[F&J]

Here is a pile of stuff I ran across today. Supposed to have come out of a 35 pickup. Most of it is mint as far as Northeastern parts







A passerby at the swap meet said it has 40 backing plates Frt&Rear, 35 rear drums, 40 front drums.

He also said I should find "a 40 rear crossmember if I wanted to use this rear spring in my 32". Is that correct?..if not..what year?? (My build will be a 55 olds rear, no rear 32 gas tank, but with stock 32 rear floor). I later found out that I could have had the 35 rear crossmember real cheap, would it have worked?? I know Deuce said the rear 32 spring is "bent" for clearance, but will this 35 work with a different tank?


On the Front suspension: Can I use the 35 frt spring on TOP of this axle? or do I need a shorter main leaf...or, a whole different spring??? The car is a highboy. (yes. I'll get this axle dropped)

I also have 40 FRONT wishbone; which front wishbone should I split slightly (for the 55 olds std trans)

Last question; other hotrod sites say to use" '36 rear bones on open drivelines". Is there a difference in what I have here? I also grabbed a set of rusty bones marked "36 Ford" but they appear the same as the red ones? Will bones work in open drive?

EDIT, addition; I'm reading some current threads elsewhere and they sometimes say 35 bones, then say 36??

And...they said to use a 40 FRONT spring on the rear? I do have one of those, too.

[timothale]

In my opinion the stock rear bones are not strong enough to use alone. the enclosed driveshaft torque tube took most of the stress in the rear suspension..If you want to use the bones for the look and to help locate the rear axle I would use some sort of a center link fastened to the differential with adjustable heim or poly bushings like on a four bar set up

[Centerline]

Here's a pic of the Pete & Jakes transverse setup I'm using on my deuce. This setup uses a 35-36 spring and ladder bars. You can fab up a similar crossmember to mount your spring and just split the bones and run them up to mounts on the frame. The bones are plenty strong enough and if you triangulate them a little you shouldn't need a panhard bar but it wouldn't hurt if you wanted to run one. Using the 40 front spring is a good idea since the stocker is a bit on the hefty side. You might want to check with Pete & Jakes for brackets, I'm sure they can help with those.



Here's a pic of a 5 window that has split bones on the front... and I"m sure on the rear as well but you can't see them in this pic.



Here's a pic of a 3 window with split bones front and rear.

[F&J]

Thanks for the replies. My '34 friend was over today looking at the rear bones I have and he thinks they are strong enough. I'm still a little concerned. I'll ask around at a big early V-8 Ford meet/swap on Sunday in Fitchburg, Mass.

I still don't know how to tell a rear 36 bone from any other year...no clue what I have here.

I prefer the stance on that 5 window ...that's exactly what I like.

I think I will be making a similar rear crossmember; it may help me get the correct height.

I also "plan" to keep both front and rear bones unsplit. I don't care if I have to pull the motor to do clutch or trans work.

Wish I had time to start mocking it all up, but I am still working on both my garages ...plus no buyer yet for my former home...so I have little $$ right now Also found 3 "new-but very old" 7'x9' garage doors & low headroom tracks at last weekends swap for $50 each! Reframing & install is painfully slow.

[Centerline]

Originally Posted by F&J

...............I prefer the stance on that 5 window ...that's exactly what I like.

I totally agree. The red one is too low.

Originally Posted by F&J

Wish I had time to start mocking it all up, but I am still working on both my garages ...plus no buyer yet for my former home...so I have little $$ right now Also found 3 "new-but very old" 7'x9' garage doors & low headroom tracks at last weekends swap for $50 each! Reframing & install is painfully slow.

Been there! I wasn't able to touch any of my projects for a little over two years. Now our new log home and garage are done my wife knows where to look for me when I'm not around...... Out in the garage.