1939 Business Coupe Shock absorbers

[Don C]

Guys, new here and new to working on a car this old so please excuse my ignorance. I am working on a 39 Business Coupe for an older fellow who's not very mechanically inclined and am looking for some shock absorbers for the car but can't seem to locate any. Any ideas on where to find some or a part numbers?

What is the best set of spark plug wires to use for the flat head 8 in the car. A
Any suggestions welcome. I have found a few that look to be ok.

Thanks in advance.
Don

[JSeery]

Are you looking for original level arm shocks or modern tube shocks?

[Don C]

Ah I suspected that it might have had the lever arm type. I am looking for a modern tube type shock absorber, that's what's on it now and I made the assumption that might have been what was there originally but in my searches did see some lever arm shocks.

[JSeery]

Can you see the part numbers on the ones you have? You basically need ones the same length as what you have, but some of the 39/40 guys may be able to provide a part number if they have the same bracket setup. Some photos might help.

[corvette8n]

Don you didn't say what part of the country your from, the 39'should have lever shocks, buts sounds like someone changed them. If you remove the tube shocks bring them to your local NAPA and have them match them up. I'm lucky as one of the guys at our NAPA is a flathead guy and he will take the time to find equivalent parts.

[ford38v8]

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Tyree Harris (804) 556-5200. He makes great reproduction wiring harnesses. He is located in Virginia.

[Anton Voycheck]

No such thing as a 1939 Ford "Business Coupe."

There is only a De Luxe and a Standard for 1939.

[Fred A]

39 Business Coupe? Is that Standard or Deluxe? There is some difference at the chassis level but You bothered to mention the Business and the big divide is at Standard/Deluxe. Don, where on this planet are you? Also makes huge difference where you can expect availability and how much you should pay. I run a fowl of guys in east BF where they have a tough time compared to the plenty I enjoy in SoCal. One of few things that doesn't suck about California. I'd try to escape but they track us down to tax the piss out of us because they can. Butt..... I'm going through the shock thing on my '40 but finding the short term fix is Houdailles at $10-$15 each and about a 25% good or fixable rate. Even better on the rears. Tough part about '40s is that desirable sway bar that eliminates most available, affordable tube setups. Not your problem with the '39. The upper tube shock mounts @ $25-40 average per pair, are seldom found with the lower mounts. Perhaps I swap the Houdailles out for tubes, previously called "airplane shocks", in the future. Good Luck, Wherever You Are: Fred A


PS: Don't lose the special 7/16 fine thread carriage bolts that attaches the shocks or the adapters!

[CaliforniaBorn36]

Before you just replace what you have, make sure they are correct. It is important that you evaluate both the collapsed distance and extended distance eye to eye that you need. If the shocks are too long you will have a very bumpy ride if they bottom out, you can also break the shock or mount. I have experience this recently, this is how I know.

Be careful not to assume that when someone else made a modification, that they did it correctly.

[Don C]

Originally Posted by Anton Voycheck

No such thing as a 1939 Ford "Business Coupe."

There is only a De Luxe and a Standard for 1939.

Thanks for the feedback. As I said I am working on it for someone else so am totally new to cars this old. My current oldest is a 62 Ranchero.

[Don C]

I am in Southern Louisiana just east of Baton Rouge. How do I tell if the car is a Standard or Deluxe. I'm a newby to these cars? It looks like someone must have installed a kit to mount the tube shocks, one of the mounts is tearing away at the bolt at the top, I had planned on fixing it with some welding and reinforcements. I do see there is a kit available at Speedway that also comes with the shocks, it also appears to be a better design. The current one just has a bolt welded to a tower like structure that mounts with two bolts to the frame, I figure with the one bolt on top there is a lot of shear force on that one bolt. The Speedway bracket splits to two bolt holes instead of just the one bolt sticking out of the bracket.

[TonyM]

1939 Ford Standard on the left; 1939 Ford De Luxe on the right.

As stated above--No such thing as a 1939 "Business Coupe."

[marko39]

Originally Posted by Don C

I am in Southern Louisiana just east of Baton Rouge. How do I tell if the car is a Standard or Deluxe. I'm a newby to these cars? It looks like someone must have installed a kit to mount the tube shocks, one of the mounts is tearing away at the bolt at the top, I had planned on fixing it with some welding and reinforcements. I do see there is a kit available at Speedway that also comes with the shocks, it also appears to be a better design. The current one just has a bolt welded to a tower like structure that mounts with two bolts to the frame, I figure with the one bolt on top there is a lot of shear force on that one bolt. The Speedway bracket splits to two bolt holes instead of just the one bolt sticking out of the bracket.

I believe Bob Drake also has the rear tube shock kit, i have his front kit which was cheaper than having the lever shocks rebuilt. Mark

[Sid]

WEEDETR in Red Bluff Ca. sells a pretty good kit for tube shocks. I just installed one in a 40 Ford. The top bracket is three bolt design. Two horizontal and one vertical on top. About $180.00. C&G Ford in Ca. also sells this kit. If you order one measure distance between top of diff. housing and frame near the rubber bumper on frame so you get the shocks with enough travel. It sounds like your shock may have bottomed out is what broke the upper mount.