Panheadguy
Member
Are spindles and steering gear the same?
Thank you
Thank you
A vs Aa
- Thread starter Panheadguy
- Start date
Joe K
Well-known member
Steering gear is the same column/box, pitman, drag link, tie rod.
Prior to about Feb 28 the front axle is the same except for the wheel hubs. About February a "recall" of sorts occurred and the spindles were upgraded. The recall/modification was free and widely applied - today not many of the OEM axles are found.
So no - areas around the spindles changed between Model A and Model AA.
Later, improvements/upgrades continued to be made to the front axle, but the steering geometry continued fhe same.
Until about October of 1929 when the Borg-Warner bevel gear axle was incorporated. Ford took that upgrade to upgrade MORE parts of the front axle including the beam and the steering arms.
Neil Wilson has not completed a front end analysis - a lot more is changed in drill in details of the brake drum/wheels/hubs/wheel nuts. But he describes the recall in some detail at https://aafords.com/aa-chassis/aa-3030-front-axle/
Look around Neil's site and you'll find many more AA "nuggets" aafords.com
I find many sellers of parts for the AA front axle on Ebay attempt to "elevate" their item claiming "AA" status and charging more for them - when in reality the part is the same as the Model A equivalent. So do your homework and "caviet emptor."
Another good place to do research on a specific part is the "Parts Price List" some of which have been reprinted for various "half-years" through the Model A era. USUALLY it is "annotated" if there was a substitution made.
Another good place is the 1948 published "Ford Green Book" which lists Model A and AA chassis parts but usually in the descriptive will describe "part anomalies" should they exist. Shop around for the Green Book on Ebay. There are a lot of sellers, some of whom think they have gold and some who sell the "used/fingerprinted" version considerably cheaper. There is even a CD/ROM out there for about half price of a written copy (about $30 usually)
Joe K
Prior to about Feb 28 the front axle is the same except for the wheel hubs. About February a "recall" of sorts occurred and the spindles were upgraded. The recall/modification was free and widely applied - today not many of the OEM axles are found.
So no - areas around the spindles changed between Model A and Model AA.
Later, improvements/upgrades continued to be made to the front axle, but the steering geometry continued fhe same.
Until about October of 1929 when the Borg-Warner bevel gear axle was incorporated. Ford took that upgrade to upgrade MORE parts of the front axle including the beam and the steering arms.
Neil Wilson has not completed a front end analysis - a lot more is changed in drill in details of the brake drum/wheels/hubs/wheel nuts. But he describes the recall in some detail at https://aafords.com/aa-chassis/aa-3030-front-axle/
Look around Neil's site and you'll find many more AA "nuggets" aafords.com
I find many sellers of parts for the AA front axle on Ebay attempt to "elevate" their item claiming "AA" status and charging more for them - when in reality the part is the same as the Model A equivalent. So do your homework and "caviet emptor."
Another good place to do research on a specific part is the "Parts Price List" some of which have been reprinted for various "half-years" through the Model A era. USUALLY it is "annotated" if there was a substitution made.
Another good place is the 1948 published "Ford Green Book" which lists Model A and AA chassis parts but usually in the descriptive will describe "part anomalies" should they exist. Shop around for the Green Book on Ebay. There are a lot of sellers, some of whom think they have gold and some who sell the "used/fingerprinted" version considerably cheaper. There is even a CD/ROM out there for about half price of a written copy (about $30 usually)
Joe K