Technical Best rear shocks for a hot rod

I’ll try to take a pic I didn’t build the ch***is it’s a aftermarket 32 frame with no c notch i have about 2-3 inch clearance from the frame to the differential ….: now that I think about it’s the frame hitting on the rear end … do I need to c notch the frame to get more clearance

 

I would think that 2-3 inches is not near enough , certainly not enough for rough roads. That limited clearance would never fly here in Pa. lots of very rough roads.

 

By the sounds of it might have to c notch the frame to get more clearance … I’m on the same boat roads here arnt the best

 

If the axle is bottoming out on the frame the shocks shouldn't necessarily be getting destroyed. Dont be mislead to believe that stiffer shocks will prevent the bottoming out. They'll just make the ride harsher. Although not a fix, bump stops will reduce the harshness of the bottoming out. Might make it liveable, or at least until you can get to notch the frame.

Chris

 

I also have Bilstein shocks on my '46 and couldn't be happier.

 

thats NOT what Mr48chev said. He said the Cali roads are worse than Texas.
I think you ignored what x38 said. If they bottom out, they are not the correct length. All you need to do is make the shock mount the right length

 

Thank you gonna look into that

 

what style did you go with

 

I have a '32 with buggy springs on both ends. The original P&J shocks were used up by 20k miles.
I got the fancy custom valved Bilstein shock in the front from Posies.
On the rear I used a Bilstein for Gen 2 Corvette rear. The soft ones, not firm ones as my Roadster is lighter.
I ordered the rears from tirerack.com. I think their web site had the specs.

On the Bilsteins I had the grind the mounting bolt tube in the rubber shock end mount shorter to fit my ch***is shock mounts.

Anyone who is actually going to drive their rod, my experience says, "don't go cheap on shocks, go for quality". It is too important for enjoyable rodding.

 

i totally agree not trying to cut conners just want to get the correct show and from what it looks like i might c notch the frame and go with bilsteins shocks just want to make sure I get the correct ones now

 

If I may, and I am far, far, far from an expert or a wart on one’s ***.
About 20 or so years ago we had a local hotrod shop, I bought their triangulated 4 link set up for a ‘36 PU I had.
When it came to buying the coil over shocks, here came the questions. The guy had to do some estimating on parts I used (reared, frontend, and other things- I forget) to get my unsparing weight, then got into the frame-boxed-how thick, etc, etc, etc. He really wanted me to trailer what I had down do he could do weights, etc, but wasn’t in the cards for me at the time. He took the extra step probably cause I was spending my $$ with him, but after punching a bunch on his computer he ordered me a set of coil overs for the rear.
It rode really well for the 4/5 years I had the truck.

Since you are not sure what you want, what’s best, etc for your needs, I’d suggest (since your car drives) find a shop who can do what the one for me did.
You probably will pay for the privilege, but maybe they can say “change springs to this, use these shocks, etc”. And get it right or darn close the first time.

 

thanks for the info I’ll ask a local shop and see what the suggest

 

Where are the springs????

 

I had some of those pro shock speedway chrome junk on my 56 dodge pickup. On power tour in 2016 About 50 miles into Oklahoma she blew out both rear shocks. Made for a ****y ride home but she made it. I went and got QA1 adjustable shocks and have dialed in the rebound and I get a great ride now for sure.

Stay away from the P&J junk. Those will die in 1k miles or less. Speedways pro shocks are hit or miss, but will serve about 1k to 10 k miles roughly without fail.

For bump stops, get some jounce bushings off a 00-06 chevy tahoe, they are a progressive style bump stop and help make harsh movements alot more controlled. This is the cheaper way of doing bump stops as there are companies that have them in a universal style but priced accordingly also.

2-3" is not enough at all for rough roads, I always keep 4" up stroke of suspension no matter how low it is. You have to have that for any kind of decent ride, the firmer the shocks the more bleeding your kidneys will do.

 

once again thank you for all the info appreciate you I think my first step will be is c notch the frame

 

Bilstein and KYB

 

Everyone seem to like those 2 brands

 

I have a simple answer for you. The P&J's are simple hydraulic shocks. Many of us had them on their rods. Not many of us who have many miles on their rods left them on. Any gas filled shock will be better. Speedway's cheap shock was just as good in ride quality as the Bilsteins's that I ran. If you can find a shock chart and compare mounting ends and travel, you can choose a gas filled shock and be happy. The last set I used on my 32 on the front were an everyday short shock that had compressed and extended numbers that fit what I needed. I think they were a Monroe that did the job very well. I had 36,000 miles on the 32 when it went down the road. No more hydraulic shocks for me.

 

appreciate the info gonna look into that as well

 

They were out for chrome when that was taken. Seriously though, it has semi elliptical posie's springs in front of the axle. But I did chrome them.

 

Aldan's. 18 years with nary a problem.

 

Looks good

 

Thank you

 

This sounds like a great buggy spring rod, so, coil over shocks will not solve this rodder's issues.

 

Lucky, the front's on my '46 are Bilstein BE5-B494-TO and the rears are BE5-B493-TO. I also am using a Ch***is Engineering suspension kit on both front and rear.

 

Thank you for the info been looking into them

 

Hi, I agree with you that 2-3" is not enough and I have wondered if the tires hit the fenders on many many pictures showing rear fenders that sit closer than 4" to the fender

 

It sounds like you are blaming shocks on another problem.

Take the shocks OFF and drive it around. If it still rides like **** and bottoms out(which it will) fancy shocks won't help. A better quality rear spring with a proper notch and bump stops will like solve your problem.
On a leaf spring car the shocks only control rebound! They don't hold the car up.

 

The shock dampens the spring BOTH up and down.

Easy to understand if you hold the shock in your hands and try to compress it. It should be quite difficult. If not, throw the shock away.