32 with no K member ???

[my4dv8]

Our 32 has no K member , and a 4 banger with no engine steady on the firewall, plus it has the firewall indent for the proposed vacuum clutch assist.
How many had no K member or when was it decided they needed a k member.
It has the early cowl vent and early round torque tube to pinion flange.

[deuce lover]

Maybe yours does not have the legs that are riveted to the rails from the center crossmember.Pictures please
Here are pics from Tony Thackers book of the early 32,4 cyl.

[DavidG]

If your your '32 was a car originally sold in New Zealand when new then it was manufactured in Canada. Given that the start of production of the '32 models lagged that in the U.S. by nearly a month, it is somewhat surprising that any of the Canadian '32s were produced with chassis frames lacking the 'legs' or braces on the center cross member forming a 'K' and certainly yours is the first Canadian brace-less frame that I've heard of.


A number of design flaws were identified shortly after initial production of the '32s commenced in March, 1932 in the U.S. and a service campaign (recall) was initiated in April to replace the affected components, all of which were unique V8 components except for the addition of the center cross member braces and the necessarily-changed brake and clutch pedal bracket. The recall was for the initial V8s, but since no four-cylinder passenger cars were produced in March, likely very few of those produced in April had chassis frames without the center cross member braces.


The U.S. recall campaign seems to have been very effective, but not 100%, as I'm aware of about ten surviving brace-less frames all of which are from V8 chassis, including the one that I have (shown below). In the case of mine, it was one of the first RHD chassis built and was exported, which might explain how it 'missed' being recalled for the addition of the braces, but the others that I am aware of were from domestic LHD vehicles.


As Tony Thacker mentioned in his book, those two photos posted by deuce lover are of non-production prototypes. The production versions of the LHD and RHD pedals and pedal brackets used with frames without center cross member braces are shown below.


The change in the firewalls to increase the toe room around the clutch pedal did not occur until somewhat later and the early firewalls without that extra toe room are not especially rare, nor are the early cowl vents. The B-prefix rear axle such as yours was not replaced by the 18-prefix version until very late in the '32 model year.

[my4dv8]

Thanks for the reply David. This is a US built 32 . Its a little difficult to get as decent picture as you can see but you get the general idea.
The Vin # starts AB504....
Will the pedals swap between the two different brackets?

[DavidG]

I can't tell from the photo if your pedals are the first version which on the outside of the elbow have a raised point. The later pedals lack those points and have a slightly wider cross section just below the inside of the elbows (to spread the force of the pedals resting on the rubber pedal bumpers in the lower #1 floorboard pedal plate.


Other than that, the early and later pedals are the same, except for late brake pedals which are a 1/2" shorter that the two previous versions.

[my4dv8]

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thanks David, I have not had a chance to investigate yet , but when the 32 was converted to juice brakes they have welded a dropper on the pedal to give a rearward push to the master cyl and its not pretty and I am unsure if the ratio is even correct ( I presume we need a 6:1 ratio) I have purchased a repro pedal designed for juice brakes , so hoping it fits my pedal bracket.
Down under we cant weld critical parts with out an engineers crack test report.

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by my4dv8

thanks David, I have not had a chance to investigate yet , but when the 32 was converted to juice brakes they have welded a dropper on the pedal to give a rearward push to the master cyl and its not pretty and I am unsure if the ratio is even correct ( I presume we need a 6:1 ratio) I have purchased a repro pedal designed for juice brakes , so hoping it fits my pedal bracket.
Down under we cant weld critical parts with out an engineers crack test report.

Here is how I mounted the master cylinder in my '32, thought it might be useful to you. I started by bolting a piece of steel to the K member using existing holes. Next I welded a piece of square structural steel on and went from there. I moved the battery to the passenger side. The '39-'48 master cylinder fills through the old battery cover plate in the floor.

Charlie Stephens