Hello! I have a 51 Ford Deluxe. I've replaced the rear springs with new (like for like) and installed new shackles and new shock absorbers. Everything was ordered as stock replacement and they all measure up equally against what came out. I'm just plumbing the brakes (narrowed and installed a Ford 8.8 axle) and when I jacked up the frame to get max axle travel to make sure the rear brake line had enough play, I noticed the shock absorbers limit the axle travel. I wouldn't have expected that. The Ford 8.8 axle doesn't affect anything as it is above the springs and the bottom shock absorber mount is in "stock" location under the leaf spring. Now, unless I do some Dukes of Hazard jumps the car shouldn't see this amount of axle travel. I'm just wondering if this seems right? I'm wondering if once the car drives for a bit and sits for a bit, the suspension will settle out and not have as much downward travel? I unfortunately didn't notice what the situation was when I removed all the old parts but I did remount an old shock absorber and it limits travel too. I'd appreciate any incite anyone has! Thanks
Using the shocks to limit downward travel of the rear end is normal and necessary to prevent damage to the rear brake lines, also, if coil springs are used on the rear end, the shocks limit downward travel to keep the coil springs from falling out.
Depending on your installation a lot of lowered cars need to disconnect the shock to change a tire. When I installed an 8.8 I went with a longer “flexible” hose as felt it didn’t look right when I had it up on jack stands.