Ross wrote:
My best guess: Those are supposed to tension shackles. I have noticed that when those early cars are lifted by the frame and the axle drops the shackles pull toward the front to an almost horizontal position. It would not take very much at all for them to flip over center as the car came down and voila, you now have compression shackles and the car is sitting very high in the back. You just need to jack it up and flip them back.