After chopping the coils and getting the front to sit properly (more or less), it was obvious the stock length front shocks were pretty well bottomed out. As they were ancient Sears Roadhandlers, they were going to need replacing/upgrading anyway. I initially leaned toward KYBs, but found they didn’t offer shorter fronts or a way to shorten them.
At this point I decided to go with Konis. Now, back in the 70’s they were THE only real choice for a Pinto performance shock. They didn’t offer a shorter replacement, either, but the fronts could be custom shortened. Only problem was Koni stopped production on ‘em. They did offer a drag racing version of the same item with 90/10 dampening instead of 50/50, BUT they could be re-valved. So I purchased a set from Summit Racing & sent them off to Performance Shock in Sonoma, CA for surgery. What I got back were a beautiful pair of almost tiny (7.5”) shocks with snubbers, plus a shock dyno printout. Turnaround & communication were quick & first class. I can’t recommend them enough. After installing them in full soft mode the improvement in ride & control was immediate. I drove it this way for awhile and was very pleased with the results, but the stock front coils were still acting up. New, longer coils with a much softer rate were the next logical step.
