ace bristol shocks

[bex1151]

Help.  I have Koni and Spax shocks in my acquired spare parts inventory but can't find out if they are the correct #s for my Ace Bristol. The numbers are: Spax 463 DS967 and Koni 80-1966, 80-1505, 82D-1355, and 82D-1593.  Are any of these correct?

[AC Ace Bristol]

Hi  Terry
   
   Long time no hear.
   
   Have you finished the rebuild of BEX1151..[?]   I Have photos of BEX1151 Five minutes B4 huge accident and some five ten minutes later being brought back to the paddock in an undignified manor suspended on rear of tow truck.  Also have various photos of early stages rebuild.Not sure if these were from you or Jerry Lynch.[?]
   
   Have checked through all the receipts for BEX333 going back to January 1965,  No record of new shockers until I changed the Old Konis and put on adjustable Spax in 2001.[]
   
    I believe The Spax are G623 on the rear  and  G624 on the Front.
   
   Inside the Old Spax boxes are my old Konis, still wearing the Koni transfers and remarkably clean. (Must refurbish them.)
   
   If..[?].. I put the Front Konis back in the Front Spax box and the rear Konis in the Spax rear box the part / reference numbers are:-
   
   Front: Koni  Special D  (2.61)  80  - 1260
   Rear:  Koni  Special D  (6.60)  80C - 1261
     
   
   Hopefully the above reference numbers are of help, maybe someone else can substaniate these numbers by refering to receipts or reference books.
   
   In the meantime could you please e mail a few pictures of BEX1151 as she is today.
   Be nice to see her back on the road and hopefully the track[:p]
   
   Cheers for Now
   
   Keith..[]..[].

[bex1151]

Keith
   
   Thanks for the info.  Apparently none of the Koni shocks are from or for Bristols.  According to Koni (they finally got back to me) these shocks are from other cars.  Anyone need shocks for VW Microbus?  Koni has no current #s for Bristols.  I'll send them your list and see what they say.  Spax doesn't recognize the #s on may shocks.  They gave me the #s you sent.  Apparently Spax changed their #s in 1970 but they have no info on the pre-1970 #s.  So maybe they are correct, just old.
   
   I'm making progress on 1151.  My body man has done a fantastic job with a very frustrating project (for him).  He has pulled out all the body panels, no new panels.  Dimensions have been hard for him.  Fortunately, I have the other Bristol to measure.  He hopes to finish the body and paint by the end of the year. I'll email you some photos.
   
   The other car is down to bare chassis and body panels.  The frame has been painted and engine/transmission ready to go.  Diff and front/rear suspension/brakes should be done by the end of the month. Hopefully it will be on the road by early next year.  If I had more time, I might make more progress.
   
   Again, thanks for the help.  If anyone can identify the Spax #s, I would appreciate hearing.
   
   Terry

[Robin A Woolmer]

Gerry Hawkridge should be able to supply the correct ones to you, he sent me a set this year.
   
   Robin

[BEX308]

When assembling the rear suspension of BEX308 last week we discovered that the new shocks (Spax G 623GZ4) are 3/4" longer when extended than the originals. This difference is enough to bind up the half-shaft U-joints on full rebound. Has anyone delt with this issue or have a solution?
   Pete

[Robin A Woolmer]

I believe the original dampers had a stop added internally, talk to Gerry.
   
   Robin

[BEX308]

Thank you Robin, I'll give that a try. I also have a call in to Spax to see if an internal snubber/stop can be added.
   
   Pete

[AC Ace Bristol]

Pete.
   
   I know it was some 10 years ago that I bought and  fitted new shockers to BEX333, I purchased them from  Brian Eacott.
   
   Who, we all know worked the Stores at Thames Ditton,  Give him a bell or Old fashion Fax on  0044 (0) 208 397 8472 or try his mobile
   0044 (0) 7885 945193.
   
   Mine of information and arsenal of Spares.
   
   Alternatively Gerry Hawkridge and  Steve Gray have large stock of every day items to keep your Ace and /or Cobra on the Road.
   
   Keith..[].

[Robin A Woolmer]

The original shock absorbers were Armstrong, was there a change to Spax?
   
