Rear shocks later 60's models
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:40 am
Good Morning to all,hope a good day is on the way.My focus has turned to the rear shocks on the 69 CH.The beauties that came with the as purchased unit were as follows: R/H side damper rod bent seized solid.L/H side zero damping.At my stage of life with the discs in my lower back being virtually extinct,the rigid ride is not perferred.I purchased another set of period correct shocks from a guy on Fleece Bay that were marketed as nice only to find that one pumped oil at the rod seal like a Texas pump jack.The other had some damping qualities but the bottoming bumper was slaughtered.What the heck,they're about 50 years old.So, I started spending some time looking through Munroe and Gabriel dimension charts wondering if I could spy damper bodies that could be modified to replace the original units.Looks to me that you could cut the weld off the spring cam adjuster platfom/lower washer.Similar thinking goes for the upper spring collar retainer. So, my question to everyone is has any one all ready traveled this path and located a suitable set of dampers to keep the shocks as original as possible?I have seen offerings ocassionally of NOS dampers for the 67-69 era for high prices(200.00) each.My concern is they're approaching 40-50 years old and if they've been laying dormant on a dusty shelf for that long would rubber seals hold up.Final question,what do you experienced guys do to get the rear suspension in top shape?Peter