<VV> prepping old Koni's for use

[Sethracer at aol.com]

Ray - For fronts, I would extend them out to full length, then polish the  
upper shafts to remove any minor rust. This will protect the seals during  
operation. Then, with the shocks held vertically, cycle them up and down a 
few  times. I would do this at full soft and then at full stiff, just to make 
sure  everything inside the shock is still loose. It is harder to get up 
inside for  the rears, but probably worth shooting some lube up onto the shafts 
before  cycling them. Stock springs "HAD" a tag on them - probably long 
gone by now.  Supposedly you can calculate, or at least, match springs by wire 
diameter,  number of coils and free height. 
HD= thicker wire AND shorter height. More coils and taller height = higher  
load carrying, like  A/C cars or Convertibles. - Seth
 
 
In a message dated 6/1/2013 11:52:35 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
corvairgrymm at gmail.com writes:

I have a  set of old Koni's I got on a car that probably have very few miles
on them  but they are at least 25 years old.  Is there anything I can do
before  installing them on my car to ease their transition from 20+ years  
of
sitting under a parked car to being used?

Also, any tips to  identify stock springs from HD springs or other upgraded
springs?  I'm  hoping there might be a set of better springs on the car that
had the  Koni's.

Thanks,

Ray  R.