Spindle help

Ok so I have a 69 Camero 10 bolt rear end and I have 35 ford wire wheels. Can someone help me figure out what kind of spindles I need for my Model A? I also have the 4" drop A straight axle up front.

Thanks.

The wires won't work with the 10 bolt. If you want to run them up front you will need '37-'48 spindles with '40-'48 hydraulic brakes and a spacer ring.

When looking for front hubs, be sure to get the ones with the brake drum on the inside of the flange. The ones with the drums on the outside won't accept the wires. My '39 hubs are wrong,I have to swap some '48's on.

Rally America sells an adapter so you can run 35 wires on a newer rear end, like a 10 bolt, 9 inch, etc. They have various bolt patterns and they properly locate the wheels on the drums.



$60.00 Each
Kelsey Hayes Spacer/Adapters

Used to put '28-'35 Ford Wire Wheels and Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels on newer brake setups.




Don

R Pope said:

When looking for front hubs, be sure to get the ones with the brake drum on the inside of the flange. The ones with the drums on the outside won't accept the wires. My '39 hubs are wrong,I have to swap some '48's on.

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I think you are confused. A '39 hub would be a "wide five" style (which certainly wouldn't work!) The '40-'41 hub flanges are inside the brake drum. '42-'48 hub flanges are outside the drum. Regardless, the '35 wires will work with either style. You just need the proper spacer ring.

And Don, I know of those adapters and they do seem to be of decent quality - but they are still an adapter. I wouldn't run 'em. Adapters alone compromise safety, then you gotta think about mounting a 75 year old wheel to it and putting it through speeds and handling that it was never designed for in the first place. Not the wisest decision in my book...

Yeah, but lets face it, 35 wire wheels are not the safest choice anyway, but lots of people are going to run them for the old timey look. So if that is going to happen, the only way to make them as safe as humanly possible is to use spacers and adapters made for that purpose.

I know we all say we like to build "safe" cars, but there is no such thing, not even a new Lexus with crumple zones, side impact, air bags, etc. That Lexus is relatively safe, but not 100% safe. Same with our rods, we can make them "safer" but not absolutely "safe ". Same goes for wheel adapters. Are they ideal? No, but by buying good ones and checking them often to make sure they are still tight, they have logged a lot of miles on such cars as bagged S10's and the like, with very few failures.

Any time we use parts that were built 50-60-70, or more years ago we take a risk........but that is the hobby we have chosen.

Don

Devil... One of us is confused, and it ain't me!! Haha.
Juice brakes were a mid-'39 change. I have a complete '39 chassis that has hydraulics and 5X5.5 wheels. And yes, it's all factory.
And no, the wires will not fit the hubs that have the drums on the outside. The wheel center hits the drum while there is still over 1/2" gap under the studs. Been there, done that! Never seen adapters that thick, most are just a thin disc with a flange to support the wheel center. Could be wrong on that, though.
I know, the books often say different. Just another case of "book-larnin'" not standing up in the real world.

Book larnin' may be one thing, but I AM speaking of "real world" experience. Yes, hydraulic brakes were introduced for the '39 model year (much to Henry's protest BTW) but still used the '37-'39 hubs. Maybe your car was a very late '39, maybe it was a canadian thing, or maybe your "factory" chassis has been updated over the years.

Regardless, '35 wires WILL work with '40 style drums and the common thin spacer ring. This '33 coupe has '40 drums and '35 wires and has been driven thousands of miles all over the country. Pretty solid "real world" experience...

donsrods said:

Rally America sells an adapter so you can run 35 wires on a newer rear end, like a 10 bolt, 9 inch, etc. They have various bolt patterns and they properly locate the wheels on the drums.



$60.00 Each
Kelsey Hayes Spacer/Adapters

Used to put '28-'35 Ford Wire Wheels and Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels on newer brake setups.

Don

Click to expand...

I was looking to get these exact spacers and I have been looking for '40 brakes to run all around the car.

I do understand that the adapters are not the safest, but given with what I want on my car, I have to sacrifice a little safety like with most classic cars we build.

And I must thank you Don most of all!!! I followed your basic T build and it has given me many ideas that I could adapt in my car build.

Tonight I am putting the front suspension on the frame. Next is getting the engine and transmission mounted to I can get the correct pinion to attach the rear end.

Does anybody have any good tips to finding the exact pinion angle?

Thanks all for your input so far. I will give you guys an updated pic today.

Here is a picture of progress.

The first one is just the wheels held up to about where they are going. Body will sit a little higher. It has a 4" chop.

Next picture is just something artsy fartsy I did.

Blue Eyed Devil said:

This '33 coupe has '40 drums and '35 wires and has been driven thousands of miles all over the country. Pretty solid "real world" experience...

Click to expand...

That car is completely unsafe. Let me take it off your hands before something bad happens.

I'll trade you a car with airbags and antilock brakes straight up! [ddd