how to - play ball

Every cool picture has a story.
Here goes...how to modify a ford front suspension in 2 hours...

1940 ford coupe - industrial sunset

This past sunday I had a mission,
and smashing my fingers wasn't gonna stop me.

work truck

All the necessary tools loaded up,
and off to the yard we go.
No wonder they used these 40's as moonshiners!

operating room

The problem arose from the axle sectioning done last year,
which positioned the pivot locator ball 3/8" farther back.
This created a worse problem of pushing the axle forward,
only a paper width away from the front crossmember.
At stops it would make a light knocking sound.
Sounds safe huh!

the problem

Back in the 60's someone had modified a later '46ish set of radius rods,
the type with the swooshy curve,
to fit the frame.
If you look closely you'll see that gobbly extension the ball is on.

the solution

Instead of re-cutting at that extension scar,
which has lasted 6 years of driving on my watch,
someone somewhere had mentioned rewelding the actual ball.
This seemed much easier,
no triangulation issues just one fat weld.

fun at work

It always boils down to me welding underneath the car,
lying on my back,
an hour before sundown.
Another smart idea here is to use cardboard as a creeper/pad.
Hmm is he joking right now?

crude but effective

At least a dozen short passes with the stick welder,
a ton of hammering to simulate a forging process,
and the ball was set in place.

like a glove

The mate was perfect with the rubber cover,
and hey I'd make it home before dark!

1940 ford coupe - resto-rod

I think this picture was taken before the operation,
but it doesn't matter.
The wheel position was about the same.
Most importantly that familiar clicking sound had disappeared.
On to the next project!

TP