The Ford Barn

lonewolf · 10-04-2022, 02:12 PM

Has anyone used the bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury coupe. I emailed them and the couldn't answer the question. My car is missing all 4 shocks and this seems the way to go if it works. Thanks

Bored&Stroked · 10-04-2022, 04:10 PM

The sway bar is for swaying, you'll still need to put shocks on it - as it will do nothing for that aspect of the ride.

lonewolf · 10-04-2022, 04:33 PM

The kit has shocks and a sway bar

rotorwrench · 10-04-2022, 06:42 PM

Looking at their kit description in their on line store, it has a photo of what it comes with and there are only shocks for the rear in that photo. They list that it comes with the shocks but there is no statements that would lead a person to believe that it comes with more than what is in the pictures.

Was there a set of two shocks included? The listing is specific for a rear axle installation. Aircraft shock type modification kits should be available for the front as well. This is a link to a tube shock kit that looks like it mounts on the normal frame location for the Houdaille types and has an extended shackle bolt for the lower end. Drake's doesn't list a kit for the front. This Ebay link will likely be temporary but it illustrates one way of doing that.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/123749308959

neilp · 10-04-2022, 09:30 PM

Here is an older conversation about this kit.

Patrick

https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?p=691330

pistonbroke · 10-05-2022, 08:40 AM

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Just had one delivered. They are in stock and it took about three days to reach Olympia WA. I've read and heard these are the bees knees when it comes to using stock suspension and getting driving comfort and safety. I will need sorter shocks though. My 41 pickup needed to come down 6" in the rear obtain a uniform 2" gap around the rear tire. I hope it works as stated. Tim

Ramblin Reck · 10-05-2022, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pistonbroke

Just had one delivered. They are in stock and it took about three days to reach Olympia WA. I've read and heard these are the bees knees when it comes to using stock suspension and getting driving comfort and safety. I will need sorter shocks though. My 41 pickup needed to come down 6" in the rear obtain a uniform 2" gap around the rear tire. I hope it works as stated. Tim

Piston Broke
I bought the kit from Bob Drake last year because I had Tube type shocks on the front but NO shocks, None, Nunca, Nada, Zip, on the rear. I opted NOT to install the Anti Sway Bar and my 1939 Ford Deluxe Convertible works just fine without it. Had to reroute the tailpipe to get the right rear shock installed.

Ramblin Reck

rotorwrench · 10-05-2022, 10:49 AM

In 42, they finally put on the panhard bar or track bar to control the rear axle side to side movement. They started to in 1941 but it didn't get it done. Of course the war pretty much limited the 1942 models but they have the wider axle used through the end in 1948. The track bar made a fair amount of difference in the ride. The sway bar was put on the front in 1941 and made a lot of difference in handling. My Pop had a 41 after the war and he said it definitely handled better than the old 35 that he had before he went overseas.

TJ · 10-05-2022, 11:07 AM

I used the Drake sway bar/shock kit on the rear of a '40 coupe. It worked well. There are two different kits, one for stock height cars and one if the car has been lowered in the rear. The OP' s question was will it work on the back of a '40 Merc coupe. The '40 Merc frame is different than the Ford frame. I believe it is wider and is also longer. If thinking it might fit I would take a lot of measurements comparing the Merc frame vs Ford frame before buying the kit.

10-04-2022, 02:12 PM	#1
lonewolf Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 464	Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury Has anyone used the bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury coupe. I emailed them and the couldn't answer the question. My car is missing all 4 shocks and this seems the way to go if it works. Thanks

10-04-2022, 04:10 PM	#2
Bored&Stroked Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 5,070	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury The sway bar is for swaying, you'll still need to put shocks on it - as it will do nothing for that aspect of the ride.

10-04-2022, 04:33 PM	#3
lonewolf Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 464	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury The kit has shocks and a sway bar

10-04-2022, 06:42 PM	#4
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,440	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury Looking at their kit description in their on line store, it has a photo of what it comes with and there are only shocks for the rear in that photo. They list that it comes with the shocks but there is no statements that would lead a person to believe that it comes with more than what is in the pictures. Was there a set of two shocks included? The listing is specific for a rear axle installation. Aircraft shock type modification kits should be available for the front as well. This is a link to a tube shock kit that looks like it mounts on the normal frame location for the Houdaille types and has an extended shackle bolt for the lower end. Drake's doesn't list a kit for the front. This Ebay link will likely be temporary but it illustrates one way of doing that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/123749308959

10-04-2022, 09:30 PM	#5
neilp Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: Idaho Posts: 148	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury Here is an older conversation about this kit. Patrick https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?p=691330

10-05-2022, 08:40 AM	#6
pistonbroke Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Perry Mo. Posts: 485	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Just had one delivered. They are in stock and it took about three days to reach Olympia WA. I've read and heard these are the bees knees when it comes to using stock suspension and getting driving comfort and safety. I will need sorter shocks though. My 41 pickup needed to come down 6" in the rear obtain a uniform 2" gap around the rear tire. I hope it works as stated. Tim

10-05-2022, 10:49 AM	#8
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,440	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury In 42, they finally put on the panhard bar or track bar to control the rear axle side to side movement. They started to in 1941 but it didn't get it done. Of course the war pretty much limited the 1942 models but they have the wider axle used through the end in 1948. The track bar made a fair amount of difference in the ride. The sway bar was put on the front in 1941 and made a lot of difference in handling. My Pop had a 41 after the war and he said it definitely handled better than the old 35 that he had before he went overseas.

10-05-2022, 11:07 AM	#9
TJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Napa,California Posts: 6,037	Re: Bob drake rear shock/sway bar kit HR-18000-K on a 40 mercury I used the Drake sway bar/shock kit on the rear of a '40 coupe. It worked well. There are two different kits, one for stock height cars and one if the car has been lowered in the rear. The OP' s question was will it work on the back of a '40 Merc coupe. The '40 Merc frame is different than the Ford frame. I believe it is wider and is also longer. If thinking it might fit I would take a lot of measurements comparing the Merc frame vs Ford frame before buying the kit.