front shocks

davids2toys

davids2toys

Senior Member
So I was under it looking for the fill for all 4 shocks. To my surprise the Pass side is completely missing the shock and link! The drivers side is complete but the bottom hole in the link is very loose because there is no center in the hole so it is just flopping around. I have no idea what these shocks are or where to get them. I should probably figure out how to test the rest of them to see if I need new ones. I will post a few pics. Any guidance would be appreciated
Thanks....Dave
 

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They're Houdaille shocks and unlikely to be in working order. You can buy the links new but not the shock. There is a guy who will fix them, someone else will probably chip in with contact details.

For the moment, I have MGB rears on the front (common trick on Model As) but they foul the tyres on the rear so I am going to fit tube shocks. Long term, I intend to fix the originals.
 
Andy Falandes in Massachusetts can restore the shocks that you have (if they are restorable) and perhaps supply you with the correct rebuilt shock to replace the missing one and any others that require replacement.
 
Houdaille shocks (pronounced who-die) are still out there. They can be found on flea pay now and then but condition of the core is very important. The older Ford Chassis parts catalogs have illustrations of the original shocks & arms for the different part numbers Ford used in the 30s & 40s. You will need the correct shock and arm to get you back in business. Andy Falandes may have some spares but there will be a core charge loss added to the overhaul price.


Here is a link that has Bill Wzorek's shock information in the last post. Bill trained Andy and he is the rebuilder now.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56918
 
Great info so far, thanks. Hard to believe to car goes down the road pretty nicely! So, is Bill the guy to contact, not Andy? Does anybody have contact info?
Dave
 
Did a google search sand found Apple Hydraulics. Are these guys good and reputable? This looks like it is going to be a pretty expensive situation!
 
There is a little thought festering in the back of my mind that is telling me you should check out Apple Hydraulics before using them. Maybe try a search on the H.A.M.B.
 
davids2toys said:
Did a google search sand found Apple Hydraulics. Are these guys good and reputable? This looks like it is going to be a pretty expensive situation!
Click to expand...

I would not suggest using those folks.

Cantact Andy as already mentioned. He can give you some pointers on how to check your existing shock cores to determine if they are rebuildable.

When Bill Wzorek was still building shocks, I took a bucket load of my old core shocks to him at Hershey to check. He found that many, over 50%, were not good candidates for rebuilding.

I wound up having Bill rebuild three sets of 35 shocks for my cars. Have a complete set of his rebuilds on my avatar 35 fordor.
 
Andy may have some NOS or good NORS links as well; if not, try Michael at thirdgenautomotive.com.
 
davids2toys said:
OK, staying away from Apple and will call Andy tomorrow
Thanks
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Hi Everyone. davids2toys, I have two cars with rebuilt shocks from first Bill W and second Andrew F. Hearty recommendation from me for using this vendor.

Andrew ID'd the junk I sent him, offered options and time schedules. He met all the checkpoints he said he would and returned good as new and turnkey bolt-on parts.

On contacting him, I'd lean towards the email for smooth communications from Andrew and no work-stoppages on his end... andys.shoxs@gmail.com
 
Thanks Jeff for the great recommendation, except my initial contact will be by phone so we can talk about it first. Everything after that could be email
 
You may find a lot of the folks that rebuild and repair parts are difficult to reach by phone. Every minute they are on the phone they are not working and when you get calls all day long nothing gets done. So, they often resort to not answering phone calls.
 
I never really thought about that. I thought a sales call is just part of friendly customer service and part of running a business.Maybe I am missing something here? Would it not take just as much time for the business owner to answer emails as answering his phone? The only big advantage is you could do emails when you choose to do them.
 
Not if you are a one man band doing the work. There are aspects of shock absorber rebuilding that once started cannot be interrupted, so yes, you are missing something here.
 
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