Toronado.org

Notice the Auto Zone one has a dust cover.

Doc, do you have any idea where Fusick gets his? I'm sure they're made by either Monroe or Gabriel. Any numbers on the side to cross check with? Are the Fusick shocks modern, gas charged or are they old style hydraulic?

Otto,

You could see if you can get that info directly from Fusick. I will look on the shocks when I get a chance. I know when I went to put shock absorbers on the car in early 2000s after I got it, they couldn't find the right ones for the horizontal smaller ones, so no choice but to leave the old ones.

Shocks by design are made to dampen a certain weight for a certain amount of distance.
I doubt that a shock designed for anywhere on a Volkswagen or Triumph would be ideal on a Toronado.

Mike.

MikeB wrote:Shocks by design are made to dampen a certain weight for a certain amount of distance.
I doubt that a shock designed for anywhere on a Volkswagen or Triumph would be ideal on a Toronado.

Mike.

Not necessarily. The horizontal shocks aren't carrying the full weight of the car. Don't forget about the big vertical ones. Some VWs, like Passats, are pretty heavy so a shock designed to handle its vertical motion might do just fine on the Toro.

I have checked the original shocks that were on my '66 and found the following;

OEM Full Extension = 13 7/8 Full compression =9 7/16

and here are dimensions for the shocks I listed above:

KYB " 13.03 " 9. 72

Gabriel " 12.98 " 9.97

I am not sure if the valving would be of any real concern here, nor would I worry about the full extension being a little short, but if the shock was to bottom out before the suspension hits the bump stops, that would probably be hard on the shocks.

How about one of you guys with assembled cars measure the compressed shock length at the bump stops?

You're still talking about the small horizontal shocks?

You want the measurement of the of the shock as it sits on level ground with the full weight of the car on the suspension, correct?

Hi Otto,

Yes, there is a rubber bump stop that is just inboard of the spring on the axle and a corresponding pad on the body that looks like a small box hanging down.

The measurement we would need is the length of the shock when the bump stop touches the pad.

If it is more than 10" then the KYB and Gabriel shocks would fit.

(Of course, this does not speak to the valving or damping characteristics of the OEM shocks.)

If you took off a rear wheel, set a block under the axle and got a bunch of weight in the trunk that compressed the suspension, that would work.

A buddy of mine was here having coffee in the garage today and he claimed that this measurement could be calculated with trigonometry, however, I don't know how to do that...

Thanks for your interest.

David

I think your friend is correct. The distance between the stop and the bumper is one leg of a triangle. Taking the appropriate measurements, it should be possible to calculate the length of the compression of the shock (also a leg of the triangle) when the other leg (bumper to frame) is shortened.

Just projecting the position that the shock would end up in at full compression with a tape measure, I can't see any way that the shock would compress beyond about 12"

I think any of the shocks listed would fit OK.

Again, if the OE shocks had some special valving we don't know about then all bets are off.

I'm getting ready to replace all 6 shocks on my '66.

What is the correct orientation of the horizontal shock? Does it matter? Doc's photo shows the piston rod attached to the axle and the tube end attached to the frame. The ones currently on my car are reversed. The rod end is attached to the frame and the big cylinder is attached to the axle.

Also, the Auto Zone ones have a dust cover and Fusick's do not. It seems like the dust covers would fill up with dirt and water if the rod end is attached to the axle since they aren't completely horizontal.