[SCG] '63 shock absorbers

[Wrsssatty at aol.com]

Some shocks, purportedly for a '63 '64 Corvair are currently on eBay (Item  
number: 120367699623).  In the photo, one appears to be a gray, spiral  shock 
so I got out my handy-dandy '63 assembly manual to check parts numbers  against 
those listed in the eBay listing.  One of the parts numbers in the  eBay 
listing is 3178104.  My assembly manual mentions this as for the rear  suspension 
for RPO F40.  I would assume that a shock mentioned in the  assembly manual 
for an RPO would be for the heavy-duty suspension option but I  thought the 
heavy-duty suspension option was designated RPO 696.  Does  anyone know what RPO 
F40 was?  
 
And, while I'm on the subject, shocks for '60-'63 models and '64s  are 
usually mentioned outside of GM literature as being interchangeable (as this  eBay 
seller seems to suggest).  While, perhaps the same shock could be  bolted onto 
both cars, we know that the shocks, themselves, as they came from  the 
factory, were not the same for '64 as for earlier models.  Did any  after-market 
parts manufacturer bother to provide different shocks for '64s than  for '60-'63 
models?  For that matter, did GM?  In other words, if  someone were to take his 
or her '64 back to Chevy in, say, 1970 asking for new  shocks would shocks 
specifically for a '64 model have been installed or would  the customer probably 
have been sold the same shocks that were for a  '60-'63?  And, how might 
handling be affected on a '64 once shocks for an  earlier model are installed?
 
~Bill Stanley
 
 
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