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Yep it is sporting a set of both monroe gas matics and the monroe magnums.Back when I was still getting the van road worthy.
Advanced ordered the monroes.And sent me the wrong front shocks.
The only ones they had the right length for the front where the magnums.I had all ready installed the gas matics.......

I have well over 30,000 HARD miles on the shocks and they are holding up great.....

.......Wookee

It's not odd having mag's front and gas back, matter fact I run ceramic pads in the front and semi-metallic shoes in the rear and it was really because I got a deal on pads I think my pads were 15 bucks for a whole front end and I bought what ever advanced had left. But I say to myself now it's a smart moving because most braking action occurs in the front (unless towing, etc..) so in the long run the brakes will wear pretty evenly.

Speaking of road worthy, I'm getting mine all ready for my trip up to NJ. Going up there for about a month then going to rent a u-haul trailer and bring down my grandmother and her belongings so she can live with my parents and I. I'm just waiting for my dynotech driveshaft to make it over here (comes tuesday the 5th) so I can install it. Then it should be road worthy, in the past 7 months I have replaced so much most of which I forgot. Let me see...

Rebuilt Transmission includes new torque converter
Replaced rear shocks
Replaced radiator cap
Replaced fuel pump, tank mount hardware, filler tube grommet
Replaced air filter
Replaced rear main seal
Replaced oil pan seal
Replaced spark plugs
Replaced wireset
Replaced distributor cap and rotor
Replaced driveshaft, includes completed shaft, pinion yoke and pinion seal because new shaft is 1350 U-Joint
Replaced all fluids (use valvoline only) except the antifreeze
Just did a fuel injection cleaning today

But so far this is what I have done in the past 7 months, the transmission, fuel pump, rear shocks, rear main seal, and driveshaft had to be replaced as they were all shot. Everything else was to make it all road worthy.

Oh and the axle bearings and seals

I am running Monroe Magnums ft/rear. Had the rear leaf pack rebuilt and added a leaf, reassembled with all new bushings and new hardware throughout. Had entire front-end rebuilt, new everything from the king pins to the steering box, all new tires and my 78 Ford Custom rides down the road with every bit of control my brand new 83 E150 had when I bought it new....

Bilsteins, Dont cheap out

Awesome, I bet she rids like a dream! I too am going to be replacing some suspension and steering components, more suspension then steering. I plan on replacing my leafs with some heavier ones because I tow a 32' travel trailer and the tongue is close to 800+ lbs. I currently have 1800lb leafs, the new ones are going to be 2300lb, I was thinking of 2500lb but that is too much and I like to drive walter (van) fast and corner fast and If I put those 2500lb springs then his rear end will slide more. I also was and probably am going to but a trac-lok LSD or maybe a Eaton locker. But one thing at a time right? My exhaust is falling apart, if you go to the post I made in the performance section about a dynotech shaft you can see photos of the exhaust.

I went with the more economical Monroe shocks on my Son's advice. Several years ago he did some tests to failure of various shocks at his community College Automotive class, using an MTS industrial shock absorber testing device, and found that Monroe shocks survived much better than most other brands, which failed catastrophically in many cases. Timely advice - and it was good to finally get some benefit from all that tuition we'd been paying!

Still, I was cautious and tried researching the various models on several websites, as well as calling several of the local Monroe dealers for advice. This narrowed my range of choices down to 5 models.

Still, being suspicious of the seemingly conflicting results, I called Monroe Technical support directly several times, and they advised that since I had a heavy 6400 pound GVW maxi conversion van with a HD (heavy duty) rear suspension, that the advice of the Monroe dealers and the various websites, including Monroe's own website, wasn't all that good in my case!

They said that the shocks that were recommended to me by the dealers and web sites were either too light duty, which would have ridden spongy and would have blown out prematurely, or were too stiff and would have blown out my back! (I've had back surgeries.)

The Tech Support folks recommended the Reflex shock, Monroe model number 911091, as the best fit for my application, so here they are!



They are certainly a big shock too; slightly larger than the Sears Roadhandler Gas shocks that were on the van to start with.

The ride is quite tolerable to my touchy back, and the recovery response appears to be well damped to me, though I also have rebuilt the entire rear suspension, adding heavier leaf springs, (originally had 1980 lb 5-leaf, went to 2770 lb 6-leaf) added a front swaybar, and installed rear Timbren SES Aeon DVR150 Air Springs, which act much like helper springs and rear swaybars when they come in contact with the rear axles.



You can see one of the Monroe Shocks in front of the Timbren Air Spring in that picture...

I've put off replacing the front Sears Roadhandler shocks (which appear to still be OK) till I decide what if any work I want to do to the front suspension. The coil springs are sagging up front, though I like the look well enough to either leave it as is or replace the springs then convert to drop spindles. With the sagging coil springs, it *may* be necessary to specify a shock with a different stroke length.

The nice thing is that the Monroe factory is only about 20 miles from my house, so it's a local call for me to discuss any issues with them.