'32 front wheel bearing spacer

[Chris Marshall]

Thought I'd share my recent experience with wheel bearing spacers. My '32 roadster has original spindles with '40 hubs/drums. It has the requisite spacer on the spindle for the inner bearing. While at an event last fall an informal tech inspection indicated the right front wheel bearing was loose. Not fall off the car loose, but certainly looser than I had set it when repacking bearings. I jacked up the car on site and looked everything over. Bearings were smooth, no noises, no metal shavings, etc., so I put everything back together for the remainder of the weekend. Once back home there was a bit more play in the bearing than where I'd set it during the tech inspection. Odd. I pulled off the front hub. Bearings are good. Pulled off the spacer and here's what I found - note the heat discoloration: