shock question?

[David Thomas]

I have NAPA shocks on my 63, they have been okay but I'm not completely satisfied with the rebound damping on the rear suspension. At highway speeds after hitting a dip in the road the rear of the car will rebound one or two times before settling down. Looking at what is available, I'm not sure which brand to replace them with. Gabriel HD classic, AC Delco, Monroe/NAPA. From what I can tell, Monroe and Napa are the same shock. So the question is, in the collective experience here, which shock has the best damping to control the rebound action to control the ride?

[David Thomas]

Hi Chris. Thanks for the input. I figured the Monroe shock would be the same as the NAPA shock I have, a little weak in the rebound damping. The NAPA shock has the exact dimensions and color as the Monroe shock. I haven't used Gabriel shocks, so I wasn't sure about those, you answered my question there if they are softer dampened than the Monroe's. AC has shocks for our cars but they look exactly like the Gabriel shocks in the pictures on RockAuto's web site. If Gabriel makes the shock and rebrands it for AC, there wouldn't be much use in trying AC shocks either. I wish I could still get the old style Monroe Matic Heavy Duty shock that was on the car when I got it. It had adequate damping, much better than the NAPA/Monroe shocks I have now.

[David Thomas]

Hi Tony, thanks for your thoughts. The shocks are not leaking, they have done "ok" for the most part in controlling the ride, with the exception of hitting a dip in the highway. They have been this way since I installed them new. It's as if the rebound damping is just not quite stiff enough and they allow the rear of the car to bounce a couple  of times before getting it damped out. I would like to replace them with something that has a little more rebound damping. What brand shock do you have on the rear of your 64? Do they dampen the rebound well after going through a dip at highway speed?

[David Thomas]

I hope the Kanter shocks work out for you. Let us know how well they dampen rebound and bounce when you get them installed and tested on the road.