   Robin

[BEX308]

Robin and Keith
   My originals are Armstrong as well; I don't believe they still manufacture shocks (they appear to be a patent holding company these days) so the replacements are the Spax units listed for the Ace application by Spax. Unfortunately they are a bit longer than the originals. I'll keep you posted on what I find out. Keith, I'll e-mail you a few pictures of 308's chassis assembly progress with the anti-roll bar arrangement I finally settled on.
   Pete

[Robin A Woolmer]

Pete
   I wonder if the Spax units could have a stop ring fitted on the piston shaft inside to limit travel, but this would require them being dismantled, maybe sombody with some old ones could investigate.
   
   Robin

[BEX308]

I just received a response from the Spax tech rep saying there is no way to shorten the extended length of the dampers. Apparently they are sealed units and can not be disassembled. They suggest specifying a custom damper in their KSX product line with the proper dimensions. Needless to say, I wish I had known that before I ordered the units they list in their application guide. My old Armstrongs are starting to look better and better.
   
   If you need new rear shocks make sure you confirm all dimensions prior to ordering; don't rely on the factory application listing.
   
   Pete

[bex1151]

Keith
   
   I just heard back from Koni.  The numbers you have for front and rear shocks are correct for Ace.  Unfortunately they are no longer available.  They also told me that my other shocks are from an odd assortment of cars.  80-1505 from VW karmon Ghia, 80-1966 VW van/bus, 82-1355 Maserati 4000, 82-1593 Maserati Ghibli.  The forum discussion on the designated Spax makes me continue my new shock search.  Maybe I should just see about getting my Armstrong shocks rebuilt.  If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.
   
   Terry

[SpqrEddie]

Hello!
Anybody would have the part number of the original Armstrong Shocks in order to try to find a cross referecne and buy some new?
Alternatevely, anybody would have a drawing of them so to try to find some equivalent?
In additon to the drawings, anybody would know the damping specifications, so to test them before to discard all of them? may be some are still in good orders.

I now may be Spax, Avo and a few others can reproduce a similar to the original model; but those are gas shocks, i am looking for traditional oil non-adjustable shocks.

In case i decide to rebuld the original, would anybody know wich was the orignal oil viscosity?

Thanks!
Eddie

P.s.: in other posts i found a few names of companies that are able to rebuild the originals sealed units. Any experience?
http://www.ledasuspension.co.uk/
http://www.stevsonmotors.co.uk/

[B.P.Bird]

Hello Damper Puzzlers,
There is a long thread on this topic somewhere on this Forum which explains the whole saga, however I can't find it. To summarise:

1) Armstrong dampers are long gone. They could be rebuilt for a few years by someone in Yorkshire who bought all their spares, but now that option has also faded in to history.
2) Spax have been a good choice ever since (although Terry is on the wrong Forum as he is apparently looking for dampers to fit a Bristol ?)
3) Spax did have a poor quality problem back in the last century, but have long since turned that around. This has been somewhat offset by a seeming lack of knowledge about their own part numbers. I find one needs to be quite persistent to persuade them to look at their records properly.
4) Both the original Armstrong and substitute Koni and Spax dampers all suffer from over extension. As pointed out this results in too much droop on the suspension resulting in binding on the rear driveshafts as the U.J. angularity limits are exceeded and, less noticed, but just as serious, binding on the front track rods as they foul the lower wishbone chassis pick up points.

This point was addressed a good few years ago and Brian Eacott got them to produce a shorter stroke damper for the rear of the Ace and Aceca which cured the driveshaft problem. Not long after I got them to produce a shorter stroke damper for the front and this cures the track rod binding problem.
So the part numbers you need are:

Rear G623EA
Front G9442AS

For what my opinion is worth I don't think you should fit any of the dampers that have the original longer stroke. I think that the hammering which results from the drive shaft U.J.s binding is implicated in the failure of the taper and key way drive in the hub. As far as the track rods binding on the front is concerned I don't think it would ever lock the steering, but it is hardly a beneficial feature: Both these idiosyncrasies have annoying consequences - when jacking the car up for maintenance you cannot turn the rear wheels and if the steering is stiff you cannot be sure what the cause is.
Barrie