Making up my own spring over brackets, will this design work if mounted vertical? If not, how much of a bend inwards is required to stop spring interference at full drop? Having issues in getting more than 47" between the eyes and don't want to pay for another spring to be made shorter.
If the shackles are short, it looks like it will work O.K. I built a set like yours for my '32 and they were fine. Just a matter of how far apart to mount them which takes a little trial and error if you don't have the full weight of the vehicle to test with.
Is this for a model "A" spring? I'd google some A images or look around on the Hamb. Seems like I've seen them straight up but I'd check it out first. Tim
I think it will bottom out and hit that upright, especially on hard bumps. Here is how Speedway does theirs, notice the arc cut out to allow the spring some room to flex. My 27 has about the same setup you pictured, except that the top is bent inwards to move the perch tube away from the upright. Don
Treat it like a front perch. You'll see just how much they allow in shape. Allow enough clearance to gusset also.
Another consideration you may want to think about is the orientation of the upright part of your spring perch. As you have pictured, the upright will constantly be 'pushed and pulled' as the spring flexes while driving. The main resistance to flexing is going to be the weld joint at the axle housing, which is significantly thinner material than your perch base and the forces are concentrated at a narrow base. Whereas, if the upright is turned 90*, like the Speedway bracket, the load is spread over a much wider/longer section of both the bracket itself and the axle housing. Your proposed bracket could be utilized, but would benefit from a gusset at a right angle to the bracket Ray
Has anyone have first hand experience in having brackets like mine but not bent inwards? Will the spring end hit on big bumps? I did look at the speedway mount but there just is no clearance to mount it as the brakes have a big inwards offset. With the mount I made, it would mount right at the weld between the axle and axle flange.
Yes, but it would flex back and forth, without a gusset. Breaky- breaky, not good. I'm afraid it looks like the diff is too narrow or the spring too wide...from what you're saying.
I do plan a gusset. The 9" diff is 56 1/2 flange to flange so almost identical to a standard Model A, it's just the big F100 brake backing plates I did not allow for. The spring is just a standard length A new main with reverse eyes. Might sell the new main spring I had made and get another made 2" shorter
It would be cheaper to make a new spring and proper brackets, than to fix the potential breakages, not to mention possible accidents. Safety first, always.
I wish I had a close up picture of mine to show you how I did it. I think mine came from PSI or someone like that, and it is a very thick steel bracket, turned the same way as yours, but not gusseted. I welded it on over 25 years ago with a Lincoln arc welder, and it has never been a problem. I, too, used that flat style because I had very little room between the backing plate and the perch, in fact, I had to have a shorter main leaf made up at a truck spring shop and I have to use special wrenches to bleed my rear brakes. There is only about a half inch between the perch and backing plate. Tonight I might climb under my 27 and shoot a picture for you. Don
If you want to run an A spring you need 49-1/8 to 49-1/4 at the perches, even at your 47 inches you will need a shorter main leaf spring to make the spring work correctly. The narrow 9" usually gets used because some decent engine power is in front of it, and they are used with some decent sized rubber to get that power to the road. Sooo, assuming your tires will be bigger than stock model A tires on a stock A sized axle- Make sure you check your inside to inside tire clearances too. You don't want to hunt obscure offsets in wheels too. When I run those narrow rears the wheel wells get deeper and the tires tuck a little since the car is just about 44" wide . Usually Needs coil overs or a 40 front spring behind the axle. 56" - 44" leaves 12" at zero clearance and thats 6" per side. 1" clearance, 3-1/2" back space rim and 1-1/2" tire bulge is as big as you can go and it eats it up real quick.
This is no powerhouse with big wheels, having a 9", 31 spline diff with a mild Model A banger engine is overkill in the extreme I admit. Have gone with a 9" was it was easy to find any parts in my country (Australia), has 5 on 5 1/2 brakes and I just like the look, especially the early round back like I had built from this pumpkin. Rims are 16"x 4 1/2 with narrow 650 tires. Main reason I've used such a strong driveline, it all might end up under a repro 32 chassis with V8 one day. Anything I do I try and future proof any expensive purchases than could be reused in another build. Have just advertised the main leaf on eBay and if it sells will have another new leaf made 3" shorter overall. This A RPU build might eventually have a banjo if I can track down a good later hydraulic rear
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