1940 Rear Tube Shocks:

40ford

40ford

Well-known member
What is the best and easy to install rear tube shock kit for a 1940 sedan?I was looking at the kit C & G has listed.Has anyone used this kit?I have one of the lever types leaking and I thought this would be a cheaper and better way to go!They say there is no welding involved???? :confused:
 
Here is one of those 1950's conversion kits installed in 1961. When you install it try to get the shock to be as vertical as possible since the more angle you have the less efficient the shock is. You have to make sure the shock 'clears" the exhaust pipe and gas tank. Do a search for helpful info. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=507364
 

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that shock is layed over to the point it almost useless.

or just get the lever action shock rebuilt. if its a nice car and not hacked up i would rebuilt the stock shocks
 
There are several very reliable re-builders of the lever type shocks across the U.S.. Converting to tube type shocks will in the long run be more expensive than having the original shocks rebuilt.. One the nice features about the original lever shocks is that they are adjustable, i.e. from firm to soft...
As a general rule, the original Ford lever shocks are double action, therefore they do a good job of limiting body roll, this can not be said of the tube shocks laying on an angle...
 
In my opinion I would opt to keep the original lever action shocks. Older rebuild units can still be had on ebay or swap meets on occasion, or those rebuilt by M & S or apple hydralics.. or others. check the V8 times magazine from the Early Ford V8 club .

My '40 convert had the tubes and I went back to the lever action... and it rides and handles so much better. The key is having good ones on...
Good luck,
Larry S.
 


Not the best photo, but I just installed the rear tube shock/sway bar kit from Bob Drake in my '39 Tudor.

$200 and it was a bolt-in deal.

It works awesome. The car rides nice and corners so much better.

The only gripe I had with the kit was the nuts and bolts supplied were garbage. I threw them away and bought all grade 8 stuff from Ace Hardware.
 
Jake,what was the part # on the kit you used?Is it for stock suspension and will it give the stock height?Is there any drilling or welding involved?
 
I got the kit for a lowered 2-3" rear.

The part # for a stock height rear is BD-18000-K.

It required some grinding on the rear crossmember, for shock clearance.

Also, you need to drill out the rearmost crossmember rivets, and drill two additional holes in the frame, for the sway bar bushing mounts.

No welding needed, all bolt-in. But do use grade 8, instead, wherever possible...

It's a stout, 7/8" sway bar, and I am very impressed with its performance.

As you can see, in the photo, my big ol' 8.20/15" bias-plys rubbed on the inside, during cornering, before.

Now it's flat as a pancake, and rides really nice, too.
 
Jake, you need a few longer spring leafs in that rear spring. The bow in that spring, without some support will eventually break the spring. Use some longer leafs on the top of the main leaf and eliminate some short ones on the top of the spring..
 
Kahuna said:
Another option is to use MGB rear lever shocks
Click to expand...

I know several guys that have MG's, two of which have been converted to Ford V8 60 engines..
The MG guys use Ford lever action shocks on their cars.. The MG stuff is according to them junk... Early Ford V-8 brakes are also a common modification on MG's with a Hudson rear end..
 
Thanks TJ.

I am pulling the whole rearend back out this holiday weekend.

I plan on adding some leaves, so I will definitely add the longer ones back.

I need to tear down the banjo (stripped driver's axle thread, arrrrgh), possibly throw some freeway gears in, and wire wheel/detail paint everything under there.

The $200 DOES include the tube shocks, mounts for top and bottom, and all swaybar assembly.
 
Jake H. said:
I got the kit for a lowered 2-3" rear.

The part # for a stock height rear is BD-18000-K.

It required some grinding on the rear crossmember, for shock clearance.

Also, you need to drill out the rearmost crossmember rivets, and drill two additional holes in the frame, for the sway bar bushing mounts.

No welding needed, all bolt-in. But do use grade 8, instead, wherever possible...

It's a stout, 7/8" sway bar, and I am very impressed with its performance.

As you can see, in the photo, my big ol' 8.20/15" bias-plys rubbed on the inside, during cornering, before.

Now it's flat as a pancake, and rides really nice, too.
Click to expand...
CAN YOU GIVE ME THE BRAND NAME & PART # OF THE TUBE SHOCKS YOU ARE USING? MY 39 HAS THE SHOCK CONVERSION ALREADY ON IT BUT I NEED TO REPLACE THE SHOCKS AS THEY ARE BAD. GABRIEL DOES NOT HAVE THE SHOCK THAT WAS USED, PART # 778 FRONT & 603 REAR ANY LONGER. THANKS MIKE, La Center, WA
mready39@yahoo.com
 
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