front axle spindles

joda56

joda56

Member
Yesterday I hammered out the king pin bushings from my 29 Phaeton and found a thin layer of metal like from a coke can inside the bottom drilling hole between axle housing and bushing. My new bushing will fall through the drilling hole now. I don`t want to work this way or try a pepsi can instead, so I have to look for a substitute.
Any hint, where I can buy both front axle spindles in good/fairly condition are appreciated.
 
joda56 said:
Yesterday I hammered out the king pin bushings from my 29 Phaeton and found a thin layer of metal like from a coke can inside the bottom drilling hole between axle housing and bushing. My new bushing will fall through the drilling hole now. I don`t want to work this way or try a pepsi can instead, so I have to look for a substitute.
Any hint, where I can buy both front axle spindles in good/fairly condition are appreciated.
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Are you asking where to look in the States -or in Germany. If in the States, I would first contact Steve at Bert's Model-A. www.modelastore.com
 
Maybe give Bert's Model A Center near Denver a call? I happened to be out there a couple of weeks ago and Steve was nice enough to give me a tour of the place. It is huge and a very impressive selection of OE model A parts.
 
Obviously, a non-oversized set of spindles would be the first choice but given your location maybe you could have a set of oversized kingpin bushings made up and installed locally faster and for less $ than the overseas shipping Pretty easy job for any competent machine shop.
But I'll also add to the yes on Steve at Berts, GREAT people to work with if you want to go that direction :)
 
Hmm, if I would go for a oversized bushing I would like to know some things:
the original bushing is a steel and brass compound, my oversized one can only be out of brass. What is the clue about the compound that I will miss with my brass one?


I also thought about the problem of a missing grease nut. But I guess I can do it with a dremel, couldn`t I?


And at least: why has the original bushing that cutting line from top to bottom with the shape of a butterfly wing in the middle??? Looks nice, but what sense does it make?
 
joda56 said:
And at least: why has the original bushing that cutting line from top to bottom with the shape of a butterfly wing in the middle??? Looks nice, but what sense does it make?
Click to expand...

I have seen that shape and put it down to how the bush is made. I think the bushes are a piece of steel backing with a layer of bronze attached accurately cut to size, then rolled into a cylinder to form the bush. That butterfly shape is to hold the ends together.
 
yeah, that is exactly my thought about it. But the man in the shop said "Nah, it`s to open the bushing." And I thought: Nah, I might be far away from being an expert, but who in the world want to open a bushing, that will be hammered in the bushing hole?
 
This problem has occurred before. There is a fellow here that heats the spindle where the bushing goes until it is a warm read and then cools it in a bucket immediately and the hole shrinks. You may have to do this a couple of times but it seems to work. You definitely don't want the shim moving and misaligning the grease hole. Considering your location and expense at replacement, I would think this would be a first try. Also, replacing the kingpin would not fix the problem of a bushing falling through.
Good luck
Warren
 
I knew a man who operated a business repairing badly worn heavy truck spindles. He would remove the old bushings and then insert a piece of round stock just smaller than the bushings into both bushing holes. Then heating the area where the bushings were inserted until they were red hot he would hammer (BIG hammer) around it until the bushing holes in the spindle were now smaller. He had a special technique and was quite good at it. After it cooled, he would ream the holes to allow for fitting of new bushings, pressed in the new bushings and then reamed them to fit the new king pins. It worked well for many heavy trucks and saved significant replacement expense. Something to think about.
 
Yeah, you`re both right. If there would be no source to get good substitutes, you have to do hard work. But as so many Model A were rebuild as Hot Rods or even just get some juicy brakes and different steering, there must be a lot of used spindles in still good condition for a fair prize on the market to avoid the hard work. Besides of hard work, I guess it`s not easy for a Rookie in Germany to do this with a satisfactory ending.
 
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