Thread: 8" rear drum brakes

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I never mind anything that could make my car better.I will look into what you mentioned above.Thanks again. What should I do about the springs, bend it back or just get a new one.

I wouldn't bend it back, it would probably create a weak spot there. You could either go to a local spring shop and have a new main leaf and secondary leaf made up or buy a new rear spring......something like the one Speedway sells for the rear of a Model A. Probably cheaper to just buy new.

I think the previous owner did those bends for two reasons. First to drop it a little, an secondly to get some clearance between the bottom of the frame and the spring. They look a little close there. What do you think about moving the axle to the rear of the crossmember with a new perch? It would eliminate any clearance issues, and would give you a longer driveshaft.

BTW, what is the distance between your tailshaft and the rear axle yoke? We talked about this before but I don't think we ever found out. I am posting a picture of the rear of my '23 showing how a Model A spring lays to give you some idea.

Don

From going by the drive shaft it seems to be about a foot in between.

Is that one foot between the tip of the tailshaft and the middle of the u bolts that hold the rear u joint in place?

Don

Yes at least that is what it looks like because I am going but how the drive shaft
looks since the motor and trans is out.

If it is truly that short of a distance, you may want to really consider moving the rear back to gain as much room as possible. A short driveshaft works on some very odd angles and the u joints can bottom out against itself on up and down movement. You figure, by the time you get a tranny yoke in there and a rear yoke, your shaft will effectively be like 6 inches long.

Just a suggestion, but I would slip the engine and tranny back in and measure for sure. That extra long pumpkin on the 8 3/4 rear really chews up some valuable space.

Don