James Franks wrote...
> The only negative I have on the tube conversion is the lack of a lower
> bump stop to limit rear suspension travel. <snip>
> A shock with the correct travel could fix this, but might result in a
> 'clunk' when the shock bottomed........ not to mention the question of
> whether the shock is designed to bottom without failing prematurely
When I put Bilstein shocks into my wife's Suburban, I noticed that the shock
appeared to be the bump stop. I checked with the US factory people and they
said that this is the way the vehicle is designed, and there IS a bump stop
built into the shock. In thinking about it, it seems that many conventional
unequal-length "A"-arm front suspensions on US cars work this way, so I bet
you can find shocks designed to take this stress, and with a bump stop built
in to limit the shock.
> I recommend installing rear sway bars to limit roll deflection on the
> cars using these conversions, or devising an alternative bump stop.
As you know, a sway bar will cause the springs to share more of the load, but
it's not a substitute for a proper bump stop.
Karl Vacek
'66 TR4A
'68 TR250
'64 Amphicar
'16 Ford Model T
'46 Piper J-3 Cub
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