Hot Rod Front End - More Bang For Your Buck - Tech

Next came the spindle installation. The frontend assembly came with a kingpin set that consists of a pair of kingpins, felt washers, cup washers, lower bearings, and retaining pins. Paying attention to installing the spindles correctly (there is a difference between the left and right hand spindles) Michael lubed the kingpins, slid the felt washer up to the head of the kingpins, and followed with the cup washers that sandwich the felt between them and the kingpin heads. He then slid the spindles over the axle ends and installed the lower bearings between the axle and the lower spindle flange, making sure to install the bearings with the surface marked top was indeed facing up toward the axle. The kingpins were then slid downward making sure the machined indentation of the pins lined up with the holes in the axle and the retainers were inserted from the front. Michael also opted to use P&J retainer nuts that double as steering stops rather than the standard hex head nuts supplied in the kingpins set.

The steering arms were next. In this case since the car is being set up for cross-steer the right side steering arm is equipped with two mount holes and the left side with one.

With the kingpins, spindles, and steering arms in place, the next step was to locate and install the front shock mounts. P&J upper shock mounts are designed for use with 4-inch dropped axles so keep in mind using them with a stock axle or one with less of a drop may cause the spindle steering arm to hit the shock. If this is the case in your situation you can either rotate or swap the lower shock mounts side to side to provide clearance. In the case of a Model A the upper mount will be located 2-1/4 inches rearward of the upper rearmost fender brace hole (on '32 Ford rails they're located 3-1/8 inches rearward of the fender brace holes).

At this point Michael was in the home stretch. Next up was the assembly and installation of the Panhard bar and bracket. As done with the radius rods, the rod end threads were treated to a bit of lube and then threaded into the Panhard about half way (don't forget the jamb nut).

The rod end attaches to the flange on the right hand batwing and the mounting bracket on the driver-side framerail.

Michael attached the Panhard to the batwing and then raised the driver-side upward until the mounting bracket was centered on the bottom surface of the left hand framerail where it was tack welded into place.

The final steps of the install (short of finish welding on the hairpin and shock mounts) was the assembly and installation of the steering tie rod and drag link. Again, lube the threads of the tie rod ends and thread the jamb nuts onto 'em about half way, then thread the ends into the tie rod keeping in mind the fact that one side is a right hand thread and the other a left hand thread.

It's recommended that you locate the rod ends with the threads point upward. One end of the drag link is attached to the rear hole of the right steering arm, and the tie rod to the forward hole on the right arm and the single hole on the left.

At this point the frontend install is about complete. Aside from the installation of the front brake assemblies about the only thing left was the installation of the grease fittings at the king pins and rod ends and the finish welding of the hairpin, shock, and Panhard brackets. As you can see, the install is a simple matter and this example of P&J's clear instructions shows how they pretty much walk the installer through every step. Perhaps in the near future we'll get the chance to pick up where we left off and follow the front brake install (and maybe even the rear suspension too). IUntil then, if you're ready for a top-quality traditional style hot rod frontend check out what P&J has to offer-we're sure you'll be as pleased as we are!