Since I'd gotten a pretty good handle on the rear suspension, the next logical step was to head up front and get to work on the frontend. Most of the needed components for this phase were part of the original pile of parts I'd purchased, so there wasn't much in the way of cash outlay when it came to the front suspension. Included in the original purchase were a dropped Super Bell axle, a front spring, shackles, a pair of Pete & Jake's hairpins and bat wings, '37-41 Ford spindles, and a pair of complete drum brake assemblies from a '53 F-100 pickup. I had nearly everything I'd need, other than the appropriate bearings, races, and seals to adapt the spindles to the brake assemblies. For these I headed over to my local parts store (yes, I finally found a local, REAL parts jobber). Once there, a young lady by the name of Minda dove into her catalogs and came up with, quite quickly by the way, all the proper Timken numbers for the project (read on to get the latest part numbers for the conversion), and though only one part number was in stock, she made sure the balance of my order was there early the next morning.
With nearly all my ducks in a row it was time to get crackin'. So let's get busy and take a peek at how the Beater's frontend came together.
A traditional beam-axle frontend...
A traditional beam-axle frontend is really a simple install, so I'll give ya the condensed version here. The first order of business is to mount the spring using the appropriate U-bolts and plate.
Once the spring is hung, gather...
Once the spring is hung, gather up the beam, shackles, spring hangers, bat wings, and shock mounts. Be sure to liberally apply a coating of antiseize compound on the shoulders of the spring perches. You'll be glad you did if you ever have to disassemble the frontend in the future.
Slide the bat wings over the...
Slide the bat wings over the vertical holes in the beam and then insert the spring perches through the bat wings and the beam. Slide the shock mounts onto the threaded portion of the mounts and follow with lock nuts. Then insert the shackle bushings into the spring mounts and spring ends. Once the axle assembly is together, slide the shackles into the spring mounts on the axle assembly.
Now comes the hard part: Lift...
Now comes the hard part: Lift one side of the axle and slide the spring end of the shackle through the spring. You'll then notice that the spring seems too narrow; this is because of the spring arch. I've found that a piece of tubing and a C-clamp, attached as shown and then tightened, will spread the spring, enabling you to (relatively) easily attach the other shackle.
Next comes the assembly of...
Next comes the assembly of the hairpins. Again, remember to use antiseize on the threaded components. When installing the front clevises, it's best to initially thread them in to about the halfway mark. Attach them to the bat wings then eyeball where the rear mounting point should fall. Remember that you want from 3-7 degrees of kingpin inclination.
Once the hairpins are attached...
Once the hairpins are attached to the bat wings, you can begin eyeballing the rear mounting point. Most all radius rods come with mounting tabs for mounting the rear of the bars below the framerail. In some instances (such as this), the rear mount can attach to the rails themselves.
After marking the mounting...
After marking the mounting location on both rails, find a piece of tubing with the correct inside diameter to insert into the rails as crush-tubes for the mounting bolts to pass through.
Next, drill the rails.
Insert, trim, and weld the...
Insert, trim, and weld the tubes in place.
Then, install the mounting...
Then, install the mounting bolts. This setup will allow the hairpins to sit as close to horizontal as possible, once the engine and trans compress the front spring.
Once the front suspension...
Once the front suspension is initially installed, the next step is to install the kingpins and spindles. The project included a pair of '37-41 Ford spindles and kingpin setup and a pair of '53 F-100 drum brake assemblies. When using the earlier spindles with these brakes, you must grind a relief in the tops of the spindles so there's no interference between the spindles and the brake cylinders.
Adapting those early spindles...
Adapting those early spindles to the later drum brake hub assemblies also requires changing the inner bearings and grease seals to match the spindle diameter. (The outer bearings are the same, so new F-100 replacements can be used.) The Timken part numbers for the inner bearings, races, and oil seals are as follows: PN 14116 bearings, PN 14276 races, and PN 473440 oil seals. These numbers may not match the info some of you have already because there have been some changes in parts numbers lately.
There is one stipulation with...
There is one stipulation with these inner bearings: In order to prevent a future headache, the bearings must be slightly modified. You see, the spindles have a radius where the pin meets the spindle mounting plate, and the inner portions of the bearing i.d.'s need a slight chamfer ground into them so that they don't wedge themselves onto the spindle, causing a real heartache when it comes time to replace them.
Be sure the bearings are chamfered...
Be sure the bearings are chamfered and have been test-fit on the spindles.
The next step is to pack and...
The next step is to pack and install the bearings and the grease seals.
Here you can see the assembled...
Here you can see the assembled spindle/drum brake assembly and, also, if you look close, the area of the spindle just below the brake cylinder that was relieved as we mentioned earlier. Next month we'll move on and cover the next phase of assembly.
As promised, here's a peek...
As promised, here's a peek at our budget so far. We'll have to begin pinching some pennies, as my engine choice is going to be more expensive than the freshened-up-but-used engine I'd originally planned on using. We'll be getting into that in the near future, so stay tuned.