King pin, needle bearings

[Robert Horne]

I seen an article in a Rodz magazine of the new kingpin kits that use

needle bearings instead of the bronze bushings. These are

available at "Speedway", for Fords. The needle bearing bushing

looks similar to a needle pilot bearing for transmissions. Every

kingpin kit I see for my Plymouth has the bronze/brass bushings.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Torrington bearing maybe...?

[Jerry Roberts]

I have seen some posts on old mopars , possibly Desotos that came with roller bearings on their king pins . My old truck has roller bearings on the bottom of one of the king pins where a bushing was replaced in the past . The metal must have been too wallowed out for a new bushing .

[deathbound]

Robert, you're 38's should have needle bearings all ready-at least the upper part of the spindle. I recently did the king pins on my 38 & it had needle bearings in the upper & bronze bushings in the lower part of the spindle. The replacement kit had 2 needle bearings & 2 bronze bushings-sorry, don't have pics of it apart.

Just to confirm, here's a set on ebay...http://www.ebay.com/itm/1938-Dodge-Plymouth-King-Pin-Set-830649-/190561874366?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2c5e5f71be...the needle bearings are wrapped up-zoom in & you can see "Torrington Needle Bearing" like was mentioned previously.

The linked set is WAY overpriced (I paid around $40 for my set)

I think 34-37 had bronze lower & upper. Hope this helps.

[Robert Horne]

Robert, you're 38's should have needle bearings all ready-at least the upper part of the spindle. I recently did the king pins on my 38 & it had needle bearings in the upper & bronze bushings in the lower part of the spindle. The replacement kit had 2 needle bearings & 2 bronze bushings-sorry, don't have pics of it apart.

Just to confirm, here's a set on ebay...http://www.ebay.com/itm/1938-Dodge-Plymouth-King-Pin-Set-830649-/190561874366?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2c5e5f71be...the needle bearings are wrapped up-zoom in & you can see "Torrington Needle Bearing" like was mentioned previously.

The linked set is WAY overpriced (I paid around $40 for my set)

I think 34-37 had bronze lower & upper. Hope this helps.

I had seen a similar set like these on ebay before, AK-162 for $46. I just assumed there were 4 bronze bushings in the set.

[Big_John]

Robert, you're 38's should have needle bearings all ready-at least the upper part of the spindle. I recently did the king pins on my 38 & it had needle bearings in the upper & bronze bushings in the lower part of the spindle. The replacement kit had 2 needle bearings & 2 bronze bushings-sorry, don't have pics of it apart.

I have the same in my 53 Windsor.

My favorite machine shop couldn't hone the bronze bushing to size because of not being able to align with the needle bearing.

I bought a reamer on Ebay and I'm hoping I can make that work. Anyone have any experience with this?

[Robert Horne]

I bought the king pin kit on ebay today, $25. I could not tell if it has needle bearings or all bronze bushings. No biggy, no more miles than I drive the 38.

[austinsailor]

Bushings will handle a heavier load than needel bearings, so I wonder what the advantage would be? Easier turning? Properly fitted bushings will have very little drag, so I don't see the advantage.

[Robert Horne]

Needle bearing king pin bushings may retain grease a little better than bronze

bushings. There seems to be little space for grease in the bronze

bushings.

[Jerry Roberts]

I have the same in my 53 Windsor.

My favorite machine shop couldn't hone the bronze bushing to size because of not being able to align with the needle bearing.

I bought a reamer on Ebay and I'm hoping I can make that work. Anyone have any experience with this?

My local shop that did this setup for me was able do do the reaming with one needle bearing and one bushing . I brought in the parts and didn't see how the work was done though . The shop was one that specialized in front end work and not a machine shop . Perhaps call around in your area . I know that you want to do the work yourself but if you have one bushing reamed it might not be too expensive .

[austinsailor]

My shop charges about $20 install and to fit normal bushings. YOu can't buy a reamer for that. And he gets it done right the first time!

[Big_John]

I bought a reamer on ebay for a little over $50. The shank is the same size as the king pin and the pilot is smaller, so reaming the pressed in bushing will be a snap.