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Need major help with a 29 Chrysler 75


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That's a bearing.  Installing new kingpins (to assemble the spindle to the axle) is not an easy job.  First, you obviously have to drive the old bushings out of the axle and then install the new ones.  The have to be installed with the correct tool or you will damage them..  Then comes the important part.  The bushings will be oversized.  You need to ream them with an adjustable reamer to the correct size and clearance for the kingpin, and the reamer has to be employed so that both the upper and lower bushings are reamed to ensure perfect alignment for the kingpin.  Certainly possible for the home mechanic, but you need the correct tools and some knowledge of what you're doing, or you'll ruin the kingpin set and have to start over.

 

Here is the bushing being installed on the axle.

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The reaming tool.

 

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Reaming the bushings.

 

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Pushing the kingpin in. Note the bearing on top between the axle and the spindle.  A tapered pin goes in the small hole in the spindle and through a groove in the kingpin to lock everything in place.  Then caps go on the top and bottom of the exposed kingpin.

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Assembled.

 

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I hope this helps.

Edited by Taylormade (see edit history)
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 And is that part of the shock that has that strap coming down to the axle? Can you get a better picture of that please?

The strap connects the moving arm of the shock to the axle.  Apparently, the strap material is hard to find these days.  I was lucky - my car uses a metal yoke so I didn't have to deal with that problem.

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Those are pictures of my 1932 Dodge during the ongoing restoration. Ed Thomas of Thomas Resorations in Columbus, Missouri helped me with the kingpins. He had done all the bodywork on my car - extensive and way beyond my skill level - and offered to install and ream the bushings for me. This illustrates one of the problems with restoring any car. Certain jobs require special tools and often those tools turn out to be expensive - especially if you only are going to use them once. I have done maybe 80 percent of the work on the car myself, but some jobs require outside help and this was one of them. Ed had the tools and expertise, and I took him up on his offer to help. What he charged was far less than the cost of buying the correct tools and learning the correct method of installation. I posted the photos, not to be a know-it-all (which I'm certainly not) but to illustrate that correctly installing kingpins is an exacting job that needs to be done right.

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Packard, you will have to be a little more specific with me. This is the first thing with an old car I have done and it isn't even together.

So I laid out the parts for the front axle, it is all there but one of the ball joints came apart, are there any good sources for new ones?

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Thank you, I will give them a call here, so these are the bolts for the front springs, is there just the oversize nut and a lock washer to secure them? Some have a larger nut also, maybe just used for spacing? And were their bump stops mounted above the springs?

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Emptied another crate, I believe the brake pads are Chrysler because they line up to the 16.5 inch backing plates and not the smaller 13 inch ones that don't line up with the brake drums on the wood rims. But are there any other Chrysler parts in the lot that I need to keep? Or are they all model a parts.

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Those wheel cylinders and any hydraulic brake parts go to the Chrysler since Model A Fords all had mechanical brakes. I imagine that the shock straps would be o.k. to use, but it depends on how you are going to drive the car when done. If you are going to drive it a lot, I would get new strap material.

Edited by keiser31 (see edit history)
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Here are the top pictures which measure 6foot from the front above the windshield to where it drops down just behind the rear door. Door panels, only one has a label. And the frame for the top, same 6foot span. Their is an extra metal loop that has the same fabric on it, I don't know where it goes to. Are their any other pieces for the top I'm missing?

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Any progress with getting the body back? Are you sure the guy still has it at this point? This is a rare car and getting the body home is the most important piece of the puzzle. Spending time (and money) restoring the frame and running gear may be enjoyable (maybe not the money part) but a restored frame isn't going to be worth much without the body. Best of luck getting it back.

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After the first of the year I'm going to go visit his neighbors and see if they might have any leads on where he went. He said he was storing it at his buddies dealership. Working on figuring out which one. I do have 2 body panels, but they are just the two strips that go between the front and rear doors. Thank you everyone, I hope I get it too.

Edited by Bevans077 (see edit history)
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Went to franks house today with no answer at the door. Did an internet search and found a current number and got in contact with him, apparently both parties claim they couldn't get ahold of the other. So a year after we picked up the running gear he scrapped the body because he was tired of it taking up his space. Now I'm in the market for a model 75 body, I need the hood, cowl, doors and tub.

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At this point you'd be better off just finding another car.  Finding just a body will not be an easy process and finding one in good condition will be even more difficult.  It kills me that this rare body went to the scrap heap.  Either the guy who had it (Frank) is a complete idiot or he has the body (or sold it) and just doesn't want to fess up.  Was he supposed to be a restorer/car guy?  If so, no competent restorer would ever scrap a convertible sedan body.

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Farnk had his own body shop and has done cars for other people. When he closed his shop he canceled his number and we no longer had a way to contact him for the last 5 years. I don't believe he ever looked anything up about this car. He disassembled it and that was it. He still said he was owed money but all the bills from him I have say paid in full on them.

Would love to get it back to original. I have all the parts (I believe) for the center divider, I'm not at all concerned with how long it might take. I believe I can get it there

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If you really want to pursue this project, You might buy  a four door sedan an use that as a base for the body.  There are no convertible sedan bodies for that car anywhere in the world.  Only 7 or 8 were built.  supposedly only one remains.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Another update from Frank. My grandma just called him, he told her that he sold them and have given her 3 places where the body could of gone. We are contacting those places now.

We're crossin' our fingers for you....

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