1967 Standard shock question

[Hector G.]

My question is, how long would these shocks have lasted before having to be replaced? Interested in knowing how much more use they have left.

Also, some of you might be interested in knowing that the paint on the shocks appears to be consistent with the shock absorber gray paint distributed by Long Island Corvette.

Also, note the location of the paper sticker on the upper part of the shock body. Can no longer see any letters although there is still a hint of the paper.

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Also note the location of the paper sticker on the upper part of the shock body. Can no longer see any letters.

[Tim G.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Nice photo, I'd love to see the 15,400 mile car they came off of.

[Duke W.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

OE shocks usually begin to show signs of weakness at about 40-50K miles, maybe as soon as 30K if you drive aggressively and need good damping to provide rebound control. There is also a time factor due to the elastomeric seals, but that's a tough one to call. If you drive fairly easy on relatively smooth roads no more than 1000 per year they could last another couple of decades. On the other hand a seal could fail in the next year. The moving metal parts' - like the internal valves -life is basically a mileage issue, but elastomeric parts deteriorate even without use, so that superimposes a time issue.

Just reinstall them and keep driving. Avoid rain, which is easy to do in SoCal. Take it easy across the Portuguese Bend slide area, but that's a really good stretch to test shocks. I usually drive across it fairly aggressively in my cars as a test to ensure the shocks are still performing properly.

Duke

[Duke W.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Nice photo, I'd love to see the 15,400 mile car they came off of.

IIRC I judged Hector's car (Mech 1) at a chapter meet in Calabasis a few years ago - a '66 427/390 Covertible and I recall it was an easy Top Fllight. His profile says he owns a '66, but the car in question must be a '67.

So, Hector, did you buy another Corvette?

Duke

[Hector G.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Duke, great to hear from you. Great information. I still have my 66 and plan on showing it again. It also received a top flight in Tahoe couple years ago. Was planning on campaigning the car for a Duntov but I came across this L71 and think I'm going to focus on it. I've been photographing and documenting the 67 for the last several months. It has been sitting for many years so I've had to work on several issues related to it's none use i.e. brakes, radiator, heater core, etc. The same issues I dealt with on my 66 when I purchased it in 84

I can trace the 67's ownership back to 1986. I was told that prior to 86 it was in a collection owned by Jerome Shinkay. I've been unable to confirm this information. The paper work that I have shows that it had 14,539 mile in 1991. When I purchased it this past February it had just under 15 thousand miles. Still has it's tank sticker on. Dropped the tank, took photos and reinstalled the tank. NCRS recently authenticated the sticker.

It is a dream to drive and work on but I'm concerned about putting to many miles on it. That's one of the reasons I decided to remove the shocks. The rivets are still in the rear hubs so I'm also concerned about the bearings. Hardly any signs of wear on the rotors. Based on what you told me, it sounds like I'm going to be reinstalling the shocks although I wish they could just be set aside until needed. Fortunately, didn't get to the front ones off yet.

Funny you should mention the Portuguese Bend slide area. I live near the area and that is the stretch of road I drive my cars exclusively on. I know you live close by, would love to have you come by and take a look at the car. Every time I work on it, I discover something new and exciting.

Tim, I'm hoping to show the car in a year or so. Not a lot of NCRS meets coming up near me in the next year or so. I think your home town of Texas may be the closest.

[Duke W.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Don't be concerned about driving it. In fact, it's not good to let a car sit. Fuel gets old and can form gum and varnish, and lack of coolant circulation can cause localized corrosion activity, which is particularly destructive to aluminum engine components.

My recommendation is to consume at least one tank of fuel per year, which would be something on the order of 200-250 miles on a vintage Corvette, and PV certainly has some great roads, so you don't have to spend those miles slogging around town in traffic.

Duke

[Dan P.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

I have cut apart shocks made by all the different companies . Delco are the highest quality.Duke was right the usually start to show ear about 40,000-50,000 miles. But if you live were the streets are real ruff they will be gone sooner. I rebuilt a set that had over 200,000 miles on them . They were still in pretty good shape . This guy had to drive on some smooth roads . Moving the shock in and out is one way of testing the shock . But a poor test. You need to put the shock about in the middle of travel. That is were the wear is . Put it in a vise and move it in and out as fast as you can to see if it fades. The best way to check them is to look at the shaft about in the middle. If the shaft has any color change the shock is worn out . The shaft is VERY hard and rides against a bushing inside at the top.Both are worn out if the shaft shows any color change. About the only time you see a seal leaking is when the shaft has rust pits. Those pits are very sharp and will cut the seal.

[Hector G.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Thanks Dan. Appreciate the additional information. I have several questions for you.

1. Is the longevity of the shock a function of mileage (use) and time as pointed out by Duke?

2. Would you also recommend just using the shocks until they are worn out?

3. Can these OE shocks be restored?

On a side note, I checked the shafts and from what I can see they are not discolored or pitted in any way. The outside of the shock is a different story. As you can see from the photo, they have some surface rust. The car was sold in Florida and has been in California since at least 1986. In comparison to my body off fully restored 66, the 67, in my opinion drives/rides just as well if not better than my 66, although imperceptibly so. Hard to articulate exactly why I feel this way.

Thanks Dan.

[Dan P.]

Re: 1967 Standard shock question

Duke is right on the money . If the shafts look good you could use them as is .Just clean them up and paint them . Tape the top of the shocks off before bead blasting . You want to be sure no glass beads get in were the shaft goes into the shock.There is a seal right there you can not see. If they get in there they will embed in the seal and become like sandpaper and ruin everything.The only way to really check them is to cut them apart . I had a set of shocks that looked NOS and when i cut them apart they showed a lot of use . The fluid was very dark and contaminated.