Do they make shorter front shocks

jae902 · Dec 18, 2003

The problem i am having is that my stock shocks are shot. THe front of my car is pretty low, which shortens the travel of the shocks. I noticed, that it really can only travel about an inch or 2 before it stops. Do they make any shocks that are shorter, that way there is a longer travel.

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zookeeper · Dec 19, 2003

First and foremost, you have one beautiful car! Second, I've lowered several vintage Fords and have yet to see one bottom out the shocks. The thing that hits first is the upper A-arm against the bump stop, which happens way before the shock ever runs out of travel. If you'd like you can easily trim the rubber bump stop to gain a bit of ride comfort back, just make sure the fenders and tires won't be hitting if you do, and remember to trim it to a point, just like the stock angle. If it were me, I'd trim a little, then drive it a bit to check the difference, then trim more if you need to, but keep an eye on your fender-to-tire clearance.

zookeeper · Dec 19, 2003

Oh yeah, measure the distance between your A-arm and the stop BEFORE you trim it, and make both sides the same. BTW, my '68 only mearures 1 5/8 inches now with an uncut bumper and rides fine, is yours lower than that?

66P51GT · Dec 19, 2003

You can also install 3 spacers per side where the shock mounts meets the shock tower. They would sit between your export brace and the shock mounting brackets. You can add about 1/2" and not have problems with hood clearance. You could probably add more if you measure (using a piece of clay would be a good idea).

This will give a little more clearance before you send your shock through your hood if you ever severely bottom out.

jae902 · Dec 19, 2003

I haven't measured the distance between the a arm and stop, so i don't know the distance. I'm not sure if mine is lower or not. I need new shocks anyways, so i thought maybe someone made some shorter ones. But thanks for the advise, i will probably end up trimming the bump stop and raising the shock mounts a little higher.

dodgestang · Dec 19, 2003

jae902 said:
I haven't measured the distance between the a arm and stop, so i don't know the distance. I'm not sure if mine is lower or not. I need new shocks anyways, so i thought maybe someone made some shorter ones. But thanks for the advise, i will probably end up trimming the bump stop and raising the shock mounts a little higher.

In my opinion you don't 'need' to do any of that. I have a 65 fastback with 620 drop springs, the shelby a arm mod, and the extra weight of a 351c on the front end. I run stock sized kyb gas adjust shocks. I have never bottomed out and the car rides very nice (very sporty).....

now....you say you haven't lowered the car....but in your photos your car sits almost idendical to mine which says your suspension is shot. I recomment new springs and shocks at the minimum. New balls joints and perches for middle of the road, and just all new stock replacement upper and lower control arms plus a nice set of mid eye leafs in the rear. This will give your car the same appearance it has now, but with a new suspension so it will handle better, ride a little stiffer, and not bottom out...assuming you have that problem now.

As a side note, have you rolled any of your fenders, if you beleive you are bottoming out it might just be the tires rubbing sheet metal on hard bumps....are there any wear indications on the tires?

jae902 · Dec 19, 2003

The suspension on the car has been done already, i have the 620 springs and the reverse eye leafs already. Its not that it bottoms out on my car, its just that its a real ruff ride. I know a part of the problem is because my shocks are bad, i just wanted to see if they made shorter shocks so that it would travel further for more confort. I know the front should be stiff, but how it is now is ridiculous. I guess we'll see how the ride is after i put in the shocks.

dodgestang · Dec 19, 2003

jae902 said:
The suspension on the car has been done already, i have the 620 springs and the reverse eye leafs already. Its not that it bottoms out on my car, its just that its a real ruff ride. I know a part of the problem is because my shocks are bad, i just wanted to see if they made shorter shocks so that it would travel further for more confort. I know the front should be stiff, but how it is now is ridiculous. I guess we'll see how the ride is after i put in the shocks.

hehe.....Love my KYBs....the 620 will give you a very sporty ride though....it aint ever gonna feel like a caddy All the chassis stiffening (sway bars, 620s, prob 5 leafs in the rear too ) will make it ride...rough. At least some people call it rough....my other car has a 1 ton suspension upgrade, 12 inches of lift, and 38 inch 'D" I mean tires that it rides on....so to me, my mustang is smooth as silk.....

Back to the point at hand....we had a 65 coupe and a 67 fb that we ran the entry level KB shocks on and it was like a truck, we upgraded to the Gas a just and it road a lot better.

jae902 · Dec 19, 2003

So would you suggest getting the gas a just then? I was goin to just get some kyb, but wouldn't mind paying alittle more for some more comfort.

dodgestang · Dec 19, 2003

jae902 said:
So would you suggest getting the gas a just then? I was goin to just get some kyb, but wouldn't mind paying alittle more for some more comfort.

Yes. I would recommend the gas a just over the standard all day every day.

Mosse · Dec 19, 2003

i was just the other day thinking the same thing... I have 620 and A-Arms dropped 1 7/8"... Right now I dont have any rubbers there for bottoming, but do I really need them with this setup? Wish I had some pics to post...

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