[GALAXIE] 1963 Galaxie Shock Absorber Application

[John Miller]

> I love KYB's (gas-a-just only) for price and performance.  I have put them
> on everything I have owned since 1984 - new and old cars.  Consistently
> happy with them.  My '64 w/ 390 has them all around (they don't make the
> rears for '64 anymore, but I've had them on for 17 years and still work
> great)

Ah, KYB shocks.  Kinda like a lot of other topics good for starting an 
argument.

KYB is short for Kayaba, the manufacturer, but some folks, particularly 
in the Saab and sometimes in the BMW community, say it stands for Keep 
Your Bilsteins.  They're renowned for breaking shock mounts on Saabs, 
though this was a problem with the OE Bilsteins in some models of 99 and 
ur-900 too.

In many applications they work well.  They catalog a shock for every 
application it'll physically bolt into, though, so the valving is not 
unique to specific applications and sometimes it's not even close.  The 
'64 Ford front shock is the same as that listed for a C2 'Vette.  I had 
a set in a '66 Falcon with 620lb/in front springs and 175ish rears and 
they worked well; I had a set in a '78 Caprice and they worked rather 
poorly, the fronts were vastly short on rebound damping. I've never used 
them in a Galaxie.

Another option would be the RCD Bilsteins:

http://www.racecardynamics.com/classics/indexhr/products/stock%20applications/appguide.htm

Once again, no experience with them in a '60-64, though they're probably 
a better bet than the Impala SS Bilsteins I was going to use in the '64 
wagon.  I've got a set sitting on the shelf for the '65 Mustang 
convertible that's kinda moved ahead of the wagon in the reassembly queue.

John.