The Ford Barn

Mart · 12-02-2017, 01:57 PM

Hi Folks.

I have just replaced the rear shackles on my recently acquired 1941 ford half ton pickup.

The old shackles were extremely worn. What surprised me was that they had rubber bushes in both the spring and the axle. The pins had a nut on each end and the plates had depressions at each stud hole to better clamp up to a rubber bush. Holes are round, not square. Spring and axle bores are 3/4".

I was quite happy about this, because they were easy to remove. I replaced them with the street rod type with the nylon bushes. The whole job was quite straightforward, using the home made spring spreader. I tend to struggle with the original (and repro) steel sleeved type both when removing and fitting.

My question, though, is were these rubber bushed shackles an OE Ford fitment? Or were they possibly an aftermarket kit available back in the day?

Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this kind of shackle.

I suspect they may not be Ford fitment because though the front shackles appear to have some sort of rubber bush too, the pins have square shoulders to take conventional ford shackle plates. If the rears were original, I would have expected the fronts to be similar.

Mart.

12-02-2017, 01:57 PM	#1
Mart Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Solihull, England. Posts: 9,088	1941 ford pickup shackles. Hi Folks. I have just replaced the rear shackles on my recently acquired 1941 ford half ton pickup. The old shackles were extremely worn. What surprised me was that they had rubber bushes in both the spring and the axle. The pins had a nut on each end and the plates had depressions at each stud hole to better clamp up to a rubber bush. Holes are round, not square. Spring and axle bores are 3/4". I was quite happy about this, because they were easy to remove. I replaced them with the street rod type with the nylon bushes. The whole job was quite straightforward, using the home made spring spreader. I tend to struggle with the original (and repro) steel sleeved type both when removing and fitting. My question, though, is were these rubber bushed shackles an OE Ford fitment? Or were they possibly an aftermarket kit available back in the day? Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this kind of shackle. I suspect they may not be Ford fitment because though the front shackles appear to have some sort of rubber bush too, the pins have square shoulders to take conventional ford shackle plates. If the rears were original, I would have expected the fronts to be similar. Mart. Last edited by Mart; 12-02-2017 at 02:02 PM.