Questions about a Model A drop axle

Hey hambers-

I am still new to this kind of car building where everything is not plug and play. I have a 1930 Model A frame, a so cal front crossmember, and a superbell 4" drop front axle. I was about to put the stock A front tie rod on and it is about 3" too long (about the same length extra i had on the stock axle)

my few questions about it-
1. should I cut it to length and use it or buy a modified one?
2. Is there going to be an issue with clearnace for the sotck 4 banger motor that is going back in?
3. is there a frame issue when the engine is put back in.
4. though it looks so bad ass, is it going to be drivable- in other words is the rake going to be so bad i wont be able to corner well.

- like i said- i am very green to this kind of car building and i would love any help from the more experienced.

and if there is anything else you guys want to school me on that would be a huge help.

 

#1. You need to cut it. One side is right hand threads, the other is left hand threads, determine which is which, and cut off the right hand side, buy the right tap (11/16-UNF I think) and re-tap it. If you buy an 11/16 left hand tap, all your hod rod buddies will want to borrow it, ask me how I know.
#2. If all you're doing is installing the dropped axle, the relationship from the engine/pulleys/etc will be the exact same as an undropped axle. It's when you start reversing the spring eyes or removing leaves to drop the axle closer to the frame that you can run into clearance issues. The tie rod is the only thing that will change, and if I remember right, on a stocker, the tie rod mounts to the top of the arms. When you put a dropped axle on, you need to buy a tapered reamer, and revers the taper so the tie rod mounts to the bottom side of the arms to gain clearance.
#3. See above
#4 It will be very driveable, in fact better than before, in my experience. Hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions whatsoever and I'll help if I can.

 

No those are great answers- I'm going to run with it!

 

The only thing I would add is to consider the final chassis rake you want at ride height. If you are doing anything too drastic, you will want to build additional castor into the front crassmember by installing it with a little more angle. The spring perch should match the axle castor.