12 Leaf Front Spring ??

[Conaway2]

Is this original for a ‘29 Sport Coupe ? This car was apparently in a minor wreck at some point, as the passenger side frame horn was broken off.

The JS&RG say that all front springs were 10 leaves….except for special applications.

Could this 12-leaf spring be a replacement ? It’s in very good condition.

Thanks - Jim

[ursus]

It is possible that the front axle and steering components were damaged in the same accident and somebody replaced everything with an axle and springs sourced from a junk yard that happened to come from some special application. This sort of thing was common years ago. The previous owner of my coupe had a bad ring and pinion so he replaced the whole back end with one from a junker, which happened to be from a vehicle with a 10 leaf rear spring and that explained the stiff ride until I pulled out two leaves. I have also heard of adding a leaf or two to the front spring to stiffen up a tired and sagging original spring. Somebody could write a book about all "fixes" that have been done over the years.

[Osage Orange]

Model AAs have 12 leaves, so ursus likely has gone to the heart of the issue. They were more plentiful in scrap yards with less chance that someone wanted to resurrect a one-ton truck than a coupe, tudor, roadster, etc. More leaves gives you more options to fine tune your suspension.

[Conaway2]

I believe Ursus nailed it. While cleaning the front axle today, I found it stamped ‘AA’ in two places. From what I’ve read, this is a truck axle. I’m not sure what is different from a car axle…..

Thanks for the help - Jim

[Osage Orange]

28-29 AA axle shouldn't be any different than the car axle.

[SeaSlugs]

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Originally Posted by Conaway2

I believe Ursus nailed it. While cleaning the front axle today, I found it stamped ‘AA’ in two places. From what I’ve read, this is a truck axle. I’m not sure what is different from a car axle…..

Thanks for the help - Jim

Check the commercial vehicle section of the judging standards. Has dimensions of the aa front spring in there.

[ursus]

Originally Posted by Conaway2

I believe Ursus nailed it. While cleaning the front axle today, I found it stamped ‘AA’ in two places. From what I’ve read, this is a truck axle. I’m not sure what is different from a car axle…..

Thanks for the help - Jim

I have seen the raised AA on front axles on many Model A cars and my coupe clearly has one. Somewhere in the past I was told that the raised AA was a forging mark that denoted the type of vanadium steel in the forging and had no specific relationship to the AA truck axles. Maybe somebody here can comment on that.