Help diagnose front suspension

[Greg Montalbano]

Hello, I am working on a 1964 356c, it sat outside for about 10 years but has cleaned up well and is on the road after a new brake and fuel system (+tires, belts, battery). It has a few hundred miles on it since then, to mostly local events.

Recently the front end had become very stiff. If you pushed the front end down, it wouldn't come back up. You could lift it up an inch or three and it wouldn't go down. After greasing the upper and lower grease points on the front suspension arms, the front end has more rebound now and doesn't "stay where you put it" like it did before.

The driver side is considerably more "bouncy" than the passenger side. The passenger side sits about 1" higher than the driver side.

An easy replacement that I should probably do is the shocks, I anticipate this being my next step.

I'm also not sure how much bounce or stiffness the front should have - I took two videos to show how it acts now, after greasing both sides.

Video 1 - https://youtu.be/C1K78eYANR4
Video 2 - https://youtu.be/K-nyhusjsWU

Questions:
-Are new shocks a reasonable next step? I am unsure when they were last replaced, it could have been the 1990s. I suspect this is the difference between the left and right side as well.

-Is it worth disassembling the suspension arm links and rebuilding them? I will have to do at least the passenger side, as a spacer or o-ring broke apart and came out with the greasing, if that is also any indication of the sate of them.

-If I'm doing the front end anyways, would the original bushings be worth replacing anti-roll bar bushings? They are very cracked and seem to be rock solid, could be original?

-I've heard the torsion bars don't often fail or give issues. Anything I should look at here?

Thanks

[Martin Benade]

I’d start by removing the shocks, they’d be in the way anyhow. The link pins are a likely culprit, and it’s not too hard to change the pins and bushings without a press. You could start by seeing if you can turn the adjustments or not. You might find it’s the control arm pivots in the torsion tubes, a much more involved job.

[Geoff Fleming]

Sounds like at least one of the four bearing races has/have seized. You can buy these bearing units frim any good bearing supplier and will pay about a quarter of the price from Porsche outlets. These are commercial bearings made by most well known companies. The HK4520 was originally used.
If lucky, the existing ones can be removed from the car without too much trouble. They can be hard to remove though, even though they are a press fit.
It does require removal of the front suspension components and after the new bearings are installed, grease liberally. After the suspension is back together, grease again through the four nipples on the torsion bar tubes.
Of course, check the link pins also, as lack of lubrication will also ‘freeze’ the action.

[Jules Dielen]

I am with martin for a first try. Take out the shocks and see what it does without them. Easy start.

[Greg Montalbano]

Take out the shocks and see what it does without them. Easy start.

Makes sense, good next step. Thanks all.

Question: What should it do without them? What should I look for once it's back down on the ground with no shocks?

[Geoff Fleming]

With no shocks installed and lubricated suspension, the front end should be easy to push down. It should ghen rebound to the original position very quickly.
The action should be smooth.

[Wes Bender]

Might oscillate slightly, depending upon friction.

[Jules Dielen]

Might oscillate slightly, depending upon friction.

It would handle like an american made car from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and some 90s

[Harlan Halsey]

Take out the shocks and see what it does without them. Easy start.

Makes sense, good next step. Thanks all.

Question: What should it do without them? What should I look for once it's back down on the ground with no shocks?

Do the easy things first. Remove the shock absorbers. (They are most likely the problem.) Detach the sway bar. The front end should then bounce easily. (The car would be undrivable without shocks due to bouncing.) A good grease job and new sway bar rubbers should do it. If not, one side is probably the stiffness problem. Disassemble and repair, but if as you say, it was OK, then stiffened up it is probably the shock. Konis did that in the past, an interior bump stop disintegrated and caused hydraulic lock.

[Doug McDonnell]

And if you replace your shocks the C, unless optioned with Koni's, came with Boge originally and are just fine for street use. The SC did come with the Koni's standard I think.

[Greg Montalbano]

And if you replace your shocks the C, unless optioned with Koni's, came with Boge originally and are just fine for street use. The SC did come with the Koni's standard I think.

The car is a C according to Kardex, somewhere through the years it got an SC badge, it has an engine from a B, and it does have Koni's....curious. Covers a lot of bases Thanks for the info

[Jay Broemmel]

Might oscillate slightly, depending upon friction.

It would handle like an american made car from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and some 90s

Can confirm. I had a Road Runner convertible in high school and people that rode in it would marvel at how similar to a lake boat it was in all regards, especially the mushiness of the ride. J

[Greg Montalbano]

No wonder I had trouble finding the Zerk fittings on the torsion tubes

Never seen golden grease, any thoughts?

[Martin Benade]

Yes I remember some EP Chassis Grease from Sears in the late sixties. I think EP was extended period or something like that.

[Al Zim]

POST 13: gives you an excellent diagnosis of your situation! The grease on the torsion bars has rust in it! That means that after 62 years or so the bearings in the torsion bars are rusty. Open your 356B shop manual it will show you the procedure and the tools necessary to repair you car properly. Once you pull your bearings you will realize that the area where the bearing contact the trailing arm are pitted. You can still purchase the bearings and the races. COMPLETERL CLEAN THE TORSION BAR TUBE. Swab it at least 3 times. You still have to address the out of tolerance on the trailing arms and the King Pin carrier!!! How are you going to fix that? Your machine shop should be able to design the tooling to correct this situation! This was a factory error in the design of the front suspension on the early VW and the Porsche. IT WAS NEVER CORRECTED. The transporter used roller bearings on the link pins which gave more life to the front end. THEY WILL NOT WORK IN A PORSCHE!
Everything on the front end has been moved and/or modified. I would suggest an alignment. On a precision alignment machine. You cannot properly align the Porsche if the rear spring plates do not have as new rubber bushings where the spring plate attaches to the body of the car.
In ZIMZ opinion nearly all the 356 (and VW's till the Ball joint suspension) need major service.