VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Oil vs Gas Filled Shocks

My 1951 Chevy Deluxe seems to feel every crack and pebble on the road. The PO installed gas filled shocks. Would standard oil filled shocks give a softer ride or is this just how these cars ride? I am running radial tires at 30-32 psi.

I inquired about buying shocks for my car a few months ago and all feedback was to avoid gas shocks as they were already pressurized, even before being loaded, so would result in a harsh ride.

Tim

Thanks Tim,

That was my thinking, too. I left them this long because I figured the stiffness might help with body roll. Where did you buy your shocks?

The PO installed gas charged shocks on my 1950. The ride was "stiff". I replaced them with conventional shocks and all was well. Used Gaberial (spelling) brand classic car shocks. The radial tires with over 30 pounds of pressure wil also make the ride worse on little bumps. The car was designed for bias tires and 24 pounds cold. I start with about 27 pounds cold.

At 30 psi my tires look a little soft so I was afraid to go lower than that. I'll experiment a little more with pressure next spring when I get my car out of storage. Thanks for all the help.

Ogriginally the radial tires called for 30 pounds. On later model new cars they RAISED IT TO 35 POUNDS ON MOST APPLICATIONS FOR BETTER GAS MILEAGE.
iT IS NORMAL FOR THEM TO LOOK SOME WHAT SOFT.

Radials will look "soft." That's due to the profile and design of the tire. Chev Nut is right on pressures.

I run 30 lbs in my 51 (cold) and it rides fine. You can find the OEM style shocks at NAPA, Filling Station, Chevs of the Forties, et al..

The only down side of radials is also the noise. If all these are important, you could switch back to bias ply, albeit at a much higher cost.

I'm happy with the radials and the ride. I'm just hoping to soften it a bit. I replaced all the window channels and fuzzies. Since then the road noise and rattles are minimal. The dual Ultra Flow mufflers make more noise at 65 mph than the road does.

I have looked for non "gas" shocks and have found that all shocks are now gas charged. Has to do with preventing the oil from foaming. Check out the info on Gabriel Classic Shocks, they are gas charged. Link to site below

http://gabriel.com/light-vehicle/products/classic/

You can get all four Gabriel Classic Shocks from Rock Auto for under $100.00 . Probably less than what one original NOS shock would cost.