Another Build Thread - My '32

[stovens]

When I worked down in the keys we went thru gallons of Ospho!

[Hotrod46]

Jim, I just found this thread. I had to subscribe to it since I enjoyed your track T build.

[J. Robinson]

After letting the Ospho on the housing dry overnight I reassembled "chunk", backing plates, and axles to it. This 3rd member is a good one I already had with a 3.50 gear (I still haven't disassembled the one that came in this housing). I will mess with the brakes later. As soon as my new lug studs arrive I can bolt some wheels on this, roll it under the frame, and start fab'ing the suspension pieces. Don't worry about the grime on the chunk; this all gets pressure washed and degreased before painting.

[J. Robinson]

With the rear end out of the way (for now) I turned my attention to the front axle. It's been resting quietly in the weeds behind my shop since I built my coupe 11 years ago. This axle is identical to the one in my coupe - it came from an old Jeep station wagon (1948 - '62?). A good friend of mine gave me two of these several years ago. Originally they were suspended on parallel leaf springs, had drum brakes, and used a 5 on 5 1/2 bolt circle. So what? Well, the good news is they have a factory 4-inch drop!

On my coupe I converted the brakes to discs using spindle stubs, caliper brackets, and rotors from a mid-'70s AMC Hornet. AMC parts are becoming very scarce, so the brake conversion may have to be re-designed; time will tell. I suspended my coupe with all home made brackets, radius rods, and Nissan pickup torsion bars. I will do something very similar here.

Here is the axle with the brake remnants and backing plates removed. Next step will be to trim off the edges of the spring pads and do a bunch of grinding.

[J. Robinson]

Steve- Then you know how well this stuff (Ospho) works!

Welcome Hotrod46. Glad to have you following along.

[stovens]

Yup it's good stuff. Lots of work getting rust off a transaxle/pumpkin.

[40FordDeluxe]

Very nice work! how long can ospho be un painted in moist climates before you need to get it primed and painted? I'm thinking I need to get me some of that. The rear end is looking great. That's a good find on a 4" drop axle too.

[J. Robinson]

I'm not real sure how long Ospho holds up outdoors; I've never left it more than a couple of months, but under roof (out of the rain) it lasts indefinitely. The rust is turned into iron phosphate, but any bare steel is also etched and turned a dull gray. It leaves a hard surface that seems inert unless it's scratched or gouged through to the untreated metal underneath. When you're ready, it only needs a light scuffing with Scotchbrite or fine sandpaper before priming and painting. The stuff goes a long way, too, and never goes bad. I've had that gallon jug for at least 10 years and it's still as strong as when it was new. I might add here, if anybody is going to use this stuff, it is an acid based product - dangerous to your eyes and skin.

OK, I spent todays shop time trimming and grinding the axle. I torched the spring pad edges off yesterday before I quit for the day. Today I finished the job with a trio of grinders. I used my 4" electric grinder with hard grinding wheel for the "heavy" work - material removal on the edges where the spring pads were torched off and grinding the forge parting lines off. I followed that with the pistol grinder with a common 36 grit disc and the angle die grinder with the Roloc disc to soften and smooth any grinder marks left by the hard wheel. I discovered a couple of deep rust pits on the left end on top where they would show that were too deep to remove with the grinder, so I MIG-welded them up and then ground them smooth. The real rust damage (pitting) is, thankfully, on the back of the axle near the center where it will be under the car when it's built. This axle will never be a candidate for chroming, but that's OK. Here is a pic of the freshly ground axle.

[J. Robinson]

So, what does the ugly old Jeep axle look like installed? Here's an early pic of my coupe that shows it pretty well.

[Bob Parmenter]

Good stuff Jim.
I've used phosphoric acid in similar fashion to what Jim shows for decades. I buy it straight with no dyes or supposed other wonders in it and it does just what Jim has commented on. Stored inside, the treated pieces will stay clean looking for years (not sure I'd commit to indefinitely though). It does have to be handled carefully, and cleaned properly after the activity of the acid has done it's job for proper topcoat adhesion.
I'll post a few pics to give some added info to the thread. I've learned that the appearance changes from application to application, I'm guessing it may have something to do with the alloy content of the steel. The splash shields I'll show turned a nice golden color. Those pieces didn't have any appreciable rust I just gave them the acid wash for preservation purposes. The frame had typical "shop rust", light splotchy surface rust and hand print leftover and cleaned up nicely with brush on and very light scotchbrite rub before washdown. The one detail shot you might see some evidence of light pitting and how it's been converted (dark dot looking stuff).
Like Jim, I bought a gallon years ago and still have a small bit left after doing quite a few frames, bodies, and piles of components. Probably one of the most economical, and effective, products I've ever used playing with cars.

[J. Robinson]

Well, I've been working, but not accomplishing much. As I did with my Track-T build, I will tell you everything as I go, warts and all. I began fabricating the front batwings and I will post some pics later when I get a bit further along with them, but I have hit a snag...

When I built my coupe several years ago, I used the Jeep front axle. It already has a 4 inch drop and, more importantly, it was free! In fact, I was given two of them. Also, in my stash of accumulated freebee parts, I had a set of AMC spindle stubs, caliper brackets, and rotors. As I began this project I assumed I would use the other Jeep axle, but AMC spindle parts are either made of "unobtainium" or they are worth their weight in gold. For the price of one side of used AMC spindle parts I could buy a complete new Speedway Motors disc brake kit for early Ford. I had a buddy measure a Ford spindle and send me the dimensions. It looked like I could make it work if I cut .060 inch out of the inside of the bearing adapter and leave out the spacer that goes between the outer bearing and nut, so I ordered the kit. The kit arrived ahead of schedule, so I immediately set out to verify if I could make it work. Yes, the adapter has enough meat to it that I can open it up .060" and the spindle is just the right length if I leave out the outer spacer. Unfortunately, it's the caliper bracket that is a problem...

Ford spindles have a much larger backing plate flange. The Jeep flange is at least an inch smaller in diameter. There is not enough material overlap for me to drill either the flange or the caliper bracket. At first I thought "no problem, I'll just position them correctly and weld them in place". Wrong! The spindles are forged steel, but the caliper brackets are cast iron... So.., I am now looking at the possibility of putting Ford spindles on this Jeep axle. I can ream the kingpin bosses on the axle to fit the Ford kingpins. The question now is whether Ford and Jeep have the same kingpin inclination. I think I will order the spindles. When they arrive I can check the angles. If there is a difference then I will order the forged Speedway 4" dropped beam axle... Or maybe I should just go ahead and get the axle and move on... Stay tuned.

[J. Robinson]

I did get one positive thing accomplished; I got my rear tires. These are 31-10.50R15. They are 30 inches tall and 9 inches across the tread. Should fit the Deuce rear wheel well very nicely. They are 3 inches taller than the 275-60s on my coupe.

[40FordDeluxe]

My luck the inclination wouldn't be the same. But maybe you'l get lucky. Nice new tires!

[34_40]

Hi'Ya Jim.. interesting "collection" of parts you've assembled.
this is why I enjoy your threads, always makes me think of new ways of looking at a problem.

Keep up the good work, I'll be watching 8-)

[Driver50x]

Can you just fabricate a new caliper bracket, or modify one such as the Allstar part number ALL42102?

(I haven't figured out how to post a picture on here yet.)