Rear of slipper spring with shim installed

When we were installing the tongue box on the Ambassador, we noticed some wear on the trailer leaf spring mounts. With long trips to Huron, South Dakota, Sedalia, Missouri and the Big Bend completed, it wasn’t surprising. Along with other trips around Texas, we probably had upwards of 5000 miles logged. I have always planned to upgrade the wheels to a larger size and make improvements to the suspension, but there wasn’t time before we left for Wisconsin. I didn’t think there was any real urgency, but being a “belt and suspenders” guy, a little insurance wouldn’t hurt either.

Shim ready for installation

The tongue box mount was installed at Vintage Motor Car near our home, and it was Jason who first noticed the problem. We chatted about various solutions, but Mike had the best idea. How about buffering the metal/metal contact between the leaf springs and slipper spring mount with a composite shim? He got one out of the shop, and it slipped in easily with the weight off the wheels. Best of all, it was held in place by an existing crossmember made of angle iron. Easy to install, easy to replace. But would it last?

After 3000 miles of additional travel to Wisconsin and back, I’m going to declare victory. Only minimal additional wear on the slipper spring and mount, and relatively little wear on the shim. I’ll replace them before our next trip just for grins (at about 50 cents each), and we can push the running gear upgrade off until next year. Besides I still have to find some cool retro fenders for the new larger wheels before we start!