All about shocks and more!

[Terry, NJ]

I'm gleaning info, not supplying it! Here goes. So I bought a bunch of old shocks (9) after checking the shafts, which seemed pretty tight. Bear in mind, I never held a really good shock in my hands and know what it feels like. So as a result I'm in a poor position to judge one. I did buy a rebuilding kit from one of the vendors and it seems to be 3 O rings and some black "Oakum"? which seems to be a graphite treated cord which you wind around the shaft (I guess) but what happens to the "Neoprene ?" O rings? One is for the lock ring and body (3" Dia.) the other two seem to fit the dia. of the shaft with no clear indications where it goes or what it seals. Also there is some split shot which I really don't know what to do with.
Another point, to determine if a shock is CW or AC, my book, The Model A Ford Mechancs Handbook, that you look at the position of the solid vane. In the Dwg. it shows the position of the CW (Clock Wise) solid Vane near the right side ear of the shock and in the AC (Anti Clockwise) the solid vane is near the right side. In at least one of mine, it's very close to dead center. And there's no little "ports" in the face of the vane.
Terry

[Oldbluoval]

Many years ago there was a series of articles in the Model A News. It was very detailed and accurate. I used to rebuild shocks but quit due to poor core availability. 10-12 years ago, about 1 in 10 had a fighting chance to rebuild; I’d bet 1 in 50! That’s why Stipe reproduced them and gets high bucks.
I’m the next few days I’ll try to find those and scan in.
When I get them I’ll either post or link to the articles

BTW…the first challenge is getting them apart! It’ll take some heat most likely

[ronn]

I read a terrific article somewhere, where the rebuilder "cooks" his shocks on a bbq grill. after said period of time, removes them and purges them in ice water. Apparently they most always come apart using this method. filler nut must be removed before "cooking".

[Brentwood Bob]

How to restore your madel a, volume 2 has several early articles, and Les Pearson published a good manual on the process.
I have been reworking a set that went thru a shop fire last year.

[Terry, NJ]

Originally Posted by ronn

I read a terrific article somewhere, where the rebuilder "cooks" his shocks on a bbq grill. after said period of time, removes them and purges them in ice water. Apparently they most always come apart using this method. filler nut must be removed before "cooking".

I will have to try that! But My BBQ only gets up to 450 deg. on a good day. Oh well, It was good enough for flywheel ring gears.
BTW, anyone know what the two other O rings are for? And that Oakum might be better if we packed the shaft with lead wool like a water pump, maybe not.
Terry

[Conaway2]

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I remember seeing an article on rebuilding Model A shocks over 30 years ago - the prep involved cooking them on a charcoal grill for a couple of hours - which I did. I was able to get the shocks apart pretty easily after that and replaced seals, etc, and had 4 working shocks for almost 25 years. I recently took them off the car again and sent them to John Holland for a complete rebuilding. They came back in beautiful cosmetic and working condition.

[Wick]

When shopping for good shocks to restore, the shock covered in grease. ...you know,a rag is needed to pick it up. This is the best of the best,usually can buy for $1-$5
Just a tip for yall.
Oh you don't have to cook the shocks to death either, just heat it up and put some Lard on it. The melted lard is thin and gets into the threads.

[chrs1961815]

There are very few people who actually "rebuild" shocks. Rebuilding involves welding up the insides and turning them down in a lathe to the original dimmensions. It is time consuming and expensive. As far as I know, John Holland doesn't do that.

[Terry, NJ]

I'm thinking of putting bronze bushings in the inner covers. This would involve boring the inner cover and possibly a light cut on the shaft, just to true it up. Houdaille made a crappy assy! Either Henry couldn't control their output or he didn't regard it as important. The only place where engineers use a cast iron against cast iron fit that I can think of are rings against cylinder walls. But that didn't stop Houdaille! Looking at the parts, we can see the effect, worn out covers and worn shafts. Which brings me to the point of clearances, how much clearance should there be between, say, vanes and wings shafts/movable Vanes? Shafts and covers? Also, Why can't motor oil be used for shock oil? I've got some 120 weight aircraft motor oil that seems like it would work fine.
Terry

[Oldbluoval]

I’ve used 90w gear oil regularly.
If there’s some wear and pressure in shock is poor I’ve used some stp with it
Not ideal but machining shocks is quite the ordeal, time consuming and subject to just failure!