Cheapest way to get an inch or 2...

Cheapest way to get an inch or 2....rear lift...

  • New springs

    Votes: 49 38.6%

  • Re-arched old springs

    Votes: 19 15.0%

  • Air shocks

    Votes: 59 46.5%
  • Total voters
    127
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Original poster here.....I'm chiming in for a correction. This question isn't for me....it's a question from a member on another list. I just thought it'd be interesting to hear other suggestions for this guy.

I will forward a link to him so he can see the responses.
 
Anybody remember "Mopar Shock Extensions"?

In the 70's when the stnk-bug look was popular, Gabriel High Jackers (air shocks) were the hot set up to clear your L60x15 Super Wide Brute Speedway Specials, but they often caused the upper shock mounts on Mopars to break loos from the unibody and rode like crap!

I have a set of short helper springs ( think S-10 application) as a temporary fix on my Duster until I get my Hotchkis springs. They work pretty well and don't ride bad.
 
I voted air shocks only because they are cheap and easy to install......but, in the 70's a guy i worked with bought some used 15x10s with 50 series on um' for a 65' 442. He actully jacked it up until the housing hung from the shocks and cut wooden 2x4's and wedged them between the axle tubes and the rearend tunnel. He drove it a mile each way back and forth to work until after a few weeks one of them fell out, and he was pissed about it........lol. I truly wish i was making this up but it really happened. So that's my real vote for the cheapest.
 
My first 65 A had the whole enchilada! Air shocks with the vale in the trunk AND 3 inch shackles! The entire 10" tire stuck out about 2 inches past the lip si it had to be that high. Hey, it was the big 80's! Cornered like a snowplow, and took bumps with a huge clunk on trhe rebound as the shocks would hit their extension limits. Sounded like a loud bass drum made of a 55 gallon drum. And a 340 with 9" brakes...talk about a death ride!
 
pishta said:
My first