C2 Original Shocks F41

[Guest]

A question on original F41 rear shocks. The '66 Coupe I'm restoring came with what I believe are original F41 shocks. The following information is stamped into the shocks (3171489, Delco Products,Dayton Ohio USA, 10A65, Pliacell). Other side has a different date (5C66). Believe they are original as car was low miles 19K, with a lot of original mechanical parts except engine. I have two questions. 1) Can these be rebuilt and by whom? 2) Why would these sell for so much when they would have to need a rebuild (Current EBay auction 4582211407 is at $1,100 and didn't meet reserve). My car is pretty original with exception of engine and wrong color interior. Should I keep these shocks or sell to help fund the restoration? Thanks Eric

[Rick A.]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

they are the real McCoy - 5C66 is the date code - as far as whether to sell or not - are you planning to take the car to NCRS for judging, or is this a DRIVER? once you decide that.......

[Guest]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

Nice driver - so I'm leaning towards Ebay. How good can 40 year old shocks be? I would assume folks would want to rebuild, but I've never heard or seen anyone offering that service.

[Philip C.]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

HI Does your car have other F41 items 7 leaf spring, heavy front springs, 15/16 front bar? If you read the dates correctly, you have are Jan 10 1965 & March 5 1966 not a pair.How do these date relate to your cars date? No one can or is rebuilding these shocks (as yet)2) I dont know why they are selling for so much! If that biding is real look at that 67 L-88 tanker 850K story. changed frame, bogus trim tag,wrong sevens on pad, big tanks were not made after 4000 vin. app.This car is 22,000 no paper work, or pre. owners. Think Terry from pro-team doesn't know what an L-88 or a big tank is NOT! Dont restore it drive it! Phil ps I'll give ya $500.00 for the pair.

[Guest]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

Phil - Thanks for the response. Based on my limited knowledge of Corvette restoration my car did have the F41 suspension. It is an L72 engined car. I removed the original springs that had portions of the green sticker tags on them and replaced them with new springs (EA). I didn't measure the front sway bar, but it looks close to 15/16ths. I will validate. A 7 leaf spring came with the car, but a 9 leaf was/is currently on it. My car is a very late June/early July 1966 car. I agree regarding the date translation on the shocks , but wonder if it could have came from the factory like this. Front shocks were also original dated parts. I will check their dates. Regarding selling I appreciate the offer, but need to figure out where I'm heading with my project and how best to maximize anything I sell.

[Rick A.]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

do the shocks appear to have any leakage? are they still hard to pull apart and compress? I have a pair of rear F41 shocks dated early 1964 that do not leak and are hard as hell to compress - just need to strip paint and repaint

FYI - as stated by others, currently there is no "restoration services" for this type of shock - the "spiral shocks" for the solid axles are being restored, so would think someone would start restoring others?

[mike cobine]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

The first rule of Corvettes is this: do not throw away or sell anything until you are 100% sure of what you are doing.

It will cost you twice as much (or much more) to buy it back later if you decide you need it.

With 19,000 miles, why did you change the springs?

Even without the original engine, you can build a correct engine and go through judging one day in the future, so the car isn't "worthless" and "only useful as a driver" as some would have you believe. So make your decision on what you want to do based on what you want, not so-called values of the car.

My car is pretty original with exception of engine and wrong color interior. Should I keep these shocks or sell to help fund the restoration?

This sounds like you have answered your own question. To restore the car, you would need those shocks, so why sell them?

[Guest]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

Mike - Thanks for the advice. Based on an earlier '65 Corvette I owned in the late 70's & early 80's I learned to keep all the original parts. The reason for replacing these parts are two fold. One, I purchased a block of repro and original parts on EBay for a great price that had these new aftermarket components and secondly, I'm having trouble believing that 40 year old shocks and springs even with low miles can still function properly without rebuilding. This Corvette sat in my uncle's barn since 1978. Like most everyone I'm struggling with how best to keep the car original and still afford putting it together and driving. Over the last year since I purchased the car I have purchased almost all of the correct dated engine parts except the block. Due to its high cost that will need to wait another couple of years. If I decide to sell the shocks it would allow me to get the car on the road sooner.

[mike cobine]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

If you sell the shocks for $1000, then they will cost $2000 when the time comes to put them back on.

If you are strapped for cash, I'd put it together with what is available, keep records of what is right and wrong, and fix the wrong stuff further down the road when you have the money.

I wouldn't sell off parts of the car to make it run, only to be faced with buying them back a few years from now at several times the price.

As to age, shocks sit on a shelf for years. If there are no leaks, and they have not been worked hard or stored in an extreme position, then odds are they are fine. You aren't autocrossing it or road racing it anyway.

Same with springs. There may be some sag, but just sitting should be minimal. Original Corvettes sit much lower than most restored ones do, because the reproduction springs are not correct.

I'd run the engine in it, unless you need to rebuild that one. If that is the case, you can rebuild any engine for roughly the same price. So at that point, I'd make the choice of coming up with the correct block ($$$$) or buying an incorrect running engine somewhere ($$) to get it driveable. A lot would depend on price. If I could buy a 396 to 454 for a few hundred, versus maybe a $1000 just for the correct block plus $2000 - $3500 in rebuild costs, I'd drop the used engine in to make it run for now.

I'm not the 110% restorer here. If your car was missing most of its parts, I'd say do whatever you want, drop in the Monroe or KYB or whatever shocks, put in the Vette Brakes springs, paint it whatever. But in your case, you have the right parts still there. Don't throw them out because they are old. Old and no good are two very different descriptions, and not necessarily the same.

[Patrick H.]

Re: C2 Original Shocks F41

Eric,

My 72 Corvette has the original springs, shocks, and everything at 61,000 miles. It rides VERY smoothly, and I have no doubt that the shocks are doing their job. As long as they aren't leaking fluid down the side, they're worth a try.

Patrick