Does a 68 Hurst (w AC) use the same spiral shocks as a 442?
What are the p/n’s for the front and rear spiral shocks for a 1968 Hurst?
The Assy manual only lists shock codes (2 letters) per a chart. RZ for the front and WE for the back (68 442)

 

Yes, the H/O was really just a 1968 W-30 with a bigger motor.

 

Thanks. So where do you recommend I get the shock part numbers? Assy manual does not list them (only codes RZ & WE)
I spoke to someone who rebuilds these and he doesn't know either. Do you have originals on your 68 w30?

 

Looks like Dans can rebuild OEM...if you can find them. OPGI offers Reproductions. Dan should be able to tell you the correct codes and PNs. He may be able to find GM cross-reference?
See the link for contact info.
https://dansshocks.com/spiral-shocks/

 

The GM part number for the original shocks on the 1968-69 442 and H/O is 3192986. This is from the Sept 1968 printing of the parts book.

 

I spoke to Dan. He does not know. He has never done a 442 before so he sent me to this site to get the p/n's

 

Joe
Thanks for this.
Any indication whether 3192986 is the front or the back? I wonder why they would only list one number

 

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were only asking about the fronts. The backs are P/N 3192408 for AT cars and 3192931 on MT cars.

EDIT: to clarify, the 3192408 shocks are rear shocks on AT 442, Police package, and FE2 suspension. the 3192931 shocks are 442 MT only.

 

Thanks for looking this up

 

Joe
Just to close the loop on this. When you referenced the Sept of 1968 Parts Book, did you mean this was a GM parts book from sept 1968? or a different source?

 

 

Thanks again

 

I'll add that the reason I stressed the Sept 1968 printing date is that the further away you get from the production date of the car in question, the greater the chance that the P/N in the parts book has been superseded. The April 1983 printing that claims to cover 1964-1975 is nearly worthless due to this problem.

 

Yes. I agree. I share the same concern. I have two cars w assembly dates of 04B and 06A. (April and June of 68). What is the likelihood that the numbers your reporting have changed from April to Sept? Do u still feel these numbers represent the parts that were installed on my cars at the factory before Sept? Just as another reference, do the numbers change in 69 for the same cars (442, HO and W30)?

 

The Sept 68 printing covers the beginning of 1969 model year production, and those P/Ns apply to all 68-69. The rear shocks are actually shown to be the same for 66-69, but I don't know if these P/Ns superseded the originals for 66-67. The PIM drawings should call out the P/Ns that were current at the time of assembly, but even those drawings will reflect engineering changes made during the model year. You'll note that the PIM drawings often have revision notes that change or delete P/Ns. These always have dates in the rev history block at the bottom of the sheet. Unfortunately, even that doesn't cover changes that were made on service bulletins. For example, we know from Dealer Technical Bulletin 68-T-18 that only 1968 W-30 motors subsequent to engine no. 8342491 got the '254 carb. 68 W-30s prior to that got the '251 carb. That bulletin details mods to the '251 to make it work better on the W-30 motor. This info isn't in the PIM.

 

Yes. I’m aware of that tech bulletin as well on the W30 carb. So what are saying, there might be a bulletin that supersedes the original shock p/n’s and the numbers your referencing could be the replacements? I know I’m beating a dead horse on this but for one of my cars I’m trying to replace the shocks to the factory original parts. It is worth it. So it’s important to get the correct numbers before investing $
thanks
whats your confidence on the numbers u gave me to being factory original?
rob

 

I wasn't suggesting that there was a specific bulletin on the shocks, just offering that as an example of how the parts book info may not be the most current or accurate.

Now, to throw a little gasoline on that fire, the 1969 PIM (sorry, I don't have a 68 handy right now) shows front shocks for the 442 as RZ with P/N 3192803. The rear shocks for both MT and AT are shows as WE with P/N 3192931. The revision date on that drawing (dwg no. 404262, page 160 in the 1969 PIM) is 11-20-68. This conflicts slightly with the parts book. Unfortunately, the parts book numbers are frequently assembly numbers or package numbers that may include other parts and thus have a different number than the one in the PIM, even if the items are actually identical. Sorry to muck that up for you.

 

Hi Joe:
I thought this issue was closed but had a discovery recently by accident. Thought I'd follow up with you to keep you in the loop. After our last discussion, I was sure I wouldn't find the correct numbers unless someone had an original set. And this thought sent me back to my own parts storage. One of my 68's (442 MT) that I bought from the original owner had all the original suspension parts. No replacements had been done. So I went and found all the parts that I kept from that car. To my surprise I had the original shocks. The fronts are 3192803 and the backs are 3192931 just like you reported last from the 69 PIM. I checked the date codes and they also match the time period correctly for my car. So my last question is: Based on this discovery, and now that I know 68 442's use the 2803 and 2931 shocks, am I to assume that all 442's, W30 and HO's use the same shocks for 68?
Thanks

 

Great data point, thanks for the update, and yes, W-cars and H/Os got the same suspension and shocks as did 442s that year.

 

Does anyone happen to know if the reproduction spiral shocks being sold today are equivalent to the heavy duty shocks installed from the factory on FE-2 equipped cars? Or equivalent to the Delco, Monroe, and Gabriel heavy duty replacement shocks sold back in the day? Seems none of the shocks sold today, other than KYB, has a ‘heavy duty or sport ride’ variation of shocks made for older cars that have a handling or heavy duty suspension package.

 

As per BuickV8.com,

“I forget exactly when it started (I would need to look it up) but from mid-production 70 to the end of the 72 model year the GS cars with the F-41 suspension came with Pliacells and not spirals. Only the Buicks and Corvettes used Pliacells until the 73 model year.”

Is this correct, or did any of the other GM divisions use the supposedly better line of Delco shocks there were a Corvette exclusive until Buick was permitted to install them on their F-41 sport suspension equipped cars?

 

I know this is an old tread but maybe Joe can chime in. If I have an 01B build date.on my 1969 442. What would the dates be for my spiral shocks? Sometime in December of 1968? Thanks