Newbie Shock Question - What to Do?

BlakeW

BlakeW

Junior Member
Newbie shock question. I tried searching for this specific question, but I came up with nothing.

My '31 SW Town Sedan has the original stocks still on it, but they were bone dry, so my assumption is that they are probably not what would be considered, "in good working order."

I don't necessarily want to have them rebuilt right away, but I may want to in the future. With that in mind, what should I do with them? Disconnect them but leave them on? Remove them altogether? Or just leave them be?

Like I said, I probably will have them rebuilt eventually. I would rather just keep it mostly stock, so I am not planning on putting more modern shocks on it either.

Thanks!
-Blake
 
Are you sure they're originals??
Do they show signs of having leaked??
You could try adding shock fluid or glycerin and see one happens. FWIW

Paul in CT
 
If they are connected and dry and original you should disconnect them. With out fluid they will wear and eventually be non rebuildable. You could just add fluid and see how bad they leak and that would keep them from wearing. The other case is they are not original (no place to add fluid) and they are friction shocks which have not fluid then you could leave them alone.
 
If yours are rebuildable john does a great job and can redo them for about 350.00
He can also supply a good rebuildable core very reasonable also if needed.
John Holland (330-483-3896) (Ohio)

I am very happy with his services and price
 
They are definitely original as far as I can tell. I added fluid to the fronts, and they don't seem to be leaking too bad. I will get it added to the back as well and see. When I was adding fluid I couldn't get it in the rear ones without removing the wheel and didn't have time when I did it.

Thanks again!
-Blake
 
My first question is, are the shocks free ? If they are then I'd fill them as you are doing and see what happens. If they are frozen then I think I would just take off the links [ or shocks] for now and see how much different it handles and rides.
 
Bill,

It is not what I would call a "restored" car. It is a mostly original car that had a "cosmetic" restoration done to it at some point years ago. :D
 
First off good working shocks are critical to safe operation of a car with a properly rebuilt suspension. Without them the car can become uncontrollable above 25/30 MPH, at least that is my experiences. With proper working shocks the car is a pleasure to drive at 60 and above.

The definition of good working, well that is figured out by looking at the test set up in the service bulletin. A heavy weight is on a lever and must take a certain time to travel a certain distance. Based on some limited experimenting it translates to the shock should be very very hard to move in one direction with the valve closed and using a normal shock lever. It should be a bit easier moving the other direction.

If the shaft of the shock has any play then it is not good. It may not really be rebuildable either.

The oil you use will depend on how close the internal tolerances are in the shock. A small amount of wear might need a fairly thick oil to get the proper action.

If your car does not feel squirrelly when going above 25 MPH then your front spring is dead. Looking from the front you should see about half the axle below the splash apron. If it is hidden then the springs are probably not so good. You can also have poor action if the springs are in need of lubrication. Do you see red rust dust along the edges of the springs? For that matter, if you see red rust dust around any parts of the axle then you know the part is loose and possible worn.
 
BlakeW said:
Bill,

It is not what I would call a "restored" car. It is a mostly original car that had a "cosmetic" restoration done to it at some point years ago. :D
Click to expand...

I know of two people who bought professionally restored cars and each spent over $8000 making the cars reliable and drivable.

I know another guy with a professionally restored car that the original type fan came apart. The fan was a nasty pitted thing with lots of bondo that should never have been put on a running engine.

So professional restoration and it came from a museum really has little meaning. You want a car where the guy talks about what a pain it was to return the car factory mechanical specs. When they start talking it was like building a race car then they are online with how the cars were built by Ford.
 
Patrick L. said:
My first question is, are the shocks free ? If they are then I'd fill them as you are doing and see what happens. If they are frozen then I think I would just take off the links [ or shocks] for now and see how much different it handles and rides.
Click to expand...

I will check and see. I have not had it up to see if they move yet. Thanks for the advice!
 
I recently purchased my first and only model A. I had no idea what was missing, but that's ok. It will cost more but I am going to fix it right. With the help of the Barn I will get it done. I would rather pay less and fix it myself than pay more for one restored incorrectly. Education is expensive.
 
J Wade, agreed, I was actually very lucky I got a car that was mostly original style --less my modern points.. My stipe shock really change a lot on my car's ride for the better. I'm sure quality restored originals will do the same.
 
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