Original Delco Shock PN & Catalog Numbers

[buick man]

Can anyone who has or has access to an original old Delco Shock Absorber Catalog for at least the 50's which would list both the Delco Part Number & the Catalog Number either scan it and post it here for at least for my rides and perhaps as well post it in the library as this would be a great source to go to … For that matter a dedicated go to post that has all the Delco, Delco-Remy, A/C Delco, Champion etc old NOS parts catalogs would be invaluable … or if this already exits on this site somewhere then please put a link to it as I have not found it to date …. as I am not the best Kit Carson searcher either ...

 

With that rant out of the way … I am currently in need of the PN/Catalog numbers for both Delco Spiral Shocks front and rear and the Delco Pleasurizer Shocks front and rear for my 57's …. and as usual any crumbs of help of course would be most appreciated … thanks in advance - dave

 

Edited December 14, 2017 by buick man (see edit history)

[Beemon]

I think the Pleasurizers have been gone over in General. Curious why you'd want the oil filled spiral shocks over the modern gas charged shocks? Wouldn't the oil have broken down and deteriorated from age by now? I still have my original oil shocks on the shelf, I could look when I go home Friday for a P/N, since I'm sure 57 would be pretty close to 56. Always planned on drilling a drain petcock/fill plug to replace the hydraulic oil at some point, but I feel like it would be pretty difficult, you would need a big magnet to keep metal shavings from clogging up the tiny orifices, and then pray you get them all out.

[NTX5467]

I would suspect the desire for the orig OEM numbers would be "to chase" them at swap meets and such, for a restoration project?

 

As for part numbers, the ONLY shocks which will provide the same performance characteristics as the OEM Production items would be the GM/Buick Parts Catalog part numbers, as "replacement for production parts".

 

These items might well have been produced by Delco, BUT they were not the same items which Delco sold their THEIR sales networks, which were usually auto supplies and such.  The OEM production shocks would have been subject to the pricing whims of GM's financial people, whereas those items sold through the auto supply networks would have been more competitive against Monroe, Gabriel, and such . . . which probably generated some different valving specs at the same time.

 

Up into the middle 1970s, Delco had their 1" bore "economy" shock, then came their 1 3/16" bore "HD" shocks.  It was not until the later 1990s that we started to see both Delco part numbers AND GM part numbers on the boxes, as the two lines were merged.  It was alleged that the Delco part number was a "GM Engineering part number", as the normal GM Parts part numbers were all "numbers" of 6-8 digits.

 

Additionally, IF Buick had needed a less expensive shock for the '57 Specials, they could have done that, with the heavier Roadmasters getting their own unique shock part number.  In the "aftermarket" or "Delco-specific" shock, they could have put all of the '57 Buicks under ONE part number, with the 1" bore and 1 3/16" bore being similar in coverage, but in "std" and "HD", or "Load-Leveler" variations.  Using this as an example of how things usually worked, back then.

 

Back then, Monroe was considered the premier "replacement" shock absorber brand.  Tie-ins with the Indy 500 race cars, too.  In the Iacocca book, it mentions that when he was a younger employee at Ford (circa mid-50s), he went to a pricing session for the next-year's cars.  They opted to use the shocks which cost about $1.50; rather than the ones which cost $2.75 each.  He was concerned about that.  It was later explained that the $1.50 shocks would work fine for about 12K miles (a year's average driving, back then).  Then, when the owner wanted something better, he'd go to the Ford dealer and get the Rotunda (Ford's Delco equivalent, back then) shocks at a little higher price.  This generated money and business for the dealer network and the customer was happy enough with his Ford to buy another one a few years later.  The customer ended up with the better shocks (Iacocca favored, at that time), but the factory didn't have to pay for them.  The dealer made money, the customer got an "upgraded" shock, and everybody was happy.  Back then, Monroe shock advertising stated that if your new car had over 15K miles on it, it needed new shocks . . . new Monroe shocks . . . for the best ride, handling, comfort, and safety.

 

I hope this helps explain how things were, back then.

NTX5467

 

[buick man]

… we have been told that  the spirals were factory/dealer output as delivered and gave the perspective buyer at the dealer the soft calm ride they expected, however after 8K to 10k or so the owner then needed to replace with non spiral aftermarket delco's or the like … yes original NOS Spirals on a static show / museum car would be sufficient but not for everyday driving, there are a couple of outfits of which we are aware that can rebuild the spirals with modern insides etc but your right slapping on manufacture dated 1956 NOS spiral shock and then cruising with it would be a crap shoot at best … however the " Cool " factor is to have the spirals for the look and the modern internals and new oil  etc for longevity … best of both worlds .. but no gas shocks on a classic IF you are desiring a time capsule experience with you and your car ...

[Beemon]

Interesting video, though I would not want to weld the shock shut after filled with oil. Would much rather drain it, weld a jam nut to the side and plug it with a custom screw or brass plug or something. Supposedly all you need is 20W oil. And metallic blue paint of course. 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Beemon (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

In the 1980s, a friend who had an alighment shop, and who had a following in the local "foreign car" (usually European variations) received a Peugot sedan that needed new shocks on it.  We used to have a Peugot dealer back then, but their prices were very high, so Randy went to a local motorcycle shop and got some "fork oil", of which he had several viscosities to chose from.  He got one, but it turned out to be too light, so he got the next-thicker one.  It worked very good.  Drained the old oil, put new oil in them, as they were designed for such, I believe.

 

I believe there are some archived comments on the '55 and back Buicks' shock absorbers and "fork oil", via Old-Tank, or possibly on his Buick Restorer website.

 

I believe that Chevy used the spiral shocks until about '61 or so, as evidenced from some of their sales brochures of the time.

 

I believe the "trick" to the shock/fork oil would be to find a multi-vis oil or one of the newer synthetic oils.  Any links for the "rebuilder"?

 

NTX5467

[buick man]

Well just for the heck of it and for educational purposes … thought I would post this short dissertation regarding what I have learned about the brief history regarding the evolution of the Delco hydraulic shock … together with some photos and discussion regarding comparing and contrasting two types of Delco hydraulic shocks that occurred during this bumpy evolutionary process for the shock industry …. The shocks shown below are for my 57 Roady I have up on the shelf in my shop storage room …. When I originally posted I was looking into getting more comparative info regarding Delco shocks …. so I researched …

 

… About 6-years ago I had purchased a NOS pair of of Delco H236's hydraulic Super Rides and then recently purchased a pair of Delco hydraulic Pleasurizers … as can be seen in the photos the H236  Super Ride pair are date coded 1963 and the Plearsurizer's are date coded 1968 … One source I contacted had an original 1957 date coded Delco Spiral pair and had an old Delco parts book and stated the following discussing about his pair of " Extra Control " spirals :

 

"…  I do not know the significance of the 1st line. 5 A 57 is the date code for the 1st week of May 1957. 5534431 is the GM part number that appears in my Buick parts books as specific to 1957 Super and Roadmaster "For use where more control is required", i.e., they are a heavy duty shock. S335 is the Delco catalog number for the after-market.. The diameter is approximately 2.05" (52.2mm). 

By the time Delco changed over to the green shocks they were using one front shock, part H-236, for all 1957 Buick models, whereas original equipment shocks were different for small vs large series models … "

 

Discussion: 

 

Below in the photos you can see the diameter of these original date coded 1957 Delco S335's  which no doubt have a very large internal valve/piston setup … no doubt engineered to take a little of the inherent sway float and yawl out of the boat like suspension ride of the 1957 Buick and may have been targeted for the ambulance crowd ….. also shown for your viewing pleasure is a side by side comparison of the larger diameter Pleasurizer shock  to that of the Super Ride H236's …. The diameter size difference between the two may be due to an internal gas valving sleeve in the Pleasurizer as opposed to the previous H236 pair but the piston may be the same size …  I note this because while on the " Pull Out " test I gave of the piston rod upper head from the housing on both of them the Pleasurizers exhibited a bit more resistance while both appear to have nearly the same push back down of the rod into the housing at about the same rate and resistance …. give or take …  It may be interesting to note that shocks are actually designed to be not really " Shock Absorbers " but rather technically " Shock Rebounders "  so that may be the reason for the similar return rates as opposed to the pull out resistances noted ….

 

First up is a photo of the date coded 1957 Delco Spiral S335 and as the catalog stated " heavy duty shock where more control is required "  and they are noticeably larger in diameter then the factory stock spiral were… thus the first 3 photos below illustrate these NOS spirals and their relative beefy size no doubt due to a larger piston/valve … these are indeed NOS but were sitting in a damp area at one time or another: 

 

 

O.K … So the next photo set illustrates views of the Delco Super Ride date coded 63 that started to replace the spirals which appeared sometime around 1962 or so and the Delco Pleasurizer that appeared around the mid sixties or so … this pair being date coded 1968:

 

 

The next photo set illustrates a side by side comparison of the two Delco shocks : 

 

 

… Now below is a cross sectional Delco factory illustrated view of the Delco Pleasurizer shock … as can be seen the " Delco Genetron " may be taking up enough space inside the shell to account for the larger diameter size as compared to the Super Ride shock … what is not completely known is if the internal piston is larger as well as compared to the Super Rider and for that matter if the Super Rider piston is larger than the stock Delco Spirals that had been selling before and if Delco actually improved and enlarged the valve sizing or not and/or instead just replaced the spiral casing and kept the internals and boxed them all up into the new smoother looking  " Super Ride" shock and gave it a new name … perhaps someone out there could post a viable explanation regarding where the spiral shock may have been internally different from the Super Ride shock or not ….

 

… As can be seen in the last illustrated photo below Delco has gone to some extended measures to make the Pleasurizer a different animal all together … 

 

 

… The " Genetron"  is gas filled and it is incorporated into the Delco hydraulic shock  system offering perhaps either a little more " positive compression "  or just a little more hype … you be the judge … perhaps this is the budding evolution hybrid of the gas filled shock with that of the hydraulic shock …. and what was to follow in just a couple years or so as Gabriel and some European brands such as KYB where beginning to edge into the market with their gas exclusives non hydraulic offerings …. marketed as an upgrade due to changing frames, unibody construction and or an evolution of changing front and rear end suspension systems …. All we know from experience is gas was noticeably stiffer and harsher then what we had been accustomed to with hydraulic shocks … 

 

So if anyone has anything to add we will not be " shocked " …. Also does anyone know if the old tale of storing your hydraulic shocks in the same position they will be installed equalizes the hydraulic fluid within the valve assembly or not … We have often been told that the old hydraulic shocks had to be set in the upright position for a day or so before install …..Perhaps someone could verify that as well ...

 

 It has also been mentioned that perhaps hydraulic shocks because they have been sitting around for years that the hydraulic fluid has broken down … Well my answer to that would be if the piston/valve assembly has been compromised and air has gotten into the system the fluid  perhaps could be oxidized  but if no air then the fluid should be fine … remember we are talking about the physical chemistry of a fluid not an oil …..…. Regarding why someone would want a hydraulic shock system in a suspension that was ideally engineered for a hydraulic rebound absorber we would then ask why would someone want to install a stiffer rebound rated gas shock into a suspension system not engineer for it as no doubt there are compromises with both systems .. as for me I will drive my 57's as they were engineered and intended  ….. - uncle dave

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2018 by buick man (see edit history)

[Beemon]

I agree with you in the fact that if the unit is and remains sealed, the fluid inside the shock absorber should be okay to use. I have looked at several oil studies since my post above from December of last year when comparing lubrication characteristics for the FSAE club and have partially concluded that oils do not generally break down but rather become contaminated. While I have not done any oil tests myself, from what I've observed of other test results, the oils do fatigue from heat, but the fatigue happens very slowly and in a part that is not subjected to extreme temperatures such as a shock absorber, the heat issue is non-existent. What we do have to consider as that at this time, some oils were synthesized from sperm whale oil and motor oils and other lubricating oils of the 1950s are no where compared to that of modern day oils.

 

Nevertheless, I am interested in swapping my cheap $40 gas charged shocks back over to my leak free original oil charged shocks. In a market where your only choice is $90 set of four shocks or the originals, there really isn't much to choose from.

[Moparguy]

Hello Beemon, stumbled across your informational post about shock absorbers. Curious did you ever find a catalogue for the old Delco shocks? I have a couple sets I would like to figure out what they go on if you wouldn't mind share the info. Thanks

[buick man]

You mean did I ever find a catalogue for the Pleasurizers ... No I put everything on the back burner and it is now 2021.  So if anyone has access to part numbers I would still be interested.

 

Edit: Just after I posted this found the following site regarding Pleasurizer part numbers : 

 

https://ocpnw.com/collections/delco-pleasurizer-shocks

 

Edit:  Can someone tell me if there is a difference between a rear 57 and a rear 58 shock. Are the mounts the same or different top to bottom ??  Looks overall like the same car body tub and suspension at the rear ?  

Edited February 9, 2021 by buick man (see edit history)