Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
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Topic author - Posts: 180
- Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:19 pm
- First Name: Bryan
- Last Name: Tutton
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1914 Model T
- Location: Southwest, MI
Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
I recently purchased a 1914 Touring car that I hope to actually tour with when I finally get it put together. One of the things that concerns me is the lack of shock absorbers on the car. I have driven modern cars with worn shock absorbers and they can be really hard to control when you hit a rough patch of road and I am thinking a Model T might be even worse. I have noticed pictures of several Model T's with aftermarket shocks and I was wondering if anyone still makes shocks for Model T's and if they do, which ones are the best? I am adding Rocky Mountain brakes and will be adding a Ruckstel rear end later and I have noticed they say they will not work with some types of shocks. Any recommendations?
Thank you....Bryan
Thank you....Bryan
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- Posts: 1419
- Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 2:29 pm
- First Name: Ed
- Last Name: Martin
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1914 Touring, 1909 Touring
- Location: Idaho
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
I think you need to go take a ride in a car without shocks and one with to feel the difference if any. Also, you have to be very careful regarding the design of certain aftermarket shocks, because some are flawed and can cause an accident from collapse. Some shocks are of very good design and strong, others are questionable. I have hassler spring shocks on one of my cars.
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- Posts: 391
- Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:51 pm
- First Name: Paul
- Last Name: O'Neil
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1914 Touring, 1923 Runabout
- Location: Klamath Falls, OR
- MTFCI Number: 18018
- Board Member Since: 2005
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
As Three Pedal Tap Dancer suggested, drive your car before making up your mind about this. I'm amazed how good the ride is on my '14 Touring with no shock absorbers at all. Ts are low speed cars by their nature & if you drive them as they would have been driven back when they were built there should be little issue. That's not to say there are NO places where shocks might help. A bad washboard road might be one of them but on normal modern roads the ride is pretty good.
Another thing to consider - even though many sorts of accessory shocks were available to buy, they were not widely used. The vast majority of ts got along with the stock springs & nothing else.
Paul
Another thing to consider - even though many sorts of accessory shocks were available to buy, they were not widely used. The vast majority of ts got along with the stock springs & nothing else.
Paul
The man with a watch always knows what time it is, the man with two watches is never sure.
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- Posts: 2385
- Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:17 pm
- First Name: Mark
- Last Name: Strange
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1924 Cut Off Touring (now a pickup)
- Location: Hillsboro, MO
- MTFCA Number: 30944
- MTFCI Number: 23667
- Board Member Since: 2013
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
I run rebound straps on the front and rear of my 1924 and consider them a worthwhile improvement. I made them out of the heaviest leather belts I could get at Walmart.
Mark Strange
Hillsboro, MO
1924 Cut-off Touring (now a pickup)
Hillsboro, MO
1924 Cut-off Touring (now a pickup)
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- Posts: 364
- Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:03 pm
- First Name: Stephen
- Last Name: Heatherly
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 26 coupe and 23 Runabout
- Location: St. Louis MO
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
As long as the front end and steering column of your car are in good shape, it will get along just fine without any shock absorbers on most roads.
Stephen
Stephen
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- Posts: 5201
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 7:21 pm
- First Name: Allan
- Last Name: Bennett
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 van, 1917 shooting brake, 1929 roadster buckboard, 1924 tourer, 1925 barn find buckboard, 1925 D &F wide body roadster, 1927LHD Tudor sedan.
- Location: Gawler, Australia
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
The incompatibility of accessory shock absorbers and Rocky Mountain brakes is real. Many types have different spring perches o be able to fit them, and these get in the way of fitting the brakes.
Allan from down under.
Allan from down under.
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- Posts: 1354
- Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:54 pm
- First Name: Kevin
- Last Name: Pharis
- Location: Sacramento CA
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
I have a feeling the OP is asking about real shocks. Yes, there are reproduction “Hartford” friction shocks available for the T’s, that cause no interference with accessory brakes or create potential chassis failure points. They simply provide resistance to the free motion of the springs.
The safety concerns stated in previous posts are relative to “Hassler” and similar design era accessory “shocks”. These “shocks” commonly have altered design spring mounts and additional helper type springs made with inferior metallurgy.
The safety concerns stated in previous posts are relative to “Hassler” and similar design era accessory “shocks”. These “shocks” commonly have altered design spring mounts and additional helper type springs made with inferior metallurgy.
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- Posts: 1354
- Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:54 pm
- First Name: Kevin
- Last Name: Pharis
- Location: Sacramento CA
Re: Shock Absorbers for 1914 Touring
Don’t know if they’re still available, but here is a clip from an old thread;