Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[hunsta]

Hey Rossco how did you go with this shock conversion. What size and length shocks did you get?
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[goneps]

Frankly, if I were you I wouldn't bother with telescopic dampers, especially if your car has an open (and therefore 2cwt. lighter) body. My Tourer came with telescopics (those shown in the pictures posted by ukdave), and after decades of putting up with the hard, choppy ride I was delighted to be rid of them in favour of a set of the original Armstrong 'Pears', which have transformed the ride. All telescopics available nowadays, with the possible exception of those for a BMC Mini, are much too firm for the light weight of the Eight.

Leaf springs have inherent damping characteristics, and therefore need only moderate damping on the rebound (downward) stroke and even less on the bump stroke.

Richard

[Rosco663]

Gidday Craig,

I opted to fit Monroe gas shocks as fitted to the old Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 1969-75.

As far as your E-Series go I'm not sure how much travel you would require so you'll need to get out the measuring tape. Jack up the body and set on stands, then jack up the axle to its maximum height - this will allow the opposite side to hang as low as it can. Next measure the distance from the axle to the chassis (ignore the height of the bump stop) - record this measurement. Then place all four wheels on the ground and jack up the axle to its maximum height measure the same, shorter, distance - record this value. Subtract the smaller number from the larger number - this will be the minimum travel you'll need from a telescopic shocker.

Next you'll have to determine the best way of mounting the shocker to your car. In South Australia to qualify for conditional registration you cannot alter the mounting points, so use this as a base case. Ensure that when you mount the shocker you will have some room for movement so that you will not have them either fully compressed or fully extended. It will be fine to have some compression when installed as the stroke distance should accommodate this.

It depends on who you talk to regarding which shockers to choose. VW Beetles are the most common and some here have also used HB Holden Torana units. I'm going to see how they go in due course as I still haven't mounted the body yet. Once I get a feel for them I'll look at tuning the suspension and have noticed that you can get fully adjustable shockers that can be set to different bump and rebound settings.

Good luck mate let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Rosco
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Rosco

[hunsta]

Thanks for the reply Rosco. Ive copied all the pics in this thread and will try and work out what works best for the E. Ill do the jacking up and measuring. Then Ill see if the VW ones suit. Should be fairly close to yours. I would assume and I could be wrong that it would be better(if I don't get the calculations right) to be a little long than short. As for the front I would assume (again) that that will depend on how high I make the brackets. But I think I should be right.
Cheers
Craig
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[Rosco663]

No worries Craig,

Ideally you would set up the shocker in around mid stroke but keeping in mind the maximum bump and rebound distances will need to be accommodated.

The Series 1 fronts were easy as there is a stack of room under the front wings. The rears took some more problem solving

Cheers

Rosco
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Rosco

[hunsta]

OK Ive asked this a couple of times, but the posters for this thread seem to have gone off the boil. Ive done the rea shocks as I was able to work out what was used from the shock serial number.
So now I need information on the front. The original poster for this pick was Stuart2u.
Can someone else who may of done this mod or if Stuart2u is still a forum member help me out.
Obviously the picture explains what I need.
How high is the shock support bracket from the original bolt hole to the center of the pin?
And what shock was used or similar one that will work.
Cheers
Craig

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[hunsta]

Just thought Id ask again. Only been 13 months from the last time.
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