Thread: 1940 Ford Pickup

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I'm just plain confused, I have posted reply's just like this one and they have not come through or have been deleted. I have emailed a Moderator and Admin with no response, is there anybody who knows who I should try to contact so I can post my truck build ? I've got lots of questions and really like the help I receive here.
Thanks
gordy

Bill S, mrmustang screen name, is the global moderator. He's got a lot of irons in the fire right now, but still keeps a hand on the tiller.
Brent Mills, screen name Brent Mills, owns the forum and some others, and is the super sleuth on all things computer.
No one else that I know of....

Where oh where is Tex Smith when we need him? He was famous for taking stock items from different cars and making them work on Hot Rods. Bet he could rattle a spring swap off the top of his head. I want to remember that some springs from 60's Ford cars were usable for you. The way to go is to measure what you think the center to center spring distance would fit best, then go looking. Don't look for stuff like the Explorer unless you can remove leafs from them. They will be too stiff. Look for similar car springs that have leaf stacks in them. That way you can tune the ride by removing leafs. Long leafs make softer ride, short springs in the stack make stiff rides. If you can free some bucks, best option is Posie's Super Slide springs, take a look at his catalog, lots of information. Other option is to get a truck spring maker to make up what you want. I have had that done twice now and both times have been perfect. Exact ride height I requested and exact ride smoothness I wanted. Cost was not bad for the two springs. Good Luck.

If I remember correctly the rear springs in a chassis engineering kit are from the front of a 48-50 dodge pick up? As far as newer stuff, maybe a ford ranger or s-10 possibly?

I have the spring thing just about figured out but I'm wondering about the spring capacity. Here are 3 of my choices at this point 477, 640 and 920 lbs per spring. These are off a Jeeps of varying models most are CJ5 - CJ8 with aprox. 44 inches between eyes, which would fit the frame. What do you think about the Spring Capacity issue ?

In order to really know you need to beg, borrow, rent or otherwise get hold of four load cells/scales to see what your weight distribution is. Or you could visit your local Co-Op or truck stop that advertises having scales and see if they'd weigh your front axle/back axle for you. Anything else is going to be a guess - maybe an educated guess based on similar car, or some other logical approach, but a guess just the same. Just my quick thought - may be wrong....

Roger has the correct answer, get the weight on the axles. Hard to do when it is all apart, huh?
Are the Jeep springs single leaf or multi-leaf? If multi-leaf, you can tune. I assume the CJ8 are the highest rated. That Jeep was longer, a pickup, and rated as a 1/2 ton. If I were picking out of the blue, I would go with the middle rating. But as Roger said, it is a guess.

Maybe Uncle Bob can offer some suggestions about approximate weight, and front to back bias on a '40 pickup? Then you could plug in the weight of your engine & tranny choice, maybe tweak the numbers a bit if they differ from the example, and get pretty close? Gotta be a way! Like maybe a search for weight on the 'net? Here's one 1940 Ford Street Rod Pickup Truck tricked out that says it shipped at 2737lbs, maybe round that to 2750lbs? What's the weight bias unloaded, maybe 65/35 front to rear? If you assume that your back springs are going to be carrying only around 962.5, right (2750x0.35=962.5). Now say you want to be able to tote 1000lbs (1/2 T) and you're at 1962.5, or right at a ton for the rear which puts you at 1000lbs per wheel. But you might want to do part of that as a "helper" spring, where the main leaf has to squash down a bit before the last couple see any weight? Make any sense?

Now that's just a WAG based on looking at a similar truck and a pure guess at the 65/35 split, but I'd think it's pretty close and probably where I'd go. I might also visit a local spring shop that makes up custom springs and visit with them as much as they'd allow, just to get educated a bit on specifics. Sorry for the long winded post - just felt like we were leaving you hanging with the "weigh it" answer.

Contact EDS, they have a library of thousands of vehicles and which springs to use.

Originally Posted by 34_40

Contact EDS, they have a library of thousands of vehicles and which springs to use.

Mike, I've never heard of EDS (other than Electronic Data Systems), and a Google search does not bring up anything for me. Is there a link? Sounds like a good one to store for future reference.

Rog, try Eaton Detroit Spring........
I don't have any particular insight on the weight thing, though Rogers calculations seem as reasonable as any. The notion of leaf removal for tuning is where I go. How the rig is to be used would influence too. If it's never going to haul a load of manure again then tune for ride rather than load. If a compromise for ride and load, a small set of auxiliary airbags could be a solution. Had that on my lowered Dodge Ram, functioned very well.

Yes, Eaton Detroit Spring.. I figured all well seasoned / international rodder types knew those initials..

Originally Posted by 34_40

Yes, Eaton Detroit Spring.. I figured all well seasoned / international rodder types knew those initials..

Nope, in my head they're Detroit Eaton, not Eaton Detroit and I think of them for rear gear products like the TrueTrac, TracLock or even the Detroit Locker as opposed to springs. Google doesn't link to the Eaton site from either EDS or DES so I learned something.
As for the "...seasoned/international rodder" tag,

Navy7797 don't let us hijack your thread here I think we kind of got back into the root of your question, and you should be able to pick out which springs to start with.

Originally Posted by rspears

Nope, in my head they're Detroit Eaton, not Eaton Detroit and I think of them for rear gear products like the TrueTrac, TracLock or even the Detroit Locker as opposed to springs. Google doesn't link to the Eaton site from either EDS or DES so I learned something.
As for the "...seasoned/international rodder" tag,

Navy7797 don't let us hijack your thread here I think we kind of got back into the root of your question, and you should be able to pick out which springs to start with.

Eaton Detroit Spring Home

Ask them here, great to work with..

Thanks guys thats all good info and comments . The springs I'm looking at are multiple leaf so the tuning thing is very doable. some that are available are 2 stage so I'm guessing that those have a helper type spring. I'll have to do some more research.
I just got back home with my 1962 327 cid vet engine, got the block, heads, pistons and crank for free from and old friend that has a body shop. Also picked up a 700r4 auto tranny from my brother-in-law who works for a tranny shop again another freebee. I guess I'll have to let them drive it around when I get it on on road. Thanks again for your reply's !