Vintage Parts Axle - … And A Beaming Smile Spring Time …

Here’s a perch and spring shackle in place on the axle. With minimal space between the nuts for the perch to be welded to the plate, you can see why the measurements were critical in aligning the spring with the axle.

With the springs now attached to the axle—note all you see of the perches from the front are a couple of round Allen-head bolts—I could mount the rear of the ’bones through the sides of the framerails, but not before measuring diagonally again and checking the wheelbase matched side to side.

You may remember I used the “spare” ends of passenger side early Ford steering arms to mount the rear radius rods to the frame. For the front I replicated these using 1 1/4-inch round steel stock, drilling a 1/2-inch hole through the center, and then using this 7-degree taper reamer from Speedway Motors to fit the tie-rod end perfectly.

With 2-inch holes cut in the boxing plates, the tapered bungs were welded to the inside of the outer chassis ’rail to mount the ’bones using tie-rod ends in a traditional manner.

Voíla! An early track roadster–inspired frontend using modern aftermarket parts. Next up, steering and shock absorbers.