Smoother Ride

BILLF/TRF

BILLF/TRF

Senior Member
I am wondering if the geometry/attachment positions of the shocks in my '36 coupe is contributing to a very bouncy front end while driving? As you can see from the pics, I have reversed the spring eyes, taken out a couple of leaves and added poly slide spring liners.

I have seen pics of shocks attached to the spring shackle. Another option I have seen is the use of a mono-leaf spring. I do not want to go to independent front suspension. I am looking for a smoother, less bouncy ride. Anyone with suggestions?
 

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Bill
It looks like you have a pretty good setup there. You need better shocks. That will take care of the bouncy ride issue
 
Kahuna said:
Bill
It looks like you have a pretty good setup there. You need better shocks. That will take care of the bouncy ride issue
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Thanks for the suggestion Kahuna. I don't know if the word "bouncy" is exactly what I mean--as I remember in the old days when you could push down on the front fender, let go and the car would continue moving up and down. My ride is not like that. My ride is "stiffer" as if I am "feeling" every little bump or crack in the road. Is there any way to "soften" that ride or is it just the way these old cars are going to be?
 
When I go off road on my Honda Trail 70 I have to let a lot of air out of the tires or I feel every little rock. Might make a difference for you too.
 
Feeling the bumps has a lot to do with the sprung to unsprung weight ratio. Sprung weight is all of the weight being carried by the springs. Unsprung weight is everything else - tires, rims, brake drums, axle, ½ of the springs, etc. The higher the sprung weight is compared to the unsprung weight the smoother the car rides. It gives the car more momentum/inertia compared to the suspension so that the suspension moves up and down more without moving the car up and down. What all this means for old Fords is that the weight of the solid axles and all other suspension parts, wheels, brake drums etc. is much higher compared to the relatively light body, chassis, engine, etc. So, more of the motion of the suspension/unsprung weight is transferred to the body/sprung weight making the ride bouncier. I think one of the smoothest rides I've had in a small car is my old VW bug that had the torsion bar suspension meaning that none of the spring moved up and down with the wheels making the sprung to unsprung weight ratio much higher and even that small car ride much smoother compared to other small cars. Of course, the huge monstrosities the were built before the energy crisis of 1973 had such a huge sprung to unsprung weight ratio that they rode like a ship going down the road.

This doesn't really give you any solution to your bumpy ride unless you were to add a bunch of weight to your front end (my '47 rides way smoother loaded with people than just me alone) but it may give a better understanding of why the older lighter Ford's rode just plain bumpier than the later heavier ones.

Or, you and your usual passenger fatten up a bit.;)
 
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If you think its to stiff ….. remove leafs
Bouncing = shocks not doing there job

Mono leaf users iv seen comment have nothing good to say
 
296 V8 said:
If you think its to stiff ….. remove leafs
Bouncing = shocks not doing there job

Mono leaf users iv seen comment have nothing good to say
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I think you've already found out that removing the spring leaves that you have already removed didn't help the ride any. It just lowered the level that the car rode. Been there, tried that in vain. It really does come down to that sprung to unsprung weight ratio. Get a 200 lb Great Dane to ride with you.:eek:
 
Just a thought. It appears you have new spring shackles? Do you have poly bushings in your shackle pivots? I have found poly really transmits jolts more than rubber bushings.

Also, how are your shocks. I like KYB Gas-A-Just. Just my 1¢ worth.
 
As you'e lowered the front, are the shocks now too long? In other words bottoming out on the slightest bump?

Had an f100 like that once, very uncomfortable ride.

Mart.
 
Looked at picture from you post and if you are having a very bumpy ride I would say that the combination of the soft spring rate and the long axle bumpers are creating a bottoming out issue. You should have over 3" of free travel before the axle bottoms out on the axle bumper. Take a tape and measure the distance from the top of the axle to the tip of the axle bumper if it is less than 3" and the bumper tip is polished off its probably bottomed out and that is why you feel such a rough ride. Looks to have radial tires and the air pressure should be monitored at 24 to 26 lbs.
 
If you lowered the front and did not change the shocks you are probably "bottoming out" the shocks. That causes a bumpy ride. Dick is also correct about your rubber bump stops. They appear too long and may be hitting the axle prematurely.
Pull a shock and measure center to center the shock mounting points on the car(with the weight of the car on the spring). Then check the center to center measurement of the shock mounting holes of the extended and compressed length of the shock. The mounting point measurement on the car should be 3 inches or so longer than the compressed length of the shock. That would give you three inches of downward travel. You should have at least 2 inches or more travel between the axle and the bump stop. I suspect you will find the shocks are too short and the bump stops too long.
 
Yes all of the above if that’s the issue

But im seeing a very tall spring pack in your photo.
You say you have removed leafs yes? … did you just take one or two short ones off the top?

Id remove two or three of the longer ones and return the short ones….that will make for a softer spring.
 
I think the heavy duty stabilizer bar may be some of what you are feeling. Those old Fords di not have stabilizer bars at all until 1940. Marv
 
Besides all the great answers here, what Spadaro said. It looks like there is marks from the bumpstop on the axle in this picture. You might be able to cut an inch or two off the stops, keep them cone shaped not cut flat.

111529
 
It also looks like in the first picture, that the Shock is out of line and the top half of the shock has rubbed the paint off the bottom half. It needs to be straightened out IMO.
Put a mark where the top half of the shock meets the lower half, and then remove the shock.
Depress the shock and measure how much movement you have. Then measure the distance between the axle and bumpstop, this will tell you if the shock has enough movement.
Pete for OZ
 
With the proper arch and leaves the spring should do the springing, the bar looks to be a tie overdone. How does it ride without the shocks? That might give a clue as what to adjust.
 
Bill, you've had a lot of suggestions here of what might be done to improve your ride. After all of the suggestions it is always nice to know whether you changed anything suggested and had any improvement - for the education of all of us. Please let us know. We're all interested.
 
You might look at Chassis Engineering's front shock set up for '35 to '40 frames. The bottom link comes off of the spring links with the top more slanted than your current vertical set up. I run that on my '36 pickup without the stabilizer bar in front, but one in back and I am pleased with the ride. With that set up you would have some adjustment available to you in the shock set up that you could play with. (I would have used their front stab bar but I already had this rear one to use and I don't like front and rear stab bars. I spun my '40 on a wet road once because it had front and rear stab bars that made it as stiff as a NASCAR.)
 
Marv said:
I think the heavy duty stabilizer bar may be some of what you are feeling. Those old Fords di not have stabilizer bars at all until 1940. Marv
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X2 on that. The ride will improve when you lose that. You don't need it unless you are racing the car.
Also, most people don't realize that just bolting on something that says shock absorber on it doesn't mean that it will work to your satisfaction.
Ever wonder why racing teams have a 100 or so shocks in a rack on the wall of their trailers?
You have to experiment with different ratios and compression/rebound rates to get what you like. Very few passenger car shocks are labeled or even listed as to what their engineering specs are. Race car shocks on the other hand have all specs listed and can be had used at very cheap prices. Racing shocks are mounted body up also to reduce unsprung weight. Every little thing helps.
 
Cut off the rubber bumbers- remove the 2-4-6 spring from the bottom, you'll need to cut spacers and add them back to the top of the spring pack,or buy a new posie spring, the spring is just to stiff !! Dave
 
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