Galaxie Forum Full-size Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury DazeCars www.galaxieforum.com


This forum is for all years of the Ford Galaxie and all other Full-size Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars. This is a place to share information, skills, pictures, and stories for the purpose of building friendships and furthering the enjoyment and restoration of these cars

You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



February 1, 2017 7:41 am  #1


1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

I am working on removing the rust from the underside of my Galaxie and decided I wanted to replace the rear shocks & coil springs for my new wheels coming this Spring.  I have no problem finding info on replacement shocks but I am having  trouble finding the coil spring info.  One of the local Ford parts dealers here told me to look at the vin plate on the door, but I see no spring code on that.  I look in my shop manual and the diagram shows a shock with no spring. Question #1 Was it common for my car to have leaf springs and a shock with coil spring?

Question #2  If so, how do I find out what the right coil spring is for my car?

If not, I am afraid that if I go back with just a shock, that my ride height might change.  Any help would be much appreciated.  I add a couple of pics to show what i am dealing with.  Thanks for the help guys!

 

February 1, 2017 8:08 am  #2


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

Usually those spring shocks were installed for different reasons: Generally they were added to compensate for sagging leaf springs, for adding strength to the leafs for carrying heavier loads such as trailer towing or to change ride height.
I would remove them to see how the ride height looks first. Then you you will have to decide on your next course of action.
To the best of my knowledge that car should not have a coil/shock absorber.

 

February 1, 2017 8:28 am  #3


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

Thanks Dan.  Do you know where I can find that coil information?

     Thread Starter
 

February 1, 2017 10:53 am  #4


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

With new leaf springs you would likely not need the helper coils on the shock. Shock mounts are not designed to take suspension loads, the weight of the car on the springs, so the right leafs for your desired ride height would eliminate the need for the helper springs. If you want the coils you could clean them and paint them so they look like new.

 

February 1, 2017 12:17 pm  #5


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

70XL, Thanks for the reply.  Not looking to replace the leaf springs, just the shocks and coil springs.  Not really sure they need to be replaced.  I have a lot of roll when I turn corners and just thought replacing the shocks and coil springs along with adding a rear sway bar would tighten everything up.

     Thread Starter
 

February 1, 2017 2:31 pm  #6


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

why not get some air shocks?  That way you can adjust the ride height.

 

February 1, 2017 2:38 pm  #7


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

G-Man,
          Budget restrictions.  I would love to put air ride on it, but then I would have to get rid of leaf springs and go with 4-link suspension and i am not sure I want to invest that kind of money into it.  I would rather save the money up and put a nice paint job on it.  The vin code says the body should be Rangoon Red and the Top should be Wimbledon White.  Still debating if I want to go back to the White top.  Just got the rims for the spring (18x7's in front and 20x8.5's in the rear). See the attached pic.  Thanks!

     Thread Starter
 

February 1, 2017 4:25 pm  #8


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

The air shocks g-man is talking about are not an air bag suspension system, but a typical helper system for sagging, or heavy loads. The is a small bladder inside a shock that you can air up when needed, and air down when not, same principle as the helper coils added to your shocks, but easy to change as needed.

The shocks are not there to control body roll, that is not the purpose of a damper in the system, so the real way to fix things is to get good leaf springs and add a sway bar. When you add a rear sway bar you'll likely need to upgrade the front sway bar to maintain a safe balance in the vehicle handling. I've read some stories about guys getting scary vehicle dynamics when adding a rear sway bar and not stiffening up the front.

 

February 1, 2017 9:22 pm  #9


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

I would take the numbers on those shocks to a place like NAPA and see if they can cross match or find a replacement.
Going with an air shock is an excellent suggestion and I would think the price not that much different. With air shocks you have adjustment in ride height compared to what you have now which is no adjustment.

 

February 1, 2017 11:52 pm  #10


Re: 1964 Galaxie 500 XL rear suspension

This is what I replaced the air shocks that was on my 1964 Galaxie with. I could not get the air shocks to work correctly. I'm guessing something was defective or broken inside one even though it wasn't leaking?  Really happy with the Monroe shocks so far, car rides nice, they also have the coil spring.

Monroe 58510 Load Adjust Shock Absorber.  

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum