Help with Shocks

[woodie49]

I am ordering replacement shocks for my '49 Woodie. All the listings for shocks I find list the '49 Deluxe, but no mention of a '49 Special Deluxe, which is what my Woodie is.

Can any of you with good parts books tell me if a Woodie has different shocks (particularly the rear) than the '49 Deluxe? If its one size fits all models, I am good to go.

[randroid]

Woodie49,

When I replaced the shocks on my '48 SD I bought light truck shocks and never regretted it. I don't recall the stock number; I took an old shock in to make sure the length and ends were correct and the new shocks slid right into place. I think they're Gabriel from NAPA, but that's almost irrelevant.

-Randy

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Woodie,

According to my 1950 parts book, shock absorbers are listed in the following manner;

Part # 1311033 - Front 1" diam. shock absorber, application; P19-20, D33-34, S14 (exc. S14 sub), C48-49

Part # 1311034 - Rear 1" diam. shock absorber, application; P19-20, D33-34 (exc. D34 Stn.), S14 (exc S14 sub., stn., and Est. Wgn.), C48-49 (exc. stn. and est. wgn.)

There was also a heavy duty shock option 1 3/8" diameter front and rear for P19-C49 models as well.

Looks like there's no difference between 'deluxe' and 'special deluxe' shocks to me.

Hope that helps,

Gary

[Frank Elder]

You might try this.

http://beachcitygas.com/49ply

[wayfarerstranger]

i just took a nice set of shocks off of a 48 p15 and put them on my 49 ply woodie and they worked great the ones i took off were shot wagon rides a lot smoother now , i put some on my dodge a while back & they look like the ply`s i believe they all all the same mopar late 40`s early 50`s ,, chance

[Captain Neon]

I'm putting a set of Monroe #5752 on the front and Monroe #MA727 (air shocks) on the rear of my '46 this weekend. The same should fit your '49 just fine. I'm sure some one will chime in with the number for the cheaper gas shocks eventually.

Gabriel makes a similar shock, and AutoZone can get you the cross-reference if you prefer shopping there instead. Monroes are simply what my parts store carries.

[DLK]

I'm putting a set of Monroe #5752 on the front and Monroe #MA727 (air shocks) on the rear of my '46 this weekend. The same should fit your '49 just fine. I'm sure some one will chime in with the number for the cheaper gas shocks eventually.

Gabriel makes a similar shock, and AutoZone can get you the cross-reference if you prefer shopping there instead. Monroes are simply what my parts store carries.

I put 5752's on the front of my 50 Dodge today. I have held off waiting to decide whether to go with air shocks on the rear. The prior owner put tires that are slightly too wide in the back (P22570R15) - I can see slight sidewall scuffing after about 3000 miles which may be from rubbing the fenders going around corners. Since the tires have a lot of miles left on them I am tempted to put air shocks with a little extra pressure in hopes it will minimize the scuffing.

I will be interested to hear what the air shocks do to your ride.

[Captain Neon]

I chose the air shocks so that I could help Don and Tim run hootch, and sneak people into the drive-in.

[Plymouthy Adams]

this baby will hold a lot of shine...

[claybill]

take note...all plymouth chasis took the same stuff...all plymouth motors took the same stuff etc etc....occasionally with minor changes, no worries.

from 1940-55 or so. deluxe, special deluxe,etc...same..

trucks were different in sme parts areas i found.

many parts house ONLY carry a listing back to 1950 or so...but usually it is the same part.

bill

[Young Ed]

When I needed new uprights for my 48 I looked up the part number hoping 51 was the same because Dad has a warehouse full of 51-52 stuff. The uprights only fit to 1950. Something changed after that.

[woodie49]

Great! Thanks for all the insight. I thought they were probably the same, but I wanted to avoid an expensive mistake. I usually order my parts on the net because my auto store here is Kragan, and they have essentially nothing I need. I have a NAPA about 45 minutes away, but they are difficult to deal with (as opposed to impossible for Kragan) mostly due to inexperience (on both sides). So, if I order the wrong thing, I practically pay for it in back and forth shipping and restock.

In about three weeks, the car goes up on jacks so I can install the OD. At that time I will also replace parts of the exhaust system and do the shocks. I am trying to get everything ready because I have only a two car garage. The Packard will go into storage for a couple months, but my Little Bride thinks she is somehow going to shoehorn her Prius into the garage when I do this work. I think that is unlikely. Fortunately (or maybe not) she loves the Woodie almost (?) as much as she loves me. So, I should have the space I need.

You guys convinced me through other posts to install the OD and see how it runs rather than just tearing into it. Jim Douglas was good enough to advise on the basics I should do without tearing it apart. I am looking forward to this. If the OD turns out to need serious attention, I'll probably cuss a little, then go back on blocks and switch it out and rebuild it. That will be a learning experience.

I appreciate the help.

[Young Ed]

That was probably me. I hope you are as lucky as we have been. Two ODs running for years now with no internal inspections.

[Captain Neon]

Just an FYI, I put my air shocks in today. My old shocks were completely worn out so I don't know if air shocks were necessary, but I spent the extra money and took the extra effort to upgrade to air shocks. I changed the front shocks too as they were just as worn out. Took the wife to supper tonight and it was like driving a Cadillac it rode so nice.

[Andydodge]

Young Ed........the only difference I can think of between the uprights would be the actual shock /sway bar mount as the actual upright will interchange between Plymouth from 1940 to 1956, but the shock absorber will dictate which you should use as they started using a different shock mount and sway bar location........but the uprights upper and lower bush is the same.......and the thing is the same length, width etc........andyd

[Plymouthy Adams]

later model sway bars were affixed to the lower sontrol arms..a design change that went way into the late 60's that I know of on other makes and model cars..I had to eliminate my original swap bar on the 41 and opt to the later model as the forward mounted radiator would not be possible with the sotck configuartion sway bar.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Plymouthy Adams