Question about shock functionality

christian

christian

Senior Member
So on my 160B I have an old set of Delco Lovejoy piston lever shocks, front and rear. They have a neat look to them and Im thinking I may keep them on there as the houdaille shocks are very expensive to rebuild etc... My question is, not knowing much about shocks... how can I test their functionality, I.E. if I remove them from the car, can I gauge their fitness without disassembling them ?

The only A I have ever ridden in is my own, so Im unsure if they are working or not.
 
Christian,
Best check them ON the car. If you have speed bumps or cement dips across the streets, drive over them several times & observe what happens when the front & the rear goes over them. The fronts should not bottom out & should recover quickly & with NO side to side rocking. A side to side roll would indicate 1 weak shock, bottoming out means 2 weak shocks. Then observe the rear shock action in the same manner. Hope this helps. Bill W.
 
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You could just disconnect the link to the axle, and move the lever up and down by hand, looking for resistance without funny noises.

I never knew that anybody ever made a different type of replacement shock.
Can you post a photo? Are these similar to the Armstrong shocks used on MGs etc.?

Doug
 
GM cars and trucks used lever-type shocks into the early 1950s...

I don't know if the Delco-Lovejoy shocks enjoy a better rebuildable-survival rate than Ford-Houdaille...

A friend has a very nice, original 1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe with about 60,000 miles on it, with (presumably) original Delco lever-type shocks, which are working fine after the initial re-filling with shock-oil and purging of air.

Are the Ford-Houdaille shocks "double-acting" ( damping in both directions ) ?
 
Shocks should compress (travel upwards) with resistance, but you should be able to move them without a lot of muscle.

Rebound is quite different - they should offer significant resistance to rebound (downward travel) - you should easily be able to tell it is more than the compression stroke.

This allows the spring to compress when you hit a bump without significantly jarring the frame. The rebound (return) of the spring is then controlled to dampen out any bounce. Too little dampening and she will hop!

If they are adjustable (like the original Model A's) you can adjust to suit how you like it to ride.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Christian,
Best check them ON the car. If you have speed bumps or cement dips across the streets, drive over them several times & observe what happens when the front & the rear goes over them. The fronts should not bottom out & should recover quickly & with NO side to side rocking. A side to side roll would indicate 1 weak shock, bottoming out means 2 weak shocks. Then observe the rear shock action in the same manner. Hope this helps. Bill W.
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Well according to this I guess a road test isn't necessary, when I go over pot holes and man hole covers at speed, the car seems to lunge side to side, as well as bottom out from time to time.
 
I believe Delco Lovejoys were on GM cars. I have a 31 Oldsmobile that I care for and it has rebuilt original Lovejoys. They were close to the same price to rebuild. The best way to test them is as mentioned, disconnect the link and work them up and down feeling for resistance. Lounging from side to side may be several other chassis problems other than just shocks.
 
jkeesey said:
I believe Delco Lovejoys were on GM cars. I have a 31 Oldsmobile that I care for and it has rebuilt original Lovejoys. They were close to the same price to rebuild. The best way to test them is as mentioned, disconnect the link and work them up and down feeling for resistance. Lounging from side to side may be several other chassis problems other than just shocks.
Click to expand...

If I wanted to refill and bleed them... I'm assuming I would crack open the top fill plug, fill with hyd oil, and work the lever ??
 
christian,

Attached are some photos of the Delco Lovejoy shocks that were on my 1930 Canadian Phaeton when I got it. I am certain that they were put on later as there are extra holes in the frame for mounting them.

I may also try filling and bleeding my set and see if they come alive, each one is free but not much resistance.

Do you have any photos of the ones on your car?

Darryl in Fairbanks, 77 degrees today 86 by Sunday
 

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Yes Christian. Its a pretty straight forward process. You work the arm up and down to suck the fluid into the body and try to blow out the air.
 
What I have found is that if the shocks have original style links [ not dog bones] then removing the arm from the shock and using a wrench to work the shock shaft/rotor is far easier than trying to mess with those links.
 
How do you guys properly fill an Houdalle shock on the car? The only way I can figure to do it is to fill the shock until the fluid runs out and then push something like a pencil down the fill hole until the fluid runs out down to the proper fluid level is reached.
Clem
 
I'm not pleased with my shock's performance. They recover properly to a bounce test. If I turn the adjustment to the stiffest on this old shocks will is make a difference?
 
My shocks work primo but I don't know who made them, stock design with a perfectly smooth case, not cast, no hex on them, Ford Script in an oval just below filler plug, any ideas?? Car also has primo steel drums & '35 type hubcaps from Argentina & an Isaac Kramer re-po radiator with larger top tank. I have NO documented history, but lots of old pics. Bill W.
 
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