1940 Ford Suspension Question

[roadsterpilot#42]

Did the 40 Fords have a rear panhard bar originally? I know the 46-48 Ford came with them, are they really necessary with wishbones,transverse spring and the torque tube? I cant see where there would be that much movement............Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TerryOH]

No rear sway bar on the 1940 Fords. The early 40 front Sway bar was a very poor design and many were disconnected by owners or service garages. The 60HP, 40 Fords did not have the sway bar. So for the 40 Fords the front sway bar may offer some stability but it is not a necessity.

 

[Ol' Ron]

The length and angle of the spring shackles determines the need for a panhard bar. When the shackles are vertical a they allow the axle to move latterly under the car. The longer shackles magnafy this. The panhard bar eliminates it.

 

[woodiewagon46]

Think of the rear hanging on two movable points (shackles) and fixed at the torque tube. Every time you go over a bump the rear moves up and down AND side to side as the shackles do their job. In the rear, if it is a small bump the movement is minimal, but it can "float" on the shackles. On the front of the car a Panhard Bar is used to correct this condition, called "bump steer". A car with a really loose front end can move all over the place when it goes over bumpy roads. If your car does not have a sway bar and you drive a lot at highway speeds, it can't hurt.

 

[RPM]

The only front sway bar in 40 was on the Deluxe models, none were on the Standard. Don't know if the 60 horse Deluxe (which I suspect a few were built) had a front sway or even needed one.

 

[TerryOH]

The front sway bar on the 40 was a feature of the 85HP and not a feature of Standard or Deluxe. The "Standard 85HP" Did have the front sway bar, the "Standard 60HP" did not.

 

[RPM]

I purchased a one owner 85 horse 1940 sedan a few years back which did not have a front sway (stabilizer) bar. It was a dry Western car which had been shedded since 1962. It had the perch pins for the non-s-bar. This car was so original that it still had the assembly line brown tissue paper on the lower steering column mast (to keep from scratching column paint during body drop?). An earlier build, but amazing in it's unmolested details. The front sway bar on a 1940 has always indicated to me that the chassis was produced as a Deluxe V8. Perhaps that is not correct?

 

[Mart]

Was the 40 deluxe front spring a little wider than the standard spring?

Mart.

 

[RPM]

Widths were same after they were installed and vehicle weight spread (or flattened out) the leaf assembly. The stack (#of leafs) varied depending on weight and capacity of model of course. The height of the leaf stack created different U-bolt lengths and different thickness for the tie bars (u-bolt cross bars) for the specific application. For example, a wagon spring and U bolt is different than a coupe which is different than a half-ton PU.

 

[TerryOH]

Both the Standard and the Deluxe 1940 front springs are 2" wide.

 

[TerryOH]

There are two completely different sway bars for the 40. There is an early bar it also uses completely different perch pins 01A-3033, than the later style (more typical 40 perch pins 01A-3033-C ). Below is the early perch pin and the early swivel for the bar. The 60HP 40 used the 1937 pin 78-3032

 

[Mart]

Sorry, by width I really meant length.

Doh!

Mart.

 

[TomT/Williamsburg]

For those who do not mind "non original" parts, I picked up an aftermarket swaybar of unknown origin (CE maybe?) for the 35-40. It hangs off the bottom of the perch bolts (similar to the hotrod piston shock mounts off of the perch bolts) and bolts to the frame in front of the front crossmember. I've installed this in my 40 p-up and it's a nice, beefy unit, but the truck is not on the road yet to have tried it. I also modified the install for my different front suspension but I believe, by its looks, it will work very well ....

 

[19Fordy]

Here's the 40 DeLuxe sway bar. Click on pic to enlarge.