47 tudor suspension
 

i have a 47 tudor and would like to smooth out the ride without a lot of modifications. my buddy, an old car guy said it don't need shocks just grease between the leaves on the springs and keep it lubed. thats with the understanding that the bushings, etc., are all good. anybody have any comments on the shocks issue? any other ideas? thanks for your help.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

It needs the shocks! If the spring bushings and sway bar bushings are all in good condition it will ride very well.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

The last beam axled fords (Say 46 to 48) had the pinnacle of fords development of beam axle technology. Get everything working as the factory intended and it will drive really nice.
With all due respect, you old car buddy is talking nonsense. Greasing the spring is a good idea but not having shocks would be ludicrous.

Mart.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

Agreed. Shocks are absolutely essential. Greasing the leaves is OK but the spring must be wrapped to prevent egress of grease and ingress of dirt. Grease is a magnet for dirt.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

I agree with above, removing shocks is plain stupid. Without them the car would bounce around. Having driven a car with no front shocks a short distance I can tell you it's scary!
Your car should drive real nice as Mart said. You need to find out why it's not and fix the problem, not cover it up.
Martin.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

i kinda mis-spoke about the shocks, what i meant was i asked him if i should put on new modern shocks instead of the lever style. i never tested the original shocks and i don't know if they are good or not and thought it would be easier to just do some new ones. i will get it up in the air and check it out again, as soon as it dries out around here. thanks everyone for comments.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

Grease will clog up the passages inside the springs, I had a 46 that I greased the springs ---then we got a 39 that had only spring lube in the springs---big difference in ride ---ford spring lube (M4628)was a mixture of about 77% ice machine oil, 22-1/2% talc and a little ground asbestos ---ice machine oil is about the viscosity of atf oil--10wt, talc is a lubricant and polishing agent that also fills surface imperfections
grease will fill the lubricating passages in the spring leaves keeping the lubricant from migrating to the tips of the leaves

Ther shocks are adjustable, should move steady up without a lot of effort, but take a lot of effort and time to move down

I have adjusted with a 50 lp weight on a 2 foot lever to take 30 seconds to 1 min to travel 20 degrees for my A shocks

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

Yes you need the shocks I drove my last v8 around the block ( when pulling it apart) without the shocks on and it handled like a nail, infact I nearly rolled it over on a bend.

GB

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

f1builder: Many feel the older style shocks are superior.

If you're interested in converting to tube shocks .... My late '47 coupe came with tube shocks on rear only. '48 had tube shocks front and rear; do not know if they can be adapted. There was a company some years back that made a conversion kit for the front of '47s, don't know name; could not find a current source. I found a Ford Barner' with a used conversion kit for '47. Ride seems smoother and more uniform; handles bumps better.

Re: 47 tudor suspension
 

My '41 rides the best with the stock front shocks set in the "soft" position. They can be adjusted to so "firm" that I can hardly move the arms.