Hot Rods PSI Front Friction Shocks

I have a pair I plan to use on my roadster project. Anyone have a idea of the friction material used or where I can source something? Any help is appreciated. I did see some stuff on Speedways size but it is the wrong shape.

 

Here is shock info from Gene Scott’s 1972 PSI catalog. There were three shocks, Type I that bolted to the existing’28-‘48 holes in the frame, Type II that used hidden bolts inside the frame, and Type III that could be welded to a tube front crossmember.
The only mention of friction material is Teflon, listed under the Type III shocks but no doubt it was used on all the variations. Before I looked at this PSI catalog I thought leather might be used but then I found that if it is the damping qualities change as it heats up in use.

 

I do believe the old orig friction shock did use leather. The newer ones used a rubber material. Friend just used a rubber disc/washer he got from somewhere - I don't remember, but it wasn't anything all that spl. I'd have to ask him. I had offered him a couple pieces of used-conveyer-belting to use, but he found what he could use local in IL. Conveyer-belting should last longer since it's got cloth-webbing woven into it. Would also change the resistance, probably more consistent. & it's available in various thicknesses. + it's cheap, but finding small chunks might take some doing, since it's usually sold in very large lengths. I could cut you a couple pieces if I know the dia needed, & the thickness wanted; if ~3/8->1/2" thick would work. For the cost of shipping/mailing.
Marcus...

 

Some UK friction dampers used wooden friction disks

If you want the ultimate then look for Lignam Vitae wood as a base material

Also hard polyurethane (80shore or higher) is an option if you want modern materials and is available in sheet form

 

Andre Hartford originally used wood, than later went to brass. He also had a nice indicator for adjustment settings.

 

Leather now on my LSR roadster ….. originally a flat friction material. Set very loose.

 

The general consensus in the Tbucket world is they're more or less ineffective .I tried with threaded rubber , urethane sheet , asbestos sheet without success , switched to tube shocks , they work! Nostalgia is great ...when it works !

 

Hello,

Are you sure you want to use those friction lever shocks? When we got our 2nd 40 Ford Sedan Delivery, I thought those were cool looking. The ride was a little funky, but we were happy with the purchase. Soon, it became evident that something was not right in the handling and stopping of the 327 powered sedan delivery.

I spent hours underneath trying to tighten up everything and replacing obvious worn stuff. but, it was down to “looking good” versus actually handling the 327 powered sedan delivery for a daily driver. My wife got in and took it for a 40 mile round trip drive. She got half way into the trip and pulled over at a place where we usually got some coffee and snacks. While talking, she said she would not drive it home and said it was handling funny. A little swaying, dips when braking and not stopping as fast as our El Camino.

But, she liked the A/C as we had no other car with A/C. so, I drove home and now, I was over the “newness” of the recent purchase. I could also feel the sway and “floating” feeling while going down the PCH straight highway along the coastline. I was not going to criticize our new purchase as my wife liked the sedan delivery and driving the hot rod. I had done what I could, so we turned to a friend who had just moved his business closer to us in Orange County. In So Cal, he had a shop about 40 miles away and had serviced our Impala, El Camino, Buick sedans and my old Flathead sedan delivery. So, we knew his skills.

He took a look and made his choices. One was to take off the fairly new friction lever shocks I had installed after buying them at the Ford Parts Obsolete store near our Long Beach house. He said we could keep them, but he was going to install new tube shocks and that should help. But, he also took apart the whole front end and replaced everything necessary to make it solid and direct action for us.

Jnaki

He also did one thing that others laugh at as an unnecessary item. When we gave him a new set of tires, he had them mounted and we took them to the “tire shaver” guy and his cutting machine. I could not look at the amount of rubber that was coming off as the new tire rotated around. But, now, they were all “round” including the spare.

When the whole process was finished, the front end had gone through plenty of modifications, new parts and correct geometry in the whole suspension build. The one thing was gone: those old friction lever shocks. Now, it was hard to not have my wife drive the 327 powered sedan delivery almost on a daily basis. She liked the hot rod build, what we did or my friend did to get it to handle like a real car.

I, on the other hand, drove the funky 62 Corvair to a lot of photo shoot appointments as a second backup vehicle. The 327 sedan delivery was the first choice when we approached the initial photo shoot appointment. If the photo sessions lasted longer, then the Corvair was always available as a means to get to and back. Or, the Harley Sportster custom motorcycle always surprised a lot of folks… YRMV

 

I ran Offy friction shocks on my speedster and there were set up like a multidisc clutch with leather and adjustments were via a large butterfly nut. My Zipper friction shocks had phonetic spacers that I replaced twice during the time I owned the car. It took some time and a bunch of test runs, but I came to the conclusion that they not only looked "period correct", but they worked well. I ended up putting MG Midget/AH Sprite rear hydraulic shocks on the front. Pricey, but good.

 

Thanks for all the input. I have the type I ones that are shown above.

 

MC Master Carr sold sheet friction material which I used for shocks on my lakester. This was several years ago but I would look on their web site.

 

The type II shock configuration was generally seen on front ends with torsion bar suspension , the " arms" being splined to fit the ends of the bars , very 60's -70s digger frontend . I remember PSI offering the torsion front end on their Tbucket frame offering . It was a round tube , dual tube frame , very cool . Fordors may have pics in his catalog .

 

I will check that out. Thanks

 

Here is a picture of mine. Never see them. I detailed them for my A/SR project. Just need to find the material. I added holes to the arms. Chromed and polished. Pretty cool huh? Must use.

 

@curbspeed if you can please take them apart so we can see the details of the cool shocks

 

I looked at McCarr Master site and just got confused on what to buy. Bearing Burner maybe you can look to see which one you used? I'm sure it will be 1/8th inch but type of friction material is beyond me. These shocks are for a 29 Ford drag roadster so I'm not too worried about ride. It will be street legal but I'm not planning on road tripping it. So, a worthless rough ride is ok with me

 

Here ya go

 

I corrected my first response. I have type I

 

I don’t think Gene Scott sold a torsion bar front suspension, the Type III shocks were all steel and only designed to have their bases welded to a tube front crossmember. Type I and II had cast aluminum bases with steel covers but as seen on the photos from @curbspeed Gene later added cast aluminum covers with the PSI logo to all.

 

I wish he would have cast the PSI logo in both left and right facing.

 

Thank you and I love PSI treasures and crazy how much cool stuff they made.
It’s been a few years since I was casting at work so I’m setting my foundry right now at my shop. I plan to cast a few items like friction shocks more like the Sellers style and was wondering what type of friction materials psi used and the design. Also will cast some flathead gennie mounts and tiki shift knobs.

 

Who was making these?

 

I was able to buy some material from Speedway that I think I can make work

 

I think I used their medium friction clutch and brake material. I used 4" dia material on bothe sides of the shock arm with Flathead valve spring for tention.