but it came out to exactly 3” drop and my tire wear is perfectly flat which tells me he set the camber dead on.
My experience with Sid was really positive. He not only knows the axle dropping process but is helpful if and when you have any trouble with dialing-in the alignment for your particular set-up. - EM
Sid in Guthrie OK https://droppedaxles.com/ and Okie Joe is in Ponca city OK Joe's website says up to 41 axles http://www.joesspeedshop.com/joesproducts.htm Sid shows 42/48 but you are still fighting the bones being so close to the tires.
Yeah, Joe and Sid have an agreement......Joe does '28-'36 and Sid does the rest. Also as far as I know both will modify your steering arms if you send them in with your axle. Going to have to do a stretch drop if you want to stay with the same measurements as stock. BTW '37 and up axles stock are about 10" from perch to kingpin and '33-'36 are about 14".
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