I just purchased an old CMC narrow body speedster. The shocks that are currently on the car are worn out... They are KYB Gas-a-just. Is there a set of shocks that is recommended to use on these cars? Thank you! Greg
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Basic cheap oem type oil shocks, gas are too harsh.
The KYB Gas shocks are stiff for a light replica. Many recommend a cheap oil filed shock for road driving comfort - EMPI makes one as does OEM company Sachs/Boge.
If you have a sporting bent, the KYB GR2 are not too harsh. I ran them for years with no issues and thought they were great.
Thank you everyone. You have all been very helpful. Greg
Would you recommend the following shocks - EMPI VW Front Link Pin Stock Height 11.75" OIL Shocks Type I II III?
That would depend on whether you have a link pin front spindle or a ball joint spindle. You’ll have to get under there and find out (if you haven’t already).
Since it is a CMC we can assume that it sits on a VW donor chassis. If that’s the case, you could look up the chassis VIN # to find out what year it is and then buy a set of oil-filled shocks for that year. A set for a stock, VW sedan for thar year should be fine.
Thank you Gordon!
Is your car registered as a -- year VW? '65 and older is link/king pin front suspension (shocks will have horizontal bosses), '66 and newer is ball joint (shock top will have a vertical stud).
Here's what a ball joint beam looks like. Disregard the writing- it's for something else. Sorry, don't have time to find a pic of a k/l pin beam.
ALB posted:Is your car registered as a -- year VW? '65 and older is link/king pin front suspension (shocks will have horizontal bosses), '66 and newer is ball joint (shock top will have a vertical stud).
Here's what a ball joint beam looks like. Disregard the writing- it's for something else. Sorry, don't have time to find a pic of a k/l pin beam.
You're better off making a visual check of what you have in the front as opposed to using the VIN # and checking the date of the chassis. My car is on a 1960 chassis but Vintage Speedsters built the car and converted the front suspension to ball joint and the rear to a swing axle.
I have KYB shocks on my ‘56 CMC Speedster on a ‘71 VW pan but only have about 18,000 miles on it, so since I don’t have a comparison with other shocks they seem to be just fine when I drive. When I used to cross the Yolo Causeway Bridge going from Sacramento to San Francisco I used to feel harshly the 21 concrete expansion seams in my real 1960 Porsche 356B coupe, however, I can barely feel them at all when driving my CMC Speedy.
Whoa..... The guy radiused the cut-outs to clear his sway bar in the bumper mounts.
All I did was cut a square notch and welded some 1" X 1" square tubing back in (fortunately, the welds can't be seen).
I feel so inadequate about now...... 
Ah thanks for pointing that out I would never have seen it Gordo.
I took a few pictures of the suspension and I do have the Balljoint suspension, which makes sense since the body is on a 1969 pan. Thanks again for everyones help! Greg
Coilovers in front though?
Alan Merklin posted:Basic cheap oem type oil shocks, gas are too harsh.
@Alan Merklin What spring rates are use upfront and rear with coilover / speedster
Carey at Special Edition would be the better source to answer that question.
More information is needed to answer any question about spring rates and shocks. The stock spring rates front and rear are 100#. I race my car and have 200# in front and 250# in the rear. It actually still rides well enough to drive on the street. There are a million different combinations for the suspension. You have to decide what you are going to use the car for first, then start tweaking the suspension.
I could see coil overs with adjustable shocks (like Koni or Bilstein) - especially if you have oversize wheels/tires.
