Shocks: 62 GT lower shock mounting bolts question.

[wlfrench]

Here is a picture from Studebaker International's web site for 62 GT shocks and mounting hardware.


Are the funny looking studs on the lower left a stock Studebaker part? I have those same studs mounted on the lower leaf spring brackets of my 62 GT for mounting the rear shocks. Or are they just something that SI came up with to use with the shocks that they sell? I looked in the parts manual but did not see this part in the diagram for the rear suspension.

[r1lark]

If I remember correctly, the '62 style bottom mount used a normal capscrew (bolt) and a sleeve that slipped over the bolt. The rubber bushing in the shock then fit over the bolt/sleeve, and a washer & nut tightened everything up.

The mounting 'bolt' that SI pictures is a GM-style mount, and actually I like that method better than the original bolt/sleeve. I would not be concerned at all to use this unless you are building a perfect concours show car.

[wlfrench]

The problem is that I got new shocks from Dave Thibeault and they do not fit those fancy studs.

[doofus]

A standard bolt the right length and a sleeve from the local hardware store(lawn mower part ) will fill the bill. Luck Doofus

[r1lark]

The problem is that I got new shocks from Dave Thibeault and they do not fit those fancy studs.

Ahh, ok.....I understand now. So, what doofus said - buy the correct length bolt, and a sleeve with an ID to match the bolt OD (and a sleeve OD that slips snugly into the shock bushing). The parts manual will tell you the length of the bolt. You may have to play around with the length of the sleeve, because I bet that sleeve is what allows you to tighten the nut securely -- in other words, the flatwasher will bottom on the sleeve. Get a thick heavy flat washer if you can find one.....basically a large diameter washer with a small hole, like a fender washer. The fender washers may be a little thin for this application, but then again I'm pretty anal about things like this .

One more thing to check -- make sure that when the GM-style shock studs were installed, the hole in the lower shock bracket wasn't drilled out to a larger diameter than the bolt specified in the parts manual. If I remember correctly, on at least one car that I installed these studs on, I had to enlarge the hole in the bottom bracket. Just something to check.

[bensherb]

I don't know what is "factory", but on my '62 GT the lower end of the shock has a steel sleeve in the rubber already. When I got the car they were just bolted to the spring plate with a standard bolt and a large diameter washer.

Here's the rub, on my car that put the lower end of the shock enough rearward of the upper end that the rubber was flexed almost to capacity. I made a spacer about 1 1/4" long and used a longer bolt (what I could find) to get the top and bottom closer to being inline, but it still needs to be more. I can only guess the spring plates on my car are wrong, or something is off with the upper mounting.

Does anyone have any pics of the proper spring plate and mounting?

[r1lark]

bensherb is correct......just using a bolt and sleeve as I incorrectly described above really won't work quite right! I refreshed my memory of what the original lower shock mounts look like, check the parts manual illustration. The sleeve was bonded to the bushing in the loop end of the shock and stuck out more on one side that the other, and that properly spaced out the shock from the spring plate so it lined up properly with the upper mount. That's why Studebaker International includes the GM-style mount, because the original Studebaker style is apparently no longer commonly available.