The Moreno Coupe - rear end

Dang it I let this update simmer a bit too long,

a little backed up here!

We left the coupe with a major problem,

a drag based rearend setup,

limiting the ride height to what you see here.

Major stinkbug,

that didn't look good with or without fenders.

The first order was to make sure the '57 chevy rear would fit,

as the wheels exceeded the width of the fenders.

May be an old mini-truck trend?

Whatever the reasoning was,

Mario set it right ordering some less deep rims.

In the meantime,

the firewall was trimmed back a bit.

More on that later,

as the new rims arrived before I finished.

The rim-job was a gamble,

The max setback was a 1.5" difference.

Would it work?

Ahh...much better.

Almost too perfect,

the tire was flush with the fender lip.

Now to set the ride height,

and figure out how to mount this rear end.

Mario chose these 1936 rear radius rods,

and of course he brought his best pair.

Always fun to dig out the original spring clamp.

There are a few methods at removing the wedged in bolt.

A friend Jason likes the water soak trick,

letting the rust bloom,

supposedly loosening up the seized bolt.

I didn't have time to wait for rust to grow,

so if that way works is a mystery.

My go to method is drilling a hole,

and finish off with careful torch work.

But not this time,

the gas bottles were empty.

Instead a progression of drilled hole sizes,

then good old pounding with a hammer and chisel.

Probably the safest way to do this,

as the metal isn't at risk of torch marks,

needing touch-up welding.

The trick deal with the long '36 bones,

is the spring mounts to the forged perch end,

and the rear mounts with a simple bracket.

The end result is a clean traditional prewar suspension,

the original ladder bars.

All our hot rods are like this,

both 40's and Chief,

using 8", 9" and banjo rear ends.

Should be easy right?

A quick mock up and ...

What's wrong with this picture?

The spring doesn't line up with the perch.

;">Holey Chit!

Unlike the '35-48 flat spring,

the '33-34 ford rear spring curves forward.

>Now that 8" spring to rear centerline.

>was off by almost 1.25".

I can see why people use cheesy aftermarket brackets!

Internet whizzes had no easy fix.

It took some thinking to come up with a solution.

Actually a lot of thinking.

Here's the "How to mount a 1933/1934 ford rear end

using 1936 radius rods!"

First the rear mounting tabs were cut off,

as the axle would need to be in that spot.

Then the perch tubes were cut

and rotated to the correct angle.

Now at least the spring could be attached correctly.

Kinda.

Here's where it's nice to have a collection of tall jackstands.

With the spring installed in the crossmember,

the body weight rested on the spring ends.

No guessing at spring compression.

Tie rod bungs were welded to the radius rod ends,

and clamped in place.

With the rear end set to ride height,

a template was trimmed up.

And magically transferred to 3/8" steel.

Couldn't be easier.

The rear mounting tabs were not welded yet,

until a final mockup.

The rear end angle set 

and a couple quick tacks...

It seemed almost perfect,

if you like a slammed rear.

Well Mario thought it was too low and it was,

the rear sat on the bumpstops.

No problem.

First the tabs were welded up...

And 1.25" cut out of the brackets.

With the modified brackets tacked up,

I think this was the third time installing the spring.

Now this looks the same,

but it's not resting on the frame/bumpstops anymore.

The fender wasn't totally aligned for the pic,

so it seems a little forward.

It looked cool to most of us,

kinda tucked in but not airbag low.

Everything removed and finish welded.

A little black paint...

This last time the spring was greased up,

which caused a bit of a problem,

as it was so rusty earlier it barely moved.

The tie rod end mounts

were welded to the new crossmember piece...

And a short gusset

to beef up the weak spot.

With the fenders on

Mario thought there wasn't enough rake.

The easiest fix was to flatten the front crossmember.

Over an inch drop just in cut and weld.

Finally an easy win.

We threw on the fenders,

and had a chin scratch.

The ride height had lowered a bit in the rear,

most likely a result of the greased rear spring.

Since Mario wanted a 50's hot rod,

an inch spacer would do the trick.

Later on he can re-arch the spring or replace it.

This would be easier with a flat spring!

Two 1/2" spacers were torched out...

This better work! Next up is modifying the spring clamps,

rear shocks, firewall and pedals...

More later!

TP