Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

cobber · Joined: 08 Dec 2007 Posts: 200 Location: NSW Australia

I am hoping a member of this incredible forum can identify this front axle for me.
It is fitted to what I think is a pre 1935 pop top caravan built here in Australia.

There have been two methods used to keep the wheels in the straight ahead position.. The small piece of steel welded to the middle of the king pin housing and the idler arm and then to the axle. I imagine that didn't work to well so then a piece of flat iron was bolted between the idler arm and the spring U bolt.

Another complication I think you might find identifying this axle is the hub arrangement.
It looks to me like two hubs have been welded together. The one on the inside nearest the beam axle looks like it was a five stud with a PCD of 4 & one quarter inches, to it has been welded another hub with an one and five eighth spacer between them, the second hub was originally a six stud with a 4 & three quarter inch PCD so it has been re drilled to accommodate the five stud set up

The spring hangers might give a more reliable clue,

This is the front one

And this is the rear one

The springs are 27 inches apart on the axle ( centre to centre ) and the axle is 51 inches long ( kingpin to kingpin )

The axle

If I know you blokes somebody will identify it from that last photo without all the other waffle I went on with.

Thanks for looking, you've been a great help to me in the past so here's hoping you can do it again.

Cobber.

roverdriver · Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:55 am Post subject:

They bayonet fitting grease nipples suggest something like a vintage Chevrolet, but quite a few makers used those nipples in the vintage years.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

cobber · Joined: 08 Dec 2007 Posts: 200 Location: NSW Australia

Thanks for that roverdriver, a couple of other blokes from the state of Victoria agree with you Wink

What I'd now like is to try and get a rough idea what year and whether the hubs look original for that Chev axle Rolling Eyes

Cobber.

Mog · Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 663 Location: Sydney

I would not like to take this caravan down the road for 10 kms. This set up is not good. I would suggest that you get an axle from another caravan of the same age. It is a dodgy, bodgy job.

cobber · Joined: 08 Dec 2007 Posts: 200 Location: NSW Australia

G'day Mog,

What we are trying to work out is if this van is the prototype of a caravan built by a very famous Aussie caravan builder from the 30s or.... a poor copy of one of his caravans.
I'm inclined to think it was a prototype to test the design of the body and the workings of the pop top because as you have noticed it is not the sort of thing this highly respected builder would try to sell.

What is it in particular about the axle that would make you nervious to go 10k down the road with it Wink

By the way..... I finished up replacing those Morgan three wheeler bearings you identified for me five years ago with stronger stuff Wink

Cobber.

roverdriver · Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:14 am Post subject:

I was hoping that a member would identify the axle because he owns a car with the same axle. I have done some hunting, but photographs of front axles alone are somewhat hard to find. In this article there is a good photo of a Chev, but it is a bit earlier than what I guess would be the date for your axle, there are, however some interesting similarities in spite of the differences.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/130386.html?1269252966
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

cobber · Joined: 08 Dec 2007 Posts: 200 Location: NSW Australia

G'day roverdriver,

After you mentioned the Chev connection I did a google and stumbled across this site which should have been proof positive.

Although the measurements.. King pin to king pin and spring to spring are pretty much the same as my axle there is a small difference... that bump on top of the axle near the king pins my axle doesn't have, maybe I should ignore that aye ?

Thanks for your help mate Wink

Cobber.

Mog · Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 663 Location: Sydney

Those Morgan 3 wheeler bearings never lasted long as they were only case hardened , so I believe. Some guys used to change them for taper roller bearings. But that is a big job as all the spokes have to come out and the wheel re built.
It just does not look good, are the wheels running in a straight line ? I could see some thing breaking and the caravan flipping over. In May I pulled an older 19 ft. caravan 1,700 kms. in 3 days. I did all the driving, no problems.
Lost a tyre on the 4 x 4.

roverdriver · Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:02 am Post subject:

Hello Cobber, Unfortunately I am not all that familiar with the Chevrolet marque, however the axles shown on that site with the bumps are all 1928 and later. The '490' of 1922 is without the bumps, so I am of the opinion that your axle is a bit earlier than 1928, and might belong to a 'pre-bump' age. It could of course be from a completely different car too, but perhaps contacting a Chevrolet owners club might help.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.