A Houdaille shock is meant to be mounted in a specific place on your Ferrari or Maserati. A lever type shock such as the Houdaille has a finite travel. Usually this travel zone is more then the suspension travel zone. Suspension systems of 1950s have what is called a bump stop or travel stop. These systems can be made from a loop of steel where the axle is contained within a rubber stop in the top of the loop and a cable that hangs around the bottom. The reason for the bump stop is to keep the rear axle and tire from hitting the body under adverse driving conditions. Now that we have established what a bump stop is, lets talk about the travel of the Houdaille shock. The travel of a typical Houdaille in rotation is about 170 degrees. This travel reflects the travel of the suspension system of the car that it is mounted to. When a shock has been serviced or newly purchased, the re-builder must be certain of the location on the car for valving and travel. My point is that it is absolutely essential that the shocks travel is greater than the suspension travel or damage WILL result. What will happen is that the internal parts of the shock will act as the bump stops. The result of such action is catastrophic to the shock itself. I have seen many instances of this over the years. Many times the arm is broken or bent but usually its the internal valving components that get the brunt of the damage. As a result the car does not handle as intended and can be dangerous to drive. The common theme here is that not all Houdaille shocks are mounted the same way on all Ferrari or Maserati models even within a model year.