MoparMuscleMan440
Active Member
I recently decided to add more "rake" to the ride of my '87 Fifth Ave., since the Monroe air shocks, when fully inflated, would, at best, give me a "level" ride, especially when there was any kind of weight in the trunk at all. I think the fully extended length of these shocks is no more than a little over 18" or so, so their extended length is not that great to begin with. I located a product called a "shock extender" on the web, and sold also by Summit Racing. These handy dandy little gadgets screw onto the threaded end of the shock stud on these type of shocks, thereby lengthening the overall length, increasing the ride height by 2-3 inches. There are basically 2 types of these when it comes to thread size, 3/8 x 24 and 3/8 x 16. According to the research I've done, my mopar shocks for the M body are, as far as I can tell the 3/8 x 16 variety. If anyone here can verify this, please feel free to let me know. Also, while doing all this research, I came to find that manufacturers of air shocks, (ie; Monroe, Gabriel, etc.), have discontinued air shocks for the M body cars. Finding this out set me to thinking, "What will I do if I ever need to replace my air shocks with new? Where will I be able to find a new set"? The answer is simply, "I'm probably going to be SOL! Well, after further research, I have discovered, that there is also a little device that will enable you to convert the stud end of this type of shock to the more traditional "loop" end of shock, thus changing to a type that is still widely available. So, I guess, as time marches on, and more and more of parts for our old beloved vehicles gets discontinued, we have to make provisions to modify in order to adapt to the changing availability market. As you all well know by my postings in the past, I am an avid fan of air adjustable shock absorbers on the older rear wheel drive mopars, and I'm way too stubborn and set in my ways to change that. So, once again, I am having to "modify" to be able to enjoy the old girl, as I have become used to doing. Any thoughts on this topic? Love to hear from you. Drop me a post.