Offset shafts

Q;  The offset shafts and the bushing nuts on my 64 galaxie 500 are worn, and I see that there is a straight shaft conversion offered to replace that system. what are your thoughts on that?

A; well, this is a very common question with the 63 and 64 galaxie folks, so I discussed this with a few of the best in the galaxie world, and I agree.

There were cars built for utility purposes like taxi cabs and police cars that came from the factory with  straight shafts instead of offsets. These cars had a different lower control arms than did the majority built with the offsets. The part #s for the HD control arms are; C3AZ-3078-E RT, C3AZ-3079-E LT. The part #s for the lower control arms with the offset shafts are: C3AZ-3078-D RT, C3AZ-3079-D LT. The lower control arm put in the HD cars was designed to be in the position to accommodate a straight shaft while providing the proper position for the spindle. Putting a straight shaft in a lower control arm intended for the offset shaft puts the control arm in a position its not designed for.

Several points; a front suspension rebuilt correctly with the offset shaft system will be perfectly fine for the average galaxie.

For those choosing a conversion, they were designed to simplify a not so great design ford had for the caster adjustment. I completely understand the desire to do it, I like the ‘keep it simple’ motto myself.