I was under my truck last weekend and happened to notice my front shocks have almost no insulators left , so I am guessing they are pretty old .

I have two questions
1) my truck has dual shocks on the front 1 on each side of spring . is this normal ?
2) what are you guys running and how do you like them ?

my truck is a cruiser /lowes run mobile . 2wd

thanks

 

my bronco has 2 shocks per wheel and im pretty sure that they were added to it later(second set). my 76 250 also has two on each wheel. not sure if they are factory or not. all of the bumpsides i have worked on just had the one behind the spring. it does seem odd for them to be on a four wheel drive tho. i would bet they were added later also. are the mounts welded on?

 

2x... I'm curious to see dual front shocks on a bump. Please post a pic!

In terms of shocks, I'm planning to use Bilsteins. I run them in my 71 Lemans and 2001 Supercrew and like them alot. Here are the PNs for our bumps:

Fronts: F4-B46-1105
Rears: F4-B46-1326

Get'em at Shockwarehouse.com

 

Thanks , i'll snap some pics this weekend .
i have one normal shock and one spring over shock on each wheel up front only two shocks on the rear very strange.

 

here's the pics of my two shock per wheel set up , looks pretty factory to me . any ideas ?

 

Wow... that's a trip! It works though. Looks like a PO put some effort into installing the front shocks cuz those I-beam through-bolts aren't the easiest thing to undo and reinstall.

The lower bracket in the top pic doesn't look factory but then again the late 60s and early 70s was a strange time period. The bracket is a section of angled steel with a vertical tab welded to it. I think I see a boss formed on the top side of the bracket so it mounts flush with the underside of the I-beam. Is that correct?

Out of curiosity, any PNs on them?

 

Yeah, that's definitely not factory.

 

I just lifted my truck and am running rancho 9000 shocks. They work great! Was going to put 2 per wheel but after I put on just 2, 1 per side I dont see a point. My beams came with shock mounts welded to th front of the I beam. The coil buckets had a place to put two shocks, my guess is so they could use the same part for both sides of th truck.

 

X2 definitely not factory, but kudos to the PO for creativity.

 

so do you guys think the coil overs are raising the front end up any ?
thanks Brady , the rancho 9000 is one of the shocks i have been looking at .

 

Either homebrew or maybe an aftermarket kit from back in the day?

Personally, I like my trucks to ride smooth. Not bone jarring stiff. Plain old stocker type replacements are what I put on. A big block truck will like a swaybar added to keep the door handles from rubbing the ground going around corners(been there, done that on couple trucks). A small block truck doesn't have the nose weight to deal with.


My '67 had super heavy duty shocks on it when I bought it. It was horrible around town(especially our roads), I pulled them for factory style and it rode nicely. I also put sway bar on it.


Measure ride height and unbolt the coil overs. Likely won't see a big difference.

Do you have a sway bar on the truck? I use Adco on mine. Simple install and does wonders for handling.

 

no sway bar on there now , plan on putting one in future . thanks

 

I've got a "spare" Addco if you're interested... honkin like 1.125-inch.

 

You will be AMAZED at how well it handles when you put the bar on there. Put one on my '69 20 yrs ago. When I got my '67 it was rediculous how it swayed around and would nose over when you turned a corner. Felt like it was going to grind the corner of the bumper off LOL!! Best investment for a big block truck.

Then you can throw all them added shocks away.

 

ahhh i remember those, aftermarket....

Shock Recommendations IMHO:

1) Koni- Excellent for racing applications- overpriced for street applications
2) Tokico, QA1 & Bilstein- A very good shock for street/strip applications. If you are running very stiff tires on the street (such as Bridgstone that are 100% steel belted or tires with profiles shorter than 50 series), these provide the extra give that you need for both comfort & stability
3) KYB- A very good shock for street/strip applications. If you are running a softer tires on the street (such as BFG that are a mix of steel & nylon belted or tires with profiles not shorter than 50 series), these provide the extra stiffness that you need for both comfort & stability. The Exel-G’s (formerly GR-2) are the equivalent to the Edelbrock IAS automatic adjusting units. Overall, stiffness between the Gas-a-just and the GR2’s are the same, the difference is the GR-2's valving which stiffens things up from a oem setting to that of the Gas-a-just units.. Best shock for the $/best price typically found at Performance Suspension Technologies (PST) and typically about 1/3 less than Bilstein.
4) Gabriel- A very nice good quality HD OEM replacement type unit.