friction shocks

"I have built some in the past. There is no set way to build them. They are basically a friction pad (sometimes just leather) between two pieces of flat plate (shaped as needed) with a stud/bolt holding the plates against eack other with a spring. The tightening or loosening of the spring effects the amount of dampening. In the past I have made them using motorcycle parts for the friction devices, the steering stem of older bikes had a similar friction device that was used for the steering damper."

google sample hunt around online, lots of good hotrod info about them out there
:)