Steering, Suspension, & Brakes

Carl, Koni, Gaz and Spax have adjustable shocks. At a high price though. Gabriel used to make an adjustable shock also, with 3 settings, soft, firm and extra firm. I've heard of the VW rear shocks before. There is an adjustable coil over versions of those and if you remove the shorter leaf springs and use the top two only, may work. Kind of like Gary's coilover with cheaper shocks. I would just use the front shock bolt instead of top bracket. VW rear coilover pic:




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2014 06:08PM by mgb260.

Another alternative, not cheap either but looks cool. QA1 adjustable front shock for 68-69 Camaro ($155 each) and top eye conversion($22 each). Same travel of 5" and adjustable and rebuildable. About an inch shorter, so use the rear shock mount hole. You would have to remove the bar pin in lower mount.





Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2014 10:14PM by mgb260.

Though not adjustable 84-88 Dodge Colt shocks are commonly used in front and rear conversions. Here is a link to Koni adjustable for VW Beetle that would work also.

[www.andysautosport.com]

[www.koni-na.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2014 09:18PM by mgb260.

I've just combined two threads into one... maybe that will help someone research this topic in the future. And I have a small addition to make:





Today I replaced a worn out pair of Monroe Sensa-Trac (5877ST) shock absorbers with a new pair of Gabriel Guardians (81464). Both of these are listed for the old Dodge Colt subcompact. Here are a few notes:

The new Gabriel shock absorbers cost ~$21/each at my local discount auto parts store. They're dimensionally similar to the Monroes. Fully extended the Gabriels are about 1/8" shorter and fully compressed they're about 1/8" longer. I suppose that might even come down to manufacturing variance. I think both the Monroes and the Gabriels are nitrogen gas charged. The Gabriels are marked "Made in Mexico".

Of course it's not really fair to compare new shock absorbers against old and worn out shocks. The improvement in ride quality was tremendous, as expected. Subsequently, the ride is also much quieter I didn't keep a record of when I installed the Monroes. My best guess is that it was about 20,000 miles ago. . However... my perception is that the Gabriels may be a little bit "softer" than the Monroes were when THEY were new.

It's so rewarding when something so cheap, simple, and quick yields such big results. Why did I put up with dead shock absorbers for so long!?!

Thanks Curtis

I've been running the Monroe's and they work pretty good, however as Carl mentioned I don't have a lot of miles on them yet, but they can seem a little firm at times.
It's a long drive to Colorado, so I may try a set of the Gabriels for the long all day drives that lay ahead.

Bill

On June 12 I posted about replacing Monroe Sensa-Trac (5877ST) shock absorbers with Gabriel Guardians (81464). To follow-up...

I have about 8000 miles on the Gabriel Guardians now. Although I still believe the dampening characteristics of the Gabriels are better, they have NOT been trouble free. The distance tubes at the top end of both Gabriel shock absorbers have crushed severely. (I think they used garbage-grade steel.) Since I installed the shocks with safety washers and elliptically offset nuts, there was no danger of things coming apart. However, the crushed tubes resulted in loose mounting, and subsequent banging noises and harshness. (You can tighten them up temporarily while on a road trip, but they continue distorting and coming loose as you drive further.)





The previous Monroe shocks appeared similarly constructed, but their distance tubes were definitely more robust. I've extracted one successfully, and transferred it into a Gabriel bushing:



Unfortunately, I destroyed the other Monroe distance tube during extraction so I'll have to come up with another plan for the other side shock absorber.

Hmm, you still bottoming out, Curtis? Do you think the Gabriels are any stiffer than the Monroes?

I really need a slightly, (a bit more than slightly) stiffer rear shock. Maybe the Corvette shocks that Bill didn't like. Or, maybe the GAZ adjustables. Yeah, that's the ticket! ;)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2014 04:00PM by MGBV8.

Anyone have any GAZ info? I just tried the standard GAZ kit over at Jim Watson's/ The GAZ shock is too long for my lowered MGB. The shock measured 12" fully compressed. My Monroe at ride height is right at 12.5". Need a shorter GAZ.

Carl, KYB, Bilstein, and QA1 for 63-82 Corvette rear are more reasonably priced than Gaz. Might be a toss up if you want adjustable.
[www.qa1.net]

I would really like to be able to reach under the car & turn the knob at track days & autox.

The GAZ part #s are GT5-2222 for CB & GT5-2223 for RB. Can't seem to find the specs anywhere.

Gaz has adjustable for lowered VW beetle that would be about right for your ride height. 255mm(aprx. 10") to 356 mm(aprx. 14")
[www.coolairvw.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2014 06:40PM by mgb260.

Thanks, Jim. I'll check it out.

GAZ shock specs seem to be Top Secret.

Carl,
I worked with GAZ via email when I purchased different upper mounts for the front shocks I bought from Moss Europe. The were very responsive. Bet they would be happy to answer your questions.

I sent them an email earlier today, so we will see. Cannot believe in this internet era there is nothing out there. Driving me crazy.

I had a set of these on the shelf from another project and they were the right length, so I bolted them on by putting a sheet metal sleeve inside the top mount and simply using a 7/16" bolt on top.

No idea of the brand, but they have been working well. Ordered a second set for my son's roadster. Also seem to work well. Decent ride, good damping.

[www.speedwaymotors.com]

McMaster Carr has a wide variety of tubing that can be used to make shock bushings in steel, stainless steel and aluminum.

GAZ shocks were included with the Hoyle suspension kit I am using. I found these shocks to be poor. The single adjustment made both the compression and rebound stiffer so when rebound was in control compression was far too stiff. Then the bushings around the piston shafts wore out (about 30,000 miles). I replaced them with QA-1 single adjustable shocks (rebound only) and this was a huge improvement.

Here's a nice rear shock for Carl!

[www.qa1.net]