Will 32 kingpins fit 32 axle with 31 spindles?

[skryla]

I want to make sure my mechanical brakes will work with the 32 kingpins, 32 axle, 32 perches, 31 spindles, 31 backing plates and 31 brakes.

Can anyone help?

[larrys40]

No,
The angle is different on the cut for the lock pin., which in turn would orientate the brake cross shaft at the incorrect angle. Compare and "A" to a "B" king pin and you will see the difference. Many a king pin has been bought thinking they will fit an "A" but will not. I believe many of the 32 king pins ( aftermarket as well) have a K on them.... If I can pull some today from my stock I will post a photo later on....

[62pan]

The 31 and 32 kingpins are different where the brake operating shaft enters the kingpin. You might need to use the operating shaft that goes with that kingpin. If you have the parts handy a mockup might be inorder before you tear things apart.

[skryla]

So the answer is No. I cannot use 32 kingpins 31 spindles. This brings up another question.

Can I use 31 king pins and 31 spindles with a 32 axle and perches?

I plan on using mechanical brakes.

[Bob C]

I think It depends of what brake actuator you are using. If you use 28-31 you need A king pins, if
you use 32-34 you need B king pins. The A actuator has the lever pointing up and the B actuator has
the lever pointing down.

Bob

[skryla]

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If I use 32 axle with 32 perches. Will manual brakes work if 31 brake actuator, kingpins, spindles, etc?

Is that correct?

[Bob C]

If you are trying to lower the front of the car this link will answer a lot of your questions.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12576
I agree with 62pan about mocking it up, I think you may have tie rod clearance problems
if you use A spindles instead of 32-34.

Bob

[skryla]

Thanks guys for your insight. I have read this thread but have a few questions - I have PM's Leroy directly but have not yet heard back from him.

Does anyone know if I need to do a full 32 changeover axle, perch pins, kingpins, spindles brake actuator, drag link and steering arms? Is there anything 31 that I will still be able to use?

Sorry to beat a dead horse but I'm trying to accumulate all the necessary parts BEFORE I start disassembly.

Thanks in advance!

[BCCHOPIT]

You can find the 32 brakes so cheap I wouldn't even play with the model A stuff. Just up grade to 32-35 up front.

I have 35s up front and 32s out back...
I paid 50 bucks for a fresh rebuild fronts never used and the rear were in very good ready to run for free. You got to love street rod guys.

[gwhite]

I believe Leroy used a 32 axle, perch pins, spindles and A kingpins, brake drums, & actuators. Kingpins need to match drums & actuators - 32 on 32, Model A (except AR perhaps) on Model A.

[skryla]

Just trying to figure out the rules to minimize fabrication if I can.

[kingbee]

Gwhite, Bert's has model B timing covers, I just got one.....

[62pan]

Stan, this is a complete 32 front end with a reverse eye spring. No leaves were removed. In the first photo you can see the acuators are in primer and the brake arm points down. In this position the mechanical brake rods hit the springperch because on a 32 the rods go towards the center of the car.

In the second photo the acuators are painted and the arms point up. In order to do this I had to swap kingpins and acuators from one side of the front end to the other and then undo the brake arms and reverse them. This needed done so when you pulled back on the brake arm it would apply the brakes. But with the brake rods in this position they rub against the stock shock. I went with delco lovejoy shocks which solved the problem.

The third photo shows the stance of the car. I have 5.50 on the front and 6.00 on the rear. Rear spring is seven leaves with the three smaller leaves on the bottom to help take up space. If I would reverse the eye on the rear and take a few leaves out of the front I could probably drop another inch. But I am building an early post war car so I kinda like it where it is.

[Bob C]

62pan, couldn't you use Model A actuators if you used Model A king pins??

Bob

[skryla]

Can I use
32 axle,
32 perches,
31 actuators,
31 kingpins,
31 spindles,
31 arms,
31 backing plate,
31 brakes and drums?

or do I have to locate a set of 32 spindles to make this all work?

[Jazzjr]

[QUOTE ]From Leroy M https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12576[/QUOTE]

This is an update on my earlier post about how to lower a Model A. First I have to give credit to a few people who gave me some tips and tricks on making this whole thing come together. Fordbarner’s NealinCA, kelly’s restoration and H.A.M.B’er Elrod’s post answered a lot of questions I had. Also Fordbarner JM 35 Sedan for letting me have the axle I needed.

My original goal was to lower my Model A coupe but still run mechanical brakes and use the original shocks. I had broken springs so I bought a new reverse eyed front spring from Snyder’s. That lowered the front 1 inch but I still wanted to go lower and the ride with the new springs was very stiff so I took three springs out of the ten leaf pack. The springs I took out were 2, 3 and 4 from the top of the spring pack. This lowered the front another 1 1/4”. I still wasn’t happy with the look and wanted to go lower. To do this I need to do some research and find some hard to find parts.

The parts to go lower were 32-34 spring perches, 32 spindles and a 32-36 axle. Total time to find theses parts were about a month. Once I found the parts everything worked fine with new Model A kingpins and bushings from Mac’s and Model A spring shackles from Snyder’s. Two problems I ran into were bushings for the 32 spring perches. No one makes them so I had to go to the machine shop and get a piece of 3/4” pipe that had a 1/2” inside diameter and drill the center out to 9/16” to allow the Model A shackles to fit. The other problem I had was tie rod ball studs. I did not order any since I thought the Model A tie rod ball studs came off but they do not since they are all one piece.

One other thing that is needed is a 1/4” spacer to go between the axle and wishbone since the 32-36 axle is 2” and the Model A wishbone is 2 1/4”. I looked all over to find theses spacers and ended up finding them at Fastenal. They had to be ordered and were called a extra heavy fender washer that was 1/4” x 1 1/2”. The center hole was 1/4 but a 11/16 drill bit took care of drilling them out to allow them to work for what I needed.

The end result with the new axle brought the front end down another 1 3/4” for a total drop with everything of right at 4” inches lower from stock. With 600x16’s in the front and 700x16’s in the back it puts the look right where I want it which is a late 40’s to early 50’s style look.

I did some measuring and right at the center of the wheel to the bottom lower lip of the fender comes to be 27 1/2" and right in the center of the front radiator apron I have 7 1/2".

Here’s a few pictures I took this afternoon. If anyone has any questions let me know.

Thanks.

[skryla]

Thanks Jazz. I went thru the post in detail and even PM'd Leroy. I'm not understanding the need for the 32 spindles whether there was a necessity or he just happened to have them.

[gwhite]

You have to have the 32-34 spindles unless you want to heat & bend the A steering arm.

[skryla]

GWhite - short and to the point - THANK YOU!

I found this on the internet.

Neal Jennings explains: “It is a 32 axle with Model A wishbone, spindles and mechanical brakes. To get it all to work together, you need 32 spring perches (taller than A), shackles and main leaf (with reversed eyes in this case). A 1/4” spacer was machined to go below the axle to use the Model A wishbone. The spindle arms were heated and bent up to clear the wishbone (because of the 1-1/4” drop in the axle over a Model A).
With a few leaves out of the spring, it should yield at least a 3” drop over stock, and it retains the “mechanics” of the Model A.”

[62pan]

Originally Posted by Bob C

62pan, couldn't you use Model A actuators if you used Model A king pins??

Bob

Yes I believe you could but I had new 32 kingpins so I just figured out how to use them.