So I know pretty much nothing about my stock 47 Ford car front axle, and I was wondering if it is possible to use what I have to do a suicide front axle on my rod. I've got the stock front axle and the stock split wishbones. I know that I need to cut off the fronts of the wishbones, but other than that I have no idea. Is there anything out there to convert this front end to the spring behind style? I would still like to use the wishbones that I have...kinda on a budget. Any idea what the front ride height would be roughly if I used 36 Ford wire wheels? Any feed back on this type of front end? Thanx and please ignore my ignorance.
There's probably 100 threads on this subject alone. It's been done thousands of times, with hundreds of different methods. You can use early style spring perch bolts to put the spring over the axle... or put it behind the axle by hanging the shackles off the insides of the wishbones. Do some searching on "Suicide Axles" and "Spring Behind" etc and you'll find more information than you can take in.
There are a number of sources here for kits to split the bones. You need the threaded bungs to weld to your cut ends of the bones, ball joints to thread into the bungs, and the plates to bolt the joints to the frame (check out what Elpoloacko offers for these plates, they are kewl!). A spring-behind setup will get you about a 3-4 inch drop from stock, depending on lots more factors like which spring you use, configuration of your from cross-member, how much air you bleed out of your tires , etc. There are a ton of how-to books on rod suspensions that are a good read too. Check them out.......and have fun/post pix on your progress!!
Here is the short and easy way to do it. Put yourself a spring perch in the front of the chassis that is where you will mount your spring. Now here comes the hard part get yourself some perch bolts with the provision for the spring shackles like say for a '34 ford? the hard part is deciding is you want to run the spring over the top of the axle or through the wishbone. if over the top you change them out for the perch bolts that are in the axle and mount the axle up with the spring that you bolted to the front of your chassis or is you want to mount the spring through your bones you drill the bones weld a sleeve in there and poke the perch bolts to ttough the bones then hang the front end in there. overly simplified I know but a search will net you all the paticulars. YOyu have one other option that I have not mentioned, probably not in the budget but youy could bopx that shit up and send it to me and then go out and buy yourself a kit.
You didn't ask this question, but I thought I should mention it to you before you get too deep into this setup. The axle you have there isn't the most popular if you are going to run the spring over the axle or behind, in a suicide set up. The reason is that Ford moved the perch holes out closer to the kingpins after 1937, and it causes two issues: 1) When you split the bones and move them out it creates some tire rubbing issues on hard turns. It really limits how sharp of a turn you can make, which might seem like a minor issue, until you try to do a U turn or park in a tight spot. 2) The bigger issue is that it limits the availability of front springs that are the correct length to span the distance between perches. You will notice in the picture below that the early axle perch holes are much closer together than the later axles. When you are ready for a spring you might find you need a custom made one, instead of being able to buy a 29-31 incher, that everybody sells. I've seen guys try to run the setup you have and when it comes time to buy a spring they start posting "Where do I find a spring to fit this setup?" I thought this might save you some expense and trouble down the road. Don Here, this picture might illustrate better what I am saying. This is a 34 axle I am using under a rpu I am currently building. See how far in the perch holes are compared to your axle, and how much more tire clearance it gives in this position?
The shock mounts that you have are unique to the 1948 Ford. For split bone applications the 28 to 36 axles are a better choice. This is because the spring perch holes are further apart. This reduces the amount of space between the tires and the wishbone so your turning radius is reduced. The dog leg wishbones that you have are good rod building material. They work best with Model A axles. If you use them with a 32 to 36 axle you will need 1/4" spacers.
Here is a few shots of how I did mine 42-48 bones 37-41 axle adjustable tee bolts and Posies spring. Hope this helps
Wish I could post pics from my phone! I just finished a spring behind setup using that style wishbone and a 35 axle. I was going to use a 46 axle, then 40 but ended up finding a 35 for better turning radius. I have seen guys pinch those bones and that looks ok. Oh ans speedway sells axle boss spacers for like 5 bucks ( they are just 4. 1\8" thick washers ) they are worth it in my book. They fit way better than the hardware store crap
No body has mentioned the easiest way,,, I will try to explain, but after I confuse you, look at the "Kookie Kar" Here goes build your perch on the frame, to accept a spring, Now take the whole front end and turn it around so the wishbone is away from the fire wall of the car,,take your torch, or sawsall and cut the wishbone off near the axle where you see a weld, grind the cut, to make it pretty, set the wish-bone aside, split it or sell it, or save it for yer next project, get four Ford tie-rods and make a four bar front end. (like "norman did" ( Tommy Ivo, also) Bolt the spring to your perch, now your tierod, is in front of the axle, if it gets bent at speed, that's a "suicide," and you created it. Agin , look at "kookie's Kar" Google it
I meant to "add" Now trade brakes from each side, backing plates and all, from one side to the other, so the primary and secondary shoes are in correct position, and brake lines come back instead of facing forward... OK, Launch !!!! Its a LOT easier than it sounds, and all you hafta "buy" is tie-rods, and they are cheap at swap meets...You have EVERYTHING THEN.
Kookie switched the steering arms side to side, put tie rod down below spring, still a suicide, situation,,, ivo did also..and neither used dropped axle...
i will take a picture of my axle/bones/spindles tomorrow.. maybe you guys can help me identify it.. i hope i can use the whole thing for my tbucket project. 3kross what did you use for the steering box? chris.
Just a little tip. When deciding on your perch placement, make sure you set the distance to a known measurement the uses off the shelf spring lengths so you won't have to have a custom spring built. For instance: Spring length is perch distance - 3" So if your perches are set at: 32" you use a 29" spring 33" use a 30" Spring etc. etc. Good Luck with your project, Todd Fenton@ POSIES
Great stuff. Do you have Parts 1, 3 and ? of the Car Craft series of articles? I'd like to have them for my tech library.
I have all nine parts of the Car Craft series scanned. They were done as complete articles; but the pdf files are too large to post (2200-3100 kb each). If anyone else is interested I can email them, just PM me your email info.
I used the exact same components you have to do what you want to do. The '48 axle does cause a little smaller turning radius but I have to say it has never been a problem for me. Here's mine.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282490&page=2 Pete
Thanks guys, this has helped me too with my build. You can see my build here using 48 front: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=779124
The Jalopy Journal
