Wheel Travel on a 1951 Fleetline

Good Idea... Im wondering if I should have them adjusted/ installed differently...

 

You need to have someone else bounce the car while you look over the RF and put your hand on various parts to see where the noise is coming from.

 

Maybe you don't have the springs clocked right .

 

Just put it up on wheel ramps and have a friend jump on the bumper then you can see what's hitting if you can't see anything pull the shock and try again it may be bottoming out if so you need a shorter shock

 

Good Idea...

 

So...A shock that is to long will allow to much travel..???... This may be my area of concern...if that's true... Because the new shocks are the Same length as the Org. Stock ones.. but I removed 1.5 coils off the springs...So I probably should have gotten shorter shocks...????

 

I still think its strange...The other side doesn't do it...I still have an unanswered Q... "Is there any way I put the top bushing or other parts (sway bar links)... OR something that could Cause this... ???

 

I need to find an exploded diagram of the A arms and bushings...

 

Since you removed the bump stops the shocks likely became the travel limit.

When extended they measure:13.75" (as per diagram), compressed 8.5"

If the shock is longer than 8.5 compressed you have the wrong shock You can make a shock standoff to gain some more compression travel.

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Stock they would be sitting with about 2.5 up travel and 2.75 compression.

If you dropped the car 3 inches that drops the shock 1.82 so it now has about .9 compression and 4.35 extension.

If you cut the rubber bushings (in yellow) in 1/2 you can pick up .625 so, 1.52 compression left.

The coil springs can't realistically coil bind, the shock is by far the most likely stop.

If you bottom out a shock it is susceptible to breaking. They are not meant to be the travel limiters. You may have already broken one.

That 8.5 compressed shock is about as short as standard shocks go. You might need a standoff or bracket to allow the shock to extend 1.5 inches to recenter it in it's travel.

 

Great points... Im gonna dig into it this weekend..and I'll get back to all of you.. I think I have some good direction here... Thanks All... Chris

 

Sounds like a very similar problem i had in an Ot car

The crossmember on that mounted to the ch***is with four bolts
with rubber pads in between. One pad went missing resulting in a horrible clonk noise when hitting bumps on that side.

Are you sure your crossmember is tight to the ch***is on that side?

 

Thank You.. I will Check that as well...

 

I'm going way back in my memory, from when I used to lower these, OK !
On those chevys there is an spot on the frame around the coil spring area where the upper & lower half of the frame are joined together. That joint is like a flange that sticks out slightly & there are rivets that join those flanges together.
When you lower them, the lower a-arm will come up & hit that flange as the suspension goes thru it travel.
We used to trim that flange & rivets away & weld the upper & lower frame pieces together, eliminating that spot that sticks out that the a-arm would hit.
On your car, I'm thinking that flange has bent away on one side giving you more travel, It's worth a look.

 

Thats what Pete Chapouris said he did on his old 50 Chevy at a show one time^^^.

 

I shall Look at this area...Sounds Possible and maybe Likely..