VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Dubonnet fixed !!

Sorry, but I just have to share this with those that will understand:

I finally finished the rebuild of the Dubonnet shocks on my '37 Sports Coupe. Being somewhat "frugal" (i.e. "cheap"), I wasn't about to pay close to $1200 for something I could do myself. I wound up having to turn new bushings on my lathe and milling out the cross-shaft bore to provide room for a lip seal to replace the original, leak-prone packing. I got it all back together and drove it for about 200 miles or so over our pot-hole riddled NYS roads and......no leaks !! It also rides better than it ever has. Total cost was under $100 and some time was lost in having to make special tools for disassembly & re-assembly, but there was also a lot of fun in overcoming the challenges as they were presented.

At the same time, I completely overhauled the brake system with new drums, wheel cylinders, brake lines and a dual master cylinder. All work quite well.

It was a lot of work, but the satisfaction of a job well done is immeasurable, at least to me.

Just thought I'd share my pleasure with like-minded, understanding souls. Now back to your regulary scheduled program......

Bowtie Bob--A job well done, especially by yourself is very gratifying, not to mention the fact you saved $1100.

hoppy

Thanks Bob, This gives me some incouragement for when I take mine apart!
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Joes37

Bowtie Bob,

Congratulations on your work. We all love to hear about this! Many of us are facing the same challenge and hope to follow your leadership: any more details that will help us over some of the hurdles you surmounted are appreciated.

I plan to do the same as you even though I do not have a lath, I have a drill press and expect to higher any machine shop tasks I cannot handle myself (I think I will still save money this way).

No more "Bob, bob, bobby along?"

Mike
Enjoy!!!

I counter-bored the cross shaft bore for the lip seal on a friend's milling machine. It was a little difficult holding the body to make sure the counter-bore was square, but it can be done. Figuring the counter-bore depth and actually milling it was the most difficult part of the job. There are also a couple of special tools that you will need to fabricate, but they are fairly simple to make.

If I can provide any help, PM me and I'll be glad to do so. Initially, I planned on writing a technical article, but was told by a member not to bother because one had been written, so I didn't bother as I felt with that attitude there probably wouldn't be enough interest to justify the time spent.