It seems I am now doing things I should have done during the restoration
(and would have been a lot easier at that time...shoulda done it right the
first time!)
How can I tell if/when the rear shocks on my TR-3A are worn out? The rear
of the car seems to "skip" a bit when I encounter a bump during cornering,
especially at higher speeds. I immediately thought to replace the rear
shocks, and so purchased a pair of rebuilts. Upon removing the old shocks,
I find that the levers of the rebuilt shocks move with about an equal amount
of force (by hand) as the levers of the old ones I just removed. I'm
thinking the old ones are original, but can't be sure. The old ones say
Armstrong, while the rebuilts don't. Am I just wasting my money installing
new shocks that "feel" the same as the old ones?
Also, as long I am back there, I thought I'd replace the original rear
bushings with urethane of some sort. Then, since I'm doing that, I was
wondering if replacing the silent bloc bushing at the front of the leaf
spring could be accomplished with the body still attached to the frame?
Looks like an ugly job, although I do remember Steve Hedke mentioning he
changed out both leaf springs on Scrappy in a Hotel parking lot during the
great race!. And, how do you tell if the silent bloc bushings are bad (or
OK) to begin with?
Last question: Didn't someone on the list come up with a Sears part number
for a thin-wall 1/4" drive 9/16" socket that would fit the mounting nuts on
the rear shocks? I asked the kid at my local Sears store, and only got "we
don't carry anything over 1/2" in quarter inch drive."
Thank you.
Dennis
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