Mystery Drop Spidles Solved?

[chevychase]

I had an earlier post asking for some help ID'ing some drop spindles I picked up, but they had nasty surface rust and I saw no stamped markings. I media blasted and primered and found a Bell Logo stamped on the LH but not the RH, the RH has what looks like a ©, but they are clearly a matched set.

I got 2 questions:

Are these Taco Bell Spindles or is that the old BellTeh logo? My buddy says the older BellTech spindles had a Bell logo way back when, but i'd like to verify this.



Also I noticed the LH has a step cut out of the bottom where the RH does not, is that normal?

[70c10]

Mine are CPP brand and I had to grind that area because they were rubbing the upper control arm when you turned the wheels. You will most likely need to grind that area off, it's no biggie , just go slow with the grinder. You can see the raised line in your pic where it was supposed to be removed.

**Actually after going back and looking at your pic I remembered mine just needed the edges rounded. I don't see how you can grind that area properly flat.

[leddzepp]

I bought mine from CPP also. They were made by Western suspension. I did not have to grind/modify anything, they bolted right in perfectly.

[kcjones]

Isn't the area pointed to in the pics the lower ball joint area? I can't see why you'd need to grind that down at all, the lower ball joint keeps the spindle a little ways away from the lower control arm, so it shouldn't be an issue.

I'm no expert, but I agree, trying to grind that area flat while keeping the correct hole size and taper won't be easy. Might not be worth the risk - it is the spindle of all things. You don't want to screw around with such an important part of your safety. Wheels coming off around a hard corner at 45 MPH because you weakened the spindle is serious stuff.

My old drum 3/4 spindles don't have that area ground flat...

[67ChevyRedneck]

What the...???

[crazy longhorn]

That does look odd, but that part of the spindle is a casting. I would take a measure from the top to the bottom of both spindles(knuckles, where the ball joints fit), & see are they the same? crazyL

[Tx Firefighter]

Bell foundry. They cast lots of cast iron items for various companies.

Originally known for Bell dropped axles way back in the day (hot rods). Later, Belltech became the sport truck offshoot of the company. Bell axles are still made to this day too, at the same foundry.

[chevychase]

Thanks Tx Firefighter, not only did we get a positive ID, we got the whole dang history!

I'm still puzzled by the step in the LH spindle. Anybody else have step and no step in your spindles?

[crazy longhorn]

Originally Posted by chevychase

Thanks Tx Firefighter, not only did we get a positive ID, we got the whole dang history!

I'm still puzzled by the step in the LH spindle. Anybody else have step and no step in your spindles?

This could be due to the casting differences, & how they were "located" for machining. As I stated before, I would do a little measure just to check that the dimentions are the same on both pcs.......dont think I would do any grinding on them (unless needed to make some clearance). best of luck,crazyL