'40 rear spring in a '32

Hotrodvideo

Hotrodvideo

Senior Member
I'm putting a '40 rear end & spring in a stock '32 chassis and it's high!
How many leafs can I take out of the 14 without it bottoming out and does anyone sell a reverse eye main leaf rear spring to lower it??? Thanks, Ed.
 
forty rear spring won't work in 32 ,32 spring has a bow, 40 is straight ,the 40 can be ground to fit in the 32 but the differential won't be where it won't be where it should be. John
 
Actually it does work, it's an old hot rod trick. I ground the 40 spring to fit the '32 crossmember and with the '40 rear end also, the wheelbase is exactly 106 like a '32 should be.
 
This should be a picture of how I notched a rear spring ('48) for a '32 rear crossmember. Basically, I ground one leaf until it fit nicely and used that as a pattern for the rest of the leaves, making sure they all fit individually. Then, I assembled the spring and made sure that it fit well. Then, I disassembled and sanded all the edges getting a nice radius and leaving no grinding marks or scratches.
 

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I've using a 40 spring in my 32 right now with 36 bells and a 42-47 p-up open drive banjo center section - it works if you grind the areas indicated. I also lined the leaves with the liner you can get from Speedway after cleaning and painting the 5-6 leaves I'm using - in my 120 mile run this past Sat it rode pretty nice so I'm thinking the liners helped.

BTW, I did use some of the upper leaves I removed underneath to make my rear spring thick/tall enough so the shackle bolts functioned correctly and made the spring nice an snug int he rear crossmember.
 
I usually run 7/8 leaves. This gets the car to sit good and ride good. I also use small rubber bumpers over the axle, helps stop the teeth from rattling if you bottom out.
 
None yet, I have a complete spring but the top ones are the only ones you can remove, you need the largest ones for strength.
 
I have my spring all set up with the main leaf eyes reversed and 8 leaves total and the banjo under the frame bolted in and the rear end is 1/2 inch back from where it should be which changes the wheelbase slightly. The only way I can think of to correct this is to grind the front of the spring so that the rear can move forward a little. Any other suggestions??
 
I think I`m right in saying that you have to use the torquetube from the `40 ,and shorten it accordingly.The `32 tube gives the problem you just descibed...I`m sure I read that recently.I have been looking into this swap myself, and will have no option but to use the `40 tube, as my rearend is the early pre V8 type even though it came from the factory with it`s V8 motor.
 
Hotrodvideo said:
I have my spring all set up with the main leaf eyes reversed and 8 leaves total and the banjo under the frame bolted in and the rear end is 1/2 inch back from where it should be which changes the wheelbase slightly. The only way I can think of to correct this is to grind the front of the spring so that the rear can move forward a little. Any other suggestions??[/QUOte

why don`t you just use a `32 spring? they are not that hard to find.
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It's the spring position that is causing the problem. Yes the '40 torquetube has to be shortened. I mean it's only 1/2" off and might not be that noticeable since it's a non fendered car. I have a '32 spring, you can't use it with the later banjo rears, it puts the rear end way out of position and wheelbase even further off. You can only use the '32 spring with the '32 rear end.
 
Hotrodvideo said:
It's the spring position that is causing the problem. Yes the '40 torquetube has to be shortened. I mean it's only 1/2" off and might not be that noticeable since it's a non fendered car. I have a '32 spring, you can't use it with the later banjo rears, it puts the rear end way out of position and wheelbase even further off. You can only use the '32 spring with the '32 rear end.
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i didn`t know that, thanx for the info.
tom
 
You can cut and weld the spring hangers on the tubes to adapt them to the 32 spring. A 40 torque tube will require a bunch more than a 1/2" shortening to fit. The 1/2" is about the amout difference in the banjo housing alone.
 
I don't know how the torquetube got into this conversation, it has nothing to do with where the rear end is positioned. The '32 frame has 2 holes drilled on either side from the factory that tells you where the rear end is postioned correctly. The '40 rear/spring is 1/2" forward from those holes. It's a fenderless car so if the rear is 1/2" forward from the stock holes, I don't think it will make a huge difference, but if I can position it correctly in the frame I'd rather have it fit. I will shorten the torquetube later after the rear is fitted to the frame correctly.
 
If you look at pictures of stock 32s you can see that the wheels are forward in the fenders. Since I started building hotrod chassis I have moved the rear back from stock to center it in the wheelwells.
 
35-36 spring hangers and ground spring will put the rearend where it is supposed to be I am using an open drive line with the wishbone split with rod ends mounted to the x member to keep the angle of the wishbone as it was.I have a pair of 35-36 bells.
John
 
Hotrodvideo said:
None yet, I have a complete spring but the top ones are the only ones you can remove, you need the largest ones for strength.
Click to expand...

Horsepucky... Remove every other leaf, and start with that. You can tune it up or down to improve the ride or height.

You can also reverse the spring yourself with a press or a big hammer and an anvil. Trace the curve of the main leaf on the floor of the shop. Pound/press away until you've reversed it and the contour matches.
 
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