Well, not the baby part, but I noticed my rear end housing hit my wood bed the other day. I also noticed that there were no rubber bumpers on the frame rails. I did notice there were two holes drilled. Is there a special rubber bumper that goes there? Anyone use something else?

 

Yes there are. Many of the suppliers carry them.

 

Check out this link, and type in "axle bumpers" in the search field:

http://www.parts123.com/PartFrame.asp?ZTM=cadefffc&GHOME=www.dennis-carpenter.com&TITLE=Dennis_Carpenter_Ford_Products

 

LMC Truck part # 40-1855...item # 12 on the page...$5.95 a piece... These look different than the ones on my '60...hope it's the right part...

http://lmctruck.com/icatalog/fa/0071.html

 

Yep, flat disks in the rear, nose cone shaped in the front. Depending on rod length at rest, you could use a set of variable rate bump stops on the shock absorbers from a late model car. They are designed to act as a secondary spring that stiffens as they are compressed. They can be trimmed for length. Try a set for a Miata, they work exceptionally well. They won't work on a double eye shock however.

 

Ok, Dennis Carpenter only carries the front bump stop and doesn't list the rear for a 56? The one Code 3 shows on LMC doesn't look anything like the one I have. AX? I haven't got a clue what your talking about? No offense. I saw a few and it looks like an early Mustang would work. I even found that the early AMC's have similar looking bump stop. Not sure if the holes are the same though. The one for a 56 has a metal flange with the rubber bumper on it. The flange has two holes drilled which I have on my frame rails. Now I just need to find them. I tried ebay and no go. I have the rubber stops from a pair of traction bars which has one screw coming out of the rubber. I guess I can drill a hole in the frame and mount them. Would like to find the right ones to fit.

 

These are what my '56 F-100 uses:

 

I got mine from Carolina Classics. Rears were a rubber puck ~ 1 1/2" diam x 3/4" thick with bolt in center. Fronts were a bullet shape about same diam and ~ 1 1/2" long with bolt in center (measurements from memory).
Sorry to confuse you, Some of today's vehicles rather than using a bumpstop on the chassis use a specially designed one that goes on the shock shaft between the body of the shock and the upper mount. They are specifically designed by shape, size and material to act as a secondary spring as the shock nears it's compression limits, similar to a coilover shock. On the Miata specifically the shock bumpstop (which is ~ 2 1/2" long) is designed as part of the suspension system and does come into play on hard cornering manuvers. Just like tuning the suspension by varying the spring rates, you can tune the bumpstops (really a misnomer carried over from the days when, like on our trucks, their function was just to prevent metal to metal contact between the chassis and the sprung portions of the suspension) by changing to ones with different spring rate characteristics. Modern "bumpstops" don't suddenly make contact giving you a jolt, they are so subtle in function you usually don't even realize they have made contact, so there is no sudden stop to upset the handling or ride.
My point was that if you explored available shock bumpstops and found suitable ones to install on your shocks they would work better than the hard rubber ones of old on the chassis. This is something I will be exploring as I work with Gracie's suspension.

 

here's a company that sells many different types of bumpstops and shock mounting bushings. http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...ock%20Eyes.asp

The type I was talking about are mid page and say for McPherson and standard shocks.
The bottom of the page offers many chassis bumpstops as well.
I have added a pic of typical shock bumpstops installed on shocks to my extras gallery for clarification.

 

Eaton Spring,[www.eatonsprings.com] as well as some of your local spring shops maybe, carries a "progressive" bump stop that acts somewhat as an overload. Eaton calls theirs Ride Pro Rubber Snubbers. I don't believe you can see them online, you will have to call them. I have them on my 53 F100 and on my 46 Ford coupe. I like them because they "absorb" any contact between your axle and frame. They have two different sizes and also include large washers to allow you to "tune" the distance. Not real cheap, about $100 as I recall. Might be worth a look.

 

Thank you guys, AX, thanks for explaining, I know what your talking about now and have seen them on several vehicles. I don't know what they had on my truck but there is no center hole for a bump stop? It has two separate holes front and rear of the axle housing. I've contacted eatonsprings also and they told me just to drill a hole in the frame and put a rubber bump stop in. Anyways, I decided I'm just going to fabricate me a set. I'm using 2" X 1/8" thick Stainless steel. I'll drill the holes the same as the frame holes. Then finding the center point, I'll drill and tap a 3/8 16 threads and put the rubber bullets I have from my traction bars. I think that will work nicely and look clean from underneath. If that doesn't work, I can go to step B and removed them and go with the shock method that AX is talking about. I'll post some pics when I can. BTW- energysuspensions has some great products. Check out their website.

 

Ed -

The stock rear rubber bumper (the one in Nuthin's picture) uses the two holes you mention. It is available from John's F-Fun Hundreds for $26.50 each. Part number 5783B (page 15).

After lowering my rear, I cut about 3/4" off the height of it with a hacksaw to give the right clearance to the axle housing.

 

Well I just made my own I think they look pretty good. I did have to cut the rubber bumper a bit. Here's a few pics. Best part of this, it was free.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...133236.520.390
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...133237.520.390

 

You can't use shock bump stops on your shocks. Has to have exposed rods.