Thread: Followed Me Home, '33 Build

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Roger,

I'm pretty much green with envy. That frame/body set-up is exactly what I was hoping for when I got mine. Unfortunately, mine came from <he who shall not be mentioned> in Darlington.

I'm surprised about the wheel/caliper interference. I had no problem with my Torque Thrust IIs. Is that what you're running?

Also, is that a 9" Ford rear axle? If so, there usually is a spacer that needs to go between the outer bearing face and the retainer plate to keep the axle from moving in and out.

Is that a 9" Ford rear axle?

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

Roger,

I'm pretty much green with envy. That frame/body set-up is exactly what I was hoping for when I got mine. Unfortunately, mine came from <he who shall not be mentioned> in Darlington.

I'm surprised about the wheel/caliper interference. I had no problem with my Torque Thrust IIs. Is that what you're running?

Also, is that a 9" Ford rear axle? If so, there usually is a spacer that needs to go between the outer bearing face and the retainer plate to keep the axle from moving in and out.

Is that a 9" Ford rear axle?

Hey Jack,
Great to see your name pop up, and hope all is well with you. Yes, it is a John's Ford 9" rear with Explorer disc brake setup. I think a set of 16's would have cleared fine, but I'm running 15x10 Cragar SS, and they had some drag on the top of the calipers. I've all but got it whipped, but did have to do some grinding on the calipers. The rear came minus center section with the roller package, and I then picked up a 4.11 center section with a Detroit TrueTrac spiral gear posi unit from Just Rear Ends in Reno, which I believe will stand up to 400+HP without any problems. Not sure about a spacer, may need to look into that before I declare it done.

Your '34 profile was my screen saver at the office for more than a year, and I always got questions, "Is that your car??", to which I replied, "No, that is my DREAM!!" But for you I might still be sitting back, wondering if I should do this or not, with about $30,000 in my pocket that is now gone

Roger,

If you use Explorer brakes on a large bearing 9", the spacers are absolutely necessary - unless you're using a set-up I haven't seen. They make up the difference between the outer bearing race and the retaining flange. Disc brakes fit on the axle differently from the drums. Without the spacers, the axles can move in and out about 1/4".

Currie stocks them, and so does Johns. The bad news is that they need to be installed between the bearing and the axle flange. I had to have my bearings pulled, then reinstalled. Of course, I had to do that anyhow. I had to replace my bearings with special units with an o-ring in the outer race to take the place of the stock axle seals. Whoever narrowed my axle hosed it up, and the seals wouldn't stay seated.

The spacers are a bear to keep in place while you bolt in the axles. I used a couple of dabs of silicone and essentially glued them to the outside edge of the bearing race.




Linky is here.

Of course, Kyle forgot them on mine . . .

I still haven't finished the interior of my '34. I kept intending to send it to a shop, but I couldn't quit driving it. Further, it won't get finished for a while. I'm heading to Naples, Italy for a three-year tour (civilian) with Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), and the car will be in storage all that time. Downside is no hotrodding. Upside is a chance to have all my living expenses paid for three years, and a chance to see a bunch of Europe.

I had run across an article on the the spacers, they have the same issue with putting crown vicky discs on the eight inch housing, one individual took very large washers, one for each side and just cut a slot in them to get them over the axle behind the retainer and bolted the retainers back in. here`s a pic, just a little crude but with some engineering could be better...so you wouldn`t have to press off the bearings.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

Roger,

If you use Explorer brakes on a large bearing 9", the spacers are absolutely necessary - unless you're using a set-up I haven't seen. They make up the difference between the outer bearing race and the retaining flange. Disc brakes fit on the axle differently from the drums. Without the spacers, the axles can move in and out about 1/4".

Currie stocks them, and so does Johns. The bad news is that they need to be installed between the bearing and the axle flange. I had to have my bearings pulled, then reinstalled. Of course, I had to do that anyhow. I had to replace my bearings with special units with an o-ring in the outer race to take the place of the stock axle seals. Whoever narrowed my axle hosed it up, and the seals wouldn't stay seated.

The spacers are a bear to keep in place while you bolt in the axles. I used a couple of dabs of silicone and essentially glued them to the outside edge of the bearing race.




Linky is here.

Of course, Kyle forgot them on mine . . .

I still haven't finished the interior of my '34. I kept intending to send it to a shop, but I couldn't quit driving it. Further, it won't get finished for a while. I'm heading to Naples, Italy for a three-year tour (civilian) with Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), and the car will be in storage all that time. Downside is no hotrodding. Upside is a chance to have all my living expenses paid for three years, and a chance to see a bunch of Europe.

Thanks for the heads up. I will look into a set of rings before going much farther. 406Rich, thanks for an alternate approach, too. I will do some research, but I doubt they are in place - my rear came from John's set for drums, and N&N sourced the disc package separately. It would have been too easy to overlook the spacers.
Jack, the tour in Italy should be a great time. Like you said, most expenses covered and you'll have opportunities to see parts of the world that are so rich in history. Stay in touch if it works out for you, and come to KC for a ride when you get back on this side of the pond.

Originally Posted by rspears

Thanks for the heads up. I will look into a set of rings before going much farther. 406Rich, thanks for an alternate approach, too. I will do some research, but I doubt they are in place - my rear came from John's set for drums, and N&N sourced the disc package separately. It would have been too easy to overlook the spacers.
Jack, the tour in Italy should be a great time. Like you said, most expenses covered and you'll have opportunities to see parts of the world that are so rich in history. Stay in touch if it works out for you, and come to KC for a ride when you get back on this side of the pond.

Roger,

You can do the washer trick with the spacers also - cut out a section to allow slipping them over the axle. I did that before I found out about the seal problem. At that point, I had to replace the bearings, so I had the shop drop them on before pressing on the new bearings.

When I'm done with my three years in Italy, I'm hanging up the slide rule and moving to Texas. I may stop in KC, though, since my youngest son and his family live there.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

I still haven't finished the interior of my '34. I kept intending to send it to a shop, but I couldn't quit driving it. Further, it won't get finished for a while. I'm heading to Naples, Italy for a three-year tour (civilian) with Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), and the car will be in storage all that time. Downside is no hotrodding. Upside is a chance to have all my living expenses paid for three years, and a chance to see a bunch of Europe.

Wow, what an opportunity!!!! Let me know if you need an assistant to sign up for that tour!!!!! I spent 90 days bummin' around Europe way back in '72 and had an absolute blast!! Sure would be fun to do it again and see how much things have changed. I have a lot of great memories from the trip--and some that are still a bit fuzzy!!!!!