NOS shocks?
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Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2014
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NOS shocks?
When we built the chassis on our 52 F1 stock build, we used NOS ford shocks. We also used the optional heavy duty springs front/back which gives the truck a taller ride height. On drives, the truck has a vibration, almost feels like a loose wheel. My first thought is that the bias ply tires are flat spotted from sitting, but it doesn’t get much better after a few miles. Any thoughts on the NOS shocks? Could they be new, but so old they are not doing a good job of dampening road vibration and spring bounce?
JB
JB
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 16,188
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From: Burbank, WA
My vote would be absolutely yes. 50 year old shocks, even if never used, may not be as good as one would think. Shock technology has come a long way since then, and OEM shocks were never known for their high quality, anyway. The best way to find out would be to swap them out with a set of good set of name brand replacement shocks and see what happens. NOS shocks may be fine on a 100 point show truck for someone looking for that last point from the judges, but probably not what one would want on a driver. My 2c.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 27,298
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From: NM
I agree with Wayne, I also don't think the OEM/NOS shocks were anything to write home about when new. I've had bias ply tires that took a lot longer than a couple of miles to "round out", too.
Your description of the problem feeling like a loose wheel doesn't sound like a shock problem. Is it limited to the front wheels?
Your description of the problem feeling like a loose wheel doesn't sound like a shock problem. Is it limited to the front wheels?
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 16,188
Likes: 4,795
From: Burbank, WA
Part of my opinion comes from the fact that in my daily driver, I started to notice vibration like the tires were out of balance or going bad. Knowing they were about at the end of their life anyway, I bought a new set of tires, but the vibration persisted. I had the car back in for inspections, thinking maybe it was the steering rack, tie rod ends, bushings or some such thing not readily apparent from the garage floor, as well as tire rebalances several times, and even asked the shop if they thought it could be shocks. They said no, but were baffled about the reason for the vibration. I replaced the shocks anyway, and amazingly enough, the vibration went away.
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