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Shortest Shocks you can find?


Madness

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I know the normal thing to do is to relocate the shock tower up in the front but I would rather find a really short shock so i can use most of the shock travel. My frame is going to be 1 1/2" off the ground putting my shock at ride height at 7 1/2 inches. If my math is correct (which its probably not) I need a shock with 9" of overall length and 4 1/2 inches compressed.

 

Thats an insanely short shock....

 

 

What do you think?

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hmm... Problem is im well beyond a mild drop. I've cut out my bump stop mounts. I really have to move the lower shock mount considering its 1/4 inch away from my frame now so i guess i might as well move the shock tower up...

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Madness, The Pinto shocks are the same lenght as 620 shocks by the book. I know that somebody has posted pictures on here that show them to be a little shorter, but not much. Same lenght by the book though. You are not going to find a shock that short unless it was for a golf cart or something like that, certainly not designed to control the weight of an automobile.

Are you using the king pin style control arms or the disc brake style control arms?

The disc brake style arms are easily modified to recess the shock into the arm, moves the shock mount about two inches down. which makes for about three inches of additional travel at the spindle.

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As far as I could ever find, the shocks in the front of a 620 are the smallest shocks made that you can buy at a local parts store. I know that some years back a company called toxic shocks use to make a lowered specific shock line.

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Hey Bart...I am right with you! Even though our trucks are way different in concept, we are both having the same problem with our front ends. I blow through shocks at the rate of something like one every 3-4 months. I am running AutoZone shocks (Gabriels I think) that have a lifetime warranty so the money part is easy, but the time part is starting to suck. After hours spent crossing shocks in the book and on their computer I am left thinking that I am actually running the shortest shock that they make with the pin type mount on top and the eye type mount on the bottom. It has been m,y plan for a long time to reconfigure the upper mount to not only be longer (higher) but to accept the eye type upper mount. It seems like the mounting type is just as much the problem as the length. Regular bolt-through-bushing mount shocks are available in shorter lengths for sure.

 

Plus it would be sweet looking. ;)

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Maby take your shocks into a machine shop and have the shaft shortened and rethreaded? Need to do that for my 210s. They have the same prob with the front struts. The Goon has raised (Badly) inner fenders and it still has a bottoming problem! Chopping them would work as long as the body of the shock isnt going to hit.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

i wanna know more about the pinto shocks, when looking at some of the pinto shocks it seems as though they are about the same size but there travel range is more of that within the range aof a lowered 620, who has used pinto shocks, i need something, my truck rides liek shit, i blew the frotn shocks once already

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The pinto shocks are the same as the 620 shocks. Maybe 1/8" shorter, if that. That is the shortest stock shock available.

 

Bell techs website doesn't really give any detailed information on their shock lengths...annoying.

 

The 'toxic shocks' are the same length as the stock shocks.

 

If you can find a 4" travel 9" overall shock it would fit, but I think it would still be a rough ride.

 

Moving the upper mount isn't to difficult with a welder.

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what i did when i bagged my mazda was went to my regular parts store asked to see the catalog everything was cataloged for stroke , colll[ased , extended lengths and all the mpounting were broke down into sections... found the mounts for mine scrolled threw and ordered the shortest i could find and they worked perfect ...saved part numbers so i could get new ones later for my mazda.. dont go to a crappy parts store a decent ne like we have a private distirubor in wa i have been using gor years.. very helpful

 

dont waste your money on bell techs they dont handle bottoming out well ... found kybs to last the longest on a super dumped truck.... bell techs will just be money in a tube that you never get back

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what i did when i bagged my mazda was went to my regular parts store asked to see the catalog everything was cataloged for stroke , colll[ased , extended lengths and all the mpounting were broke down into sections... found the mounts for mine scrolled threw and ordered the shortest i could find and they worked perfect ...saved part numbers so i could get new ones later for my mazda.. dont go to a crappy parts store a decent ne like we have a private distirubor in wa i have been using gor years.. very helpful

 

dont waste your money on bell techs they dont handle bottoming out well ... found kybs to last the longest on a super dumped truck.... bell techs will just be money in a tube that you never get back

 

 

This has already been done and the Datsun/Nissan application is the shortest in the book besides the pito shock that is only about an 1/8th inch shorter and has to be modified to work. Years ago Doesch Tech made shorter shocks than stock, but i have not seen them in years.

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DSC02729.jpg

 

I just changed the front shocks in my '71 521 recently to the Ford Pinto shocks. They made a huge difference in ride quality, but then again, I bought my truck with blown out shocks!!! Here's a pic for size comparison (Pinto shock is blue!). Both shocks are fully extended.

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just raise the upper shock mount...

 

thats the easiest way. theres not gonna be a bolt in shock thats shorter than the pinto shock. youll still blow pinto shocks all day long without raising the upper shock mount..

 

 

I have pinto shocks on mine, its lowered as low as it will go. i had to remove the bumper stops, and my steering shit is about 1" from the TC rods. I haven't blown a pinto shock yet...

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DSC02729.jpg

 

I just changed the front shocks in my '71 521 recently to the Ford Pinto shocks. They made a huge difference in ride quality, but then again, I bought my truck with blown out shocks!!! Here's a pic for size comparison (Pinto shock is blue!). Both shocks are fully extended.

 

Fully extended is not really the measurement that we are concerned with here, we need to see the compressed lenghts. And by the books they are very close to the same. Close enough that i was not going to spend money on them.

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  • 1 month later...

http://www.monroe.com/catalog/documents/08_MountingLengthSheet.pdf

 

when ever someone comes into my store looking for a short shock i find out the stock number (unless they've changed the mount type) stock on a 71 521 is a monroe-matic 32206.

 

PART MOUNTING LENGTHS

NO. Upper Lower Comp. Ext.

32206 S4 LS23 8.375 12.500

 

S4 3/8 - 16 stem type

LS23 12MM 1 1/4 bushing and sleeve type

 

now you can change the upper mount as long as the stem is a bigger size because you can just drill it out and the lower is the same way. also you can mount a shock upside down (why not) works just fine been rockin shocks on my brothers truck for a long time upside down. so time to dig

 

32134 S4 LS18 8.125 12.125

911047 S4 LS23 8.125 12.125

911171 S4 LS23 8.000 11.875

911245 S4 LS23 8.250 11.750

911529 S4 LS23 8.125 12.125

 

32118 S4 LS20 8.375c 11.000c Ford Pinto shock posted above

 

911171 is your best shot

cross reference in kyb is

565045 monomax hp $44

kg5446 gas adjust $36 at Baxter Auto Parts i work in vancouver washington

 

application is a 2001 nissan xtera std suspension

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