Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

I have negative camber (inside wear on both front tires) on my 39' coupe. First, let me explain: My coupe has a '40 frame and fenders, with a '39 body and drive train. I also have a 4" dropped front axle.

I also had mechanical interference with the front axle, which resulted in a hard ride. To remove the interference, the auto shop cut off a small piece of the
upper front horizontal portion of the axle, assuring me that it would not effect the axle's strength. Might this been the problem that I am experiencing with tire wear?

The shop says that my king pins are shot and need to be replaced to fix the negative camber.

Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Worn kingpins/bushings will affect camber. If that was the same shop that cut off part of your axle; maybe you verify the wear by jacking the car and giving the wheel a wiggle while looking for movement between the spindle and axle.

A picture of hacking they did to your axle would be interesting. Never heard of such a thing.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

When I installed a 4 in. dropped axle, Posie reversed eye spring and dropped steering arms in my 40 Ford and there was no interference and no camber problem. PLEASE post photos of your modified axle. It would be interesting to see.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

I can't imagine ANY shop cutting off anything from the front axle to solve any interference problem. That makes no sense to me, so the details really matter in this discussion!

What type of mechanical interference did you have, with what and where? Post some pictures before we all go down rabbit holes pondering what your situation might be.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

39 and 40 axles, wishbones, and frames should all interchange in that area. And even if your spring was absolutely flat you should not have interference between the axle and the crossmember. Either you have some parts that aren’t what you think they are, or something has been modified.

Which brings me to the modification of the axle itself. Perfectly fine and common to drop the ends of an old Ford axle. Absolutely horrid idea to cut away the flange. Replace that axle, but also have someone who knows what they are looking at review the interference issue.

If the dropped axle is aftermarket, it may be narrower at the perches. This would require squeezing the wishbone together, thus pushing the axle forward. You should also notice the spring is now too far forward for a good fit in the crossmember, but maybe that slipped by you.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

You need to post some photos so we can see what you're working with and what's been done.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

also check toe. excessive toe out will wear inside edges of tires faster than negative camber

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

the OLD trick is to use a 35/36 wishbone. Narrower than the 37 up-shorter spring tho. Newc

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Worn kingpins will let the tires toe out resulting in inner tread wear, letting the tire scuff in to out. You can set the toe, but still have the negative camber setting from the worn pins.
Post a pic of the axle mods.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

The OP was back yesterday, but won’t reply to this thread?

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Isn't it a bit annoying when somebody comes on here looking for advice, we ask for a bit more info and then they turn into a ghost.

It is kind of like - "why are we wasting our time on this"?

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Maybe he realizes that he may have a problem that's more serious than he wants to even think about now. From his original post, something is seriously wrong, and it's been screwed up even more in an ill-intended attempt to fix it.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

X2 on that issue.

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

I'm noticing a lot more of this lately. OPs don't reply to additional questions asked and/or after a long thread, provide no closure, e.g. starter relay issues as one example. It's like, " I figured it out so I'm good to go"

Glenn

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Or no simple, cheap solution and they just give up when they find there ain't one.

I've seen a lot of that (and profited from it a few times too!;))

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Oh Boy . . . Tubman just gave away one of his "secrets" for feeding his insatiable quest for more flathead parts! LOL

Re: Camber adj. on '40 chassis with 4" dropped axle
 

Perhaps he is not technically enabled with modern phone ...