[Tom Endy]

In past years many clubs had seminars replacing the spindle balls. They would saw the ball and shank off and drill a hole where the shank was. A new ball and shank obtainable from most Model A suppliers was pushed through the hole and welded in place. This can be a very dangerous situation depending on how big the hole was and how bad the weld was.

A friend had a technique where he would saw the ball and shank off then mill a precision hole such that the new ball and shank would press in with an interference fit. he would then take them to a certified welder and have them welded. I felt comfortable with this process.

Some time later an accident was reported in the Restorer where one of these sloppy seminar fixes failed and the person lost steering control. Bratton's Antique Auto shortly after took the ball and shank replacements out of their catalog. The reason being they did not want to be party to a possible law suite.

A&L in New England came up with a much better fix. Instead of sawing the ball and shank off they mill the existing ball down to where it is even with shank. They then press a ball with a hole in it on over the shank with an interference press fit. The very top of the ball is then welded to the top of the shank. In this manner they do not molest the integrity of the original forging.

When you buy replacement spindle arms from Bratton's, they come from A&L. I feel very comfortable with the A&L process and have installed them on a number of cars.

Tom Endy