Rear spring shackle integrity?

keithfullmeryahoocom

Gentlemen, I'm looking at my 50 Commodore while it's up on the rack.  The rear shackles and springs look a bit flimsy to me.   Is there an upgrade that is a bit more "heavy-duty" so to speak, or is it necessary on the stepdowns?   I not wanting to reinvent the wheel, just wondering if this is what everyone is running on.   Opinions?

Ol racer

FYI
Those U Shaped Shackles are forgings and never seen one break and God knows I gave them plenty of reasons in the past to snap while scraping the walls and catching other cars bumper squeezing thru the pack............
 I would not be concerned about them, as Ken mentioned above more about bushing or frame erosion

(Not sure why I cant post picture here but can on the other Forum)

bob ward

Hudson were using single sided shackles from the early 30s and must have made and installed a few hundred thousand of them over the years. Yes they look a bit odd when you first see them but they work just fine. 

keithfullmeryahoocom

Okly dokly, stock it will stay.  If this setup was good enough for Ol racer, it ought to be good enough for me!  Chuck, when you were screaming around a corner in one of these old boats, leaning into the wall, bumping into the guy(s) next to you, was there room in your head for a visual of that little 7/16, single-sided shackle straining against the torque pressures?   k

Lee ODell

My 52 Hornet with 83,000 miles was bottoming out in the rear and setting lower then most Hudson's I've seen. I could barely make out a airline crack I thought was the main leaf. When I removed the shackle it had no grease. The place I took it to for lube job missed the shackles. Checked the zerk fitting and no grease would go thru it. Probably decades without grease. The shackle was worn almost thru to the center hole. After removing the metal spring covers from the rear spring 5 of the 7 leaves were shattered under the metal covers, front and back. The ends of the leaves were razor sharp. Replaced everything and now it sets right and rides comfortable. The metal covers were holding the leave together. There is a reason the mechanical procedure manual says to lube suspension every 1,000 miles. It does not take long for the grease to squeezed out on metal to metal bushings. Lee O'Dell

Ol racer

FYI
I found it always helped grease the rear shackles when aged by jacking the weight up off the car (letting the rear hang). Of course once the bushing is worn from lack of lube it needs replaced.

Ol racer

keithfullmeryahoocom said:

Okly dokly, stock it will stay.  If this setup was good enough for Ol racer, it ought to be good enough for me!  Chuck, when you were screaming around a corner in one of these old boats, leaning into the wall, bumping into the guy(s) next to you, was there room in your head for a visual of that little 7/16, single-sided shackle straining against the torque pressures?   k

Keith, Never once gave that a thought...Actually, to lower the car we heated the leaves just ahead of the rrear shackle then jumped on the bumper to sag car down.. The only weak link in the old Hudson was the wide front engine plate would let the block slide forward into the radiator on sudden stop when Track blocked or squeezed into wall. (The V8 cars didnt like my Hudson and made passing difficult) Installed a rod from frame up to center head bolt solved that Radiator damage prob. (Someday maybe ill insert a few crash pic's)

keithfullmeryahoocom

Crash pics would be wonderful to see, Chuck.   Gotta wait til we get the "picture thingie" fixed tho. I love the science of lowering too!...k

Ol racer

FYI
Those old Cars back then were Hobby Stock Class Flathead V8 Cps vs 1 or 2 Hudson 6's with a couple Rocket 88's and a v12 Lincoln in the mix. Usually had over 30 stock cars each nite.. Nobody new Set-Ups or lower blocks, so everyone bent their chassis & staggered the tires then fearlessly free for all'd into the turns with rub rails on the sides and 'rings' welded around all the rims to keep other cars side rub bars away., It was chaois with a lot of re-starts.They tore us down regularly after the Feature warping the heads...Winning all three (Heat, Semi, and Feature paid $69). Hard to believe risked our lives for that meager amount..After they made us remove the Twin H to level the playing field (against all V8's saying they only had 1 carb), Made us always start at the rear, then told us to install a 262" if we wanted to come back, so we then moved up into Modified's at another Track with Clifford's components but thats another whole story for another day....

(Those V8's idled like were cammed to the hilt while our Hudson Sdn was quiet so we figured they were so angry at us thinking we were somehow cheating too, but we wasnt with junk yard Mtr's with just a valve job)....

Ol racer

Ol racer said:

FYI
Those old Cars back then were Hobby Stock Class Flathead V8 Cps vs 1 or 2 Hudson 6's with a couple Rocket 88's and a v12 Lincoln in the mix. Usually had over 30 stock cars each nite.. Nobody new Set-Ups or lower blocks, so everyone bent their chassis & staggered the tires then fearlessly free for all'd into the turns with rub rails on the sides and 'rings' welded around all the rims to keep other cars side rub bars away., It was chaois with a lot of re-starts.They tore us down regularly after the Feature warping the heads...Winning all three (Heat, Semi, and Feature paid $69). Hard to believe risked our lives for that meager amount..After they made us remove the Twin H to level the playing field (against all V8's saying they only had 1 carb), Made us always start at the rear, then told us to install a 262" if we wanted to come back, so we then moved up into Modified's at another Track with Clifford's components but thats another whole story for another day....

(Those V8's idled like were cammed to the hilt while our Hudson Sdn was quiet so we figured they were so angry at us thinking we were somehow cheating too, but we wasnt with junk yard Mtr's with just a valve job)....

Here is the Strength of the old '37's Chassis on thre rough bumpy dirt Tracks... Never broke a Spring or a spindle, Broke a RF Hub, then but put a..250 steel plate on the hub and double plated the right front wheel 'center'.. Bent the front Torque Arms, but restraightened, bent the Drag Link then welded Angle to it fixed the problem. then pretty much maintenance free.They were Strong....

keithfullmeryahoocom

Thanks, Chuck.  So, so different than modern-day stuff.   Everything was "fixed" with a little welding, angle iron, or otherwise "farmers" technology.   

We both know there was something much bigger than the "$69 bucks involved in winning.  I think its called "testosterone"...lol.  keith

RichardD

Might also suggest stepdown owners use Monroe Air shocks to ease the stress around the car rear. These are pump-up shocks, # MA727, from Advance Auto.