Thread: New Shocks

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Quick question. I have a 1940 Ford sedan delivery and I need new shocks for a better ride.
The front end is a 1978 Ford Mustang II, and the rear end is a 1972 Ford Torino 9". Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm looking for a smoother ride.

Jeri

Jeri, I have always been told that ?if? your springs and suspension is stiff then there's not much a "particular" shock can do for you but if your suspension is soft a shock can often be the magic wand so to speak. Good Luck and let us know what you end up doing to correct the ruff ride, OK?
Em

Good topic! Maybe someone can educate us on choosing the correct spring and shock rates for different ride options.

I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.
Jeri

Many people mistakenly believe that shock absorbers have something to do with holding the car up. Nothing could be further from the truth. Springs hold the car up. Shocks are simply linear de-accelerators that slow down oscillations in the springs so that the vehicle does not continue to bounce up and down. You can remove the shocks completely and still drive the car down the road, although I don't recommend it.

Your request for a smoother ride suggests that your springs may have a rate that is too high for the load that they're holding up, although your shock absorbers could also be too firm. Generally, on a ride of your type, a front spring rate of 300 to 350 lbs per inch of travel will be about right, while a rear spring of 175 to 225 lbs per inch of travel should work nicely. My suggestion would be to put the car up on a drive-on type lift, so that you can get to the springs and shocks to measure them with the weight of the car on the springs and shocks. Measure the diameter and installed height of the springs, along with the diameter of the actual wire on the springs. Also measure the center to center of the shock absorber mounts and identify the shocks if you can. (labels attached or numbers stamped into the body of the shocks).

Yours is a custom build, not adhering to any particular make or model of automobile that you can just go to the AutoZone and buy parts for, so identifying the parts by measuring is going to be the best you can do. Once you have all the measurements together, call these folks and tell them what problems you are trying to fix.
EATON Detroit Spring - The leading manufacturer of leaf and coil springs for the street rod and restoration industries

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Boy, do I appreciate the info. I'll do as you stated and follow through with your suggestion. It never fails me how I can get the information I need through all you guys out there.

Thanks for the help.
Jeri

Jeri, what did you come up with? In my investigations on springs for MII front ends, it seems like most places use too heavy of a spring. Most people I know that have them in street rods on a budget have went to the stock v8 springs to gain ride back. I was also kind of shocked when I found out most parallel rear leaf spring kits use front leaf springs from an early 50s dodge pick up. My Tudor rhode like a mini lumber wagon in the rear and I'm sure it was due to those heavy springs and the car not even coming close to using their capacity.

Just pulled in from 600 mile short weekend trip. We were talking about how comfortable our 40 was out on a road trip. We just need to quit taking so much stuff. I will look under the car this week for the Mustang II spring size, I forget, and the shocks. Rear parallel springs holding up a 9" have dimpled pockets at the ends of each leaf. I think they were built by Posie. Sure ride good.