Spring Perches: What Have I Here?

Charles Reese

Charles Reese

Well-known member
Recently received a box of ‘stuff’ from a friend. Amongst the treasures are what appear to be NOS spring perches:). However ... :(

Comparing them to the RG&JS (pg 4-3; 2011), clearly they are not Style 1 (arched). While they are ‘straight neck’, other dimensions don’t compare well to Style 2 or 3 either.
* Shoulder: ~1” wide x 1/4” thick. {Style 2: 1/8”; Style 3: 1/32”}
* Neck: 0.8” thick; ~0.5” (inside) ~1.1” long (outside) ..... RG&JS do not provide dimensions. Guess could be the camera angle of the JS photo but these seem to have a ‘shorter’ neck length …

Although apparently well made, I’m suspecting ‘repro’. Thoughts?
Dont want to misrepresent them if i decide to resell.
 

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I have been looking for parts to convert my 47 Ford Coupe from lever to tube shocks and have come across a lot of these. These are the bolts used to fasten the wishbones to the front axle on early Fords and have a spring shackle mount, the round ball for the lever shock dog bone link, and another hole maybe for a torsion bar leveler dog bone link. I am not sure which years it would fit on though. If you gave the measurements for the shaft and the mounting bolt hole, that might narrow it down. I think it would work on the 47 but I don't know for sure.

I would not need it though. I discovered that my car has a 1948 front axle instead of the 1947 one and the newer axle has a hole already in the axle for the shock mounting bolt. Somebody in the earlier line of ownership did me a big favor with that axle!
 
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Charlie Stephens said:
What original thread? How about a link?

Charlie Stephens
Click to expand...

I think the gentleman meant to say ....original post...., not thread. He believes them to be reproduction. I know Warshawsky & Co. sold '32-'34 perches BITD, maybe they had Model A perches too. I had a set of the early V8 perches, they were Argentine repros, forged, but the machining was kinda poor on the V8 ones. Are those forgings?
 
Fordors said:
Are those forgings?
Click to expand...

i dont see 'separation lines' anywhere, which i believe would suggest casting ... so i assume forging ... but an uneducated guesss at best! ... just seems the 'neck' on these is a little shorter than what the JS seem to show ...
 
The area right above the tapered area is not like any originals that I have ever seen. I think you perch bolts in your pictures are repros, but not like the ones I bought that were from Argentina many years ago before I wised up. The originals I have seen have a somewhat sharp edge to them directly above the wishbone. The perch bolt in your picture have too much of a cylinder in that area. Below is an original perch bolt.
Rusty Nelson
 

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Check the cotter pin hole. Some of the early repros had the hole going from front to rear and all the original i have seen have the hole going left to right.

Bob
 
I agree with Rusty. They are likely repro, as my originals look like Rusty's picture, and the repro's I've worked with are thicker in many areas. If fact I had to grind away some metal to use repro perches on the 29 Roadster I worked on.
 
The big thing for me is the beefyness of the shackle hole. The originals are almost dainty and the repros are all beefy. See how the originals also kind of taper to the end.

Once you key in on that you tell them from a distance laying on a table.

There are other things like the markings and just the overall look of the metal and machining.
 
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