41 front spring

[Krylon32]

Looking at a 41 front end over on the HAMB and it appears when the front end is loaded the front shackles will be pointing out at the bottom at a 45 degree angle in stead of in at the same angle. Guy over there says that's the way the 41's were designed. Right or wrong? Thanks

[Angledrive]

Most 41's I have worked on look like you describe, outward shackles. In 42 they added the panhard bar to eliminate the sway. All the 40's I have worked on are 45 degrees inward.

[1942deluxe]

On my 42 they are tilted in towards the engine but slightly...

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by Krylon32

Looking at a 41 front end over on the HAMB and it appears when the front end is loaded the front shackles will be pointing out at the bottom at a 45 degree angle in stead of in at the same angle. Guy over there says that's the way the 41's were designed. Right or wrong? Thanks

Not an expert on '41s but I do own one. To the best of my knowledge the suspension is original. Heard a lot about '41s: transition year, odd duck, etc. Been told I have a hash of mismatched parts but IMHO, they're factory correct. My shackles point out at the bottom.

[fordor41]

On our '41 we had the spring eyes rerolled so shackels were at a 45 deg angle in. helps a lot on handelling. tried to add a panhard bar but it made the front end extremely stiff. believe panhard was fighting the roll bar swivel operation.

[Ggmac]

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I’ve got 2 41s in good shape I’ll check today .

[drolston]

The reason for the outward cant on your shackles may be that the spring has completely lost its arch, and as a result, spread out. The '41 front spring is an odd duck, and you may have a hard time finding a correct replacement. I had no luck with that.

My '41 with original springs has the shackles 45 degrees inward. That geometry provides some resistance to body roll in a turn. As the side force occurs in a turn it forces the shackle on the outside of the turn to a more vertical angle, raising the body on that side. Thus the anti-roll response.

When I installed a new reverse-eye spring to lower the front a bit, the stock shackles were actually near flat (too short); also not good due to harsh ride and excessive side forces created on the spring mounts. So I modified 4" shackles to get the right angle. The ride and handling are now very good.

[Ggmac]

Both of mine are canted just slightly outward. The cars sit up high as originally designed . My springs have plenty of arch .

[Ggmac]

I have a pic but am too challenged to post here , if someone wants to see it , I can email .
Gary

[Kube]

Originally Posted by SoCalCoupe

Not an expert on '41s but I do own one. To the best of my knowledge the suspension is original. Heard a lot about '41s: transition year, odd duck, etc. Been told I have a hash of mismatched parts but IMHO, they're factory correct. My shackles point out at the bottom.

You're spring, in case you care, is long gone "shot". There is no arch remaining. I'd be fearful to drive on that.

[fordor41]

Originally Posted by drolston

The reason for the outward cant on your shackles may be that the spring has completely lost its arch, and as a result, spread out. The '41 front spring is an odd duck, and you may have a hard time finding a correct replacement. I had no luck with that.

My '41 with original springs has the shackles 45 degrees inward. That geometry provides some resistance to body roll in a turn. As the side force occurs in a turn it forces the shackle on the outside of the turn to a more vertical angle, raising the body on that side. Thus the anti-roll response.

When I installed a new reverse-eye spring to lower the front a bit, the stock shackles were actually near flat (too short); also not good due to harsh ride and excessive side forces created on the spring mounts. So I modified 4" shackles to get the right angle. The ride and handling are now very good.

we broke our main leaf and found one at Chassis Eng. for a '40. reversed eyes. shackels ended up at about a 45 deg angle.

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by Kube

You're spring, in case you care, is long gone "shot". There is no arch remaining. I'd be fearful to drive on that.

That would explain a lot. It certainly doesn't 'spring'. Maybe I'll have better luck than drolston finding a replacement.

[SoCalCoupe]

Looks like Eaton Detroit would sell me a new one for $475.

[Ggmac]

Ive got a few front and rear 1941 springs.unfortunately I live in s Florida. You can have one free but the shipping is probably not worth it .
Gary
SoCalCoupe , I sent you a pm

[meric42]

The front spring in an early production '41 I had was so flat that if you turned full lock, the shackles would have shredded the inside of the front tires. I bought and installed a reversed eye spring from Speedway to solve the problem.

[drolston]

The spring perches centerline to centerline measurement on 35 - 40 Ford is 42 3/8". On 42 - 48 it is 42 1/2". I measured that distance on my early model year '41 and it is 40 3/4". The Posies 2100 reverse eye spring I bought supposedly for a '41 was designed for 42.5" perch distance, and way too wide. I exchanged it for a Posies 2037 40L, designed for perch distance or 39 3/8". With that, the stock shackles were too flat, so I bought some 4" lowering shackles and drilled and filed holes at a distance that gave me the 45 degree shackle angle I was looking for. Versus the tired flat stock spring, the reverse eye got me less than a half inch lower, but the stance is fine. The ride and handling are great.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by drolston

The spring perches centerline to centerline measurement on 35 - 40 Ford is 42 3/8". On 42 - 48 it is 42 1/2". I measured that distance on my early model year '41 and it is 40 3/4". The Posies 2100 reverse eye spring I bought supposedly for a '41 was designed for 42.5" perch distance, and way too wide. I exchanged it for a Posies 2037 40L, designed for perch distance or 39 3/8". With that, the stock shackles were too flat, so I bought some 4" lowering shackles and drilled and filed holes at a distance that gave me the 45 degree shackle angle I was looking for. Versus the tired flat stock spring, the reverse eye got me less than a half inch lower, but the stance is fine. The ride and handling are great.

Did you measure a NOS spring without a load placed on it? Just wondering where you got your numbers from.

[drolston]

Except for my '41, which I measured myself, the numbers came from the Posies catalog. And the measurements are axle spring perch centerlines, not unloaded spring eye to spring eye.