Front fender to shock clearance issue

[Pinesdune]

Hi folks, I noticed some blistering of the paint on the top side of my fender last week when I was polishing the car, this particular fender had enough body work done that I initially thought it was a body work issue. Tonight I was doing a service on her and noticed the ding from the front shock! Any ideas as to why? Both front shock arms geometry matched when I installed new stripe shocks this spring with original shock tubes. Only difference I see is I have an early 28 on the left (the one that hit) and a 29 fender on the right. I know I take her down my backroad once in a while and have hit a hole here n there but I'm shocked this occurred. No the shock arms are not early 28 with numbers.

Any wisdom appreciated


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[160B]

Here is a photo of the LF shock on my 31 68B. The only difference I see is the orientation of the cotter pin is 90 degrees different thus reducing the clearance between the shock and the fender.

[Synchro909]

A common occurrence.

[denniskliesen]

Might not be the best idea, but if it were mine I'd check the bolts holding the shock make sure the frame isn't bent and if all is ok, I'd take the link off move the arm by hand and check travel. Then I would take the arm off and heat it up and bend it enough to give ample clearance. I'm hoping the Stipe shocks don't have too much travel compared to the original. I can't remember if I checked that when I installed mine on the front.

[RandyinUtah]

I think you might a a weak front spring that is letting the body and fender sit a little low and not allowing clearance for the shock link.

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Originally Posted by RandyinUtah

I think you might a a weak front spring that is letting the body and fender sit a little low and not allowing clearance for the shock link.

I agree.

We need a picture of the front spring, or a picture of the front of the car to see how much of the front axle is showing.

[JDupuis]

Hi Pinesdune, my Father-in-laws AR did the same thing. I removed the front spring, did all the measurements...ect. It was all to spec. I ended up adding an extra leaf to the very top plus I bought the "single" bolt dog bone links. (Mac's). They are shorter then the originals.
My Father-in-law did a complete nut and bolt, frame off, going for points restoration on this car. 16 years to complete. He started with the original tube links, they dented the fenders,we reaired the fenders, switched to the two bolt dog bones. They also hit the fenders. The dents need to be repaired again. That's when I did the latest repair. Hope this helps. Jeff

[Oldbluoval]

Not really sure but it looks like the frame is scuffed too
Any chance the arm is slightly bent? Or just press it a bit to gain clearance. Arms straighten (and bend) on a press fairly easily
I tend to like the weak spring idea too

[Kevin in NJ]

It is a non ford spring and you can see rust dust at the one end. It looks too flat. Need a picture of the shackle to see where it is.
The angle of the shock is above horizontal so my guess you have a spring (or lack there of) issue.

Does the shock actually work? That is take the link off and close the adjuster and see if there is substantial resistance. If not then you also have shock issues.

It could be the angle of the picture, the front brake lever looks a little too vertical. How are the brakes?

[Pinesdune]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I agree.

We need a picture of the front spring, or a picture of the front of the car to see how much of the front axle is showing.

Here's some pics Tom




If you'd like any others or clearer pics please let me know

As far as I can tell without disassembly the frame is straight, the bolts are good. Possibly the arm is bent or could be bent a bit to help alleviate the problem.


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[Pinesdune]

Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ

It is a non ford spring and you can see rust dust at the one end. It looks too flat. Need a picture of the shackle to see where it is.
The angle of the shock is above horizontal so my guess you have a spring (or lack there of) issue.

Does the shock actually work? That is take the link off and close the adjuster and see if there is substantial resistance. If not then you also have shock issues.

It could be the angle of the picture, the front brake lever looks a little too vertical. How are the brakes?

Hi, the shocks worked fine when I installed them this spring, I can try tightening them a bit to help restrict travel. Brakes work well as far as I'm concerned, but I have no other cars to compare to, I installed new cast drums with new pads during the restoration 800 miles ago and the car stops I'd say I'm about 100 feet from 45mph


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[Pinesdune]

Originally Posted by JDupuis

Hi Pinesdune, my Father-in-laws AR did the same thing. I removed the front spring, did all the measurements...ect. It was all to spec. I ended up adding an extra leaf to the very top plus I bought the "single" bolt dog bone links. (Mac's). They are shorter then the originals.

My Father-in-law did a complete nut and bolt, frame off, going for points restoration on this car. 16 years to complete. He started with the original tube links, they dented the fenders,we reaired the fenders, switched to the two bolt dog bones. They also hit the fenders. The dents need to be repaired again. That's when I did the latest repair. Hope this helps. Jeff

It does help, thank you, I didn't realize this was possibly a problem


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[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Pinesdune

Hi, the shocks worked fine when I installed them this spring, I can try tightening them a bit to help restrict travel. Brakes work well as far as I'm concerned, but I have no other cars to compare to, I installed new cast drums with new pads during the restoration 800 miles ago and the car stops I'd say I'm about 100 feet from 45mph


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What work, if any, did you do to the front spring ?

[1931 flamingo]

What about rotating the link 180* ?? It looks shorter on the bottom??
Paul in CT

[Pinesdune]

Originally Posted by hardtimes

What work, if any, did you do to the front spring ?

I visually inspected and greased them before she went off to paint, but I did not replace or work on the springs, there were no signs of wear on them and they looked good. (I never had a fully assembled body on the car before she went to paint, I got her in pieces and left the body to the gents at the paint shop)

[Gary WA]

Shock arms: some straight some were curved?

[Synchro909]

How would a sagged spring make any difference? Sure, the arm would sit higher at rest but the interference happens when the suspension is at the bottom of its movement. That would happen more easily if the spring were weak but the bottom is the bottom, regardless of how strong the spring is. I have had it happen on a car where the spring was within spec and I hit a horror bump that bottomed the suspension. Maybe I'm missing something but I think this talk of a weak or sagged spring is not relevant. Might as well talk about how much pressure in the tyres!

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yep, your spring is too flat. You need a new spring.

[J Franklin]

Or re-arch the spring.

[Pinesdune]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Yep, your spring is too flat. You need a new spring.

That sounded like the way most everyone was thinking, just for comparison purposes do you (or anyone else) have a pic of what it's supposed to look like. Anyone supplier have a better spring than the next? I can see Syncro's point tho, and I wondered about the bend in the shock arm, but I'll try to stiffen up the front spring first and see if it strikes again before I repair the fender. And thanks everyone