by Phil Peters (ppeters@cascorp.com)
Recently I installed tube style shocks similar to what Tony Burke had done on his vehicle. Below is a description that should help others, as this is a much-improved ride over the stock vehicle without any shocks at all.
I decided to install tube style shocks in the rear of my 1929 Model 60 Durant as it gets very loose when going over bumps and around corners. Based upon information from Tony Burke, I bought two rear spring to shock plates from a junkyard that came off a Suzuki Samari. These plates have a similar bolt pattern for the spring u-bolts as the Durant. They are part numbers 41430-83000 (Right side) and 41440-83000 (Left side). They retail for $21 at the dealer but I found some in a wrecking yard for $10 each. Since they aren’t a perfect match on the bolt pattern, I drilled the .500″ holes out to .625″ and they fit with some encouragement.
Normally these shocks would be installed on the inside of the frame but I didn’t want to have to go around the exhaust pipe, fuel line and electrical lines on the left side, so I decided to mount them on the outside between the frame rail and the tire. In this way, I only had to do some minor trimming on the wood frame for everything to fit. It did require that I cut/burn off the shock stud from the plates and rotate them 90 degrees and reweld them on.
For the top mount, I used one of the predrilled .500″ holes in the frame for the standard single acting shock absorber to mount the upper bolt for the tube style shock. I used a Universal Shock Bolt Kit part number 650-1100 from Napa Auto Parts. Based upon the location, minor trimming of a notch in the wood frame provided the necessary clearance for the shock eye. I used Monroe Sensa-Trak shocks, as they were the right stroke for this distance and cane painted black, Napa part number 37098.
I had to remove the rear wheel and brake rod for installation of the shock but everything fit very nicely. Once everything is put back together, you have a hard time telling that the shocks have even been added, but it makes all the difference in the handling. This should work on all Model 40 & 60 Durants. Regards, Phil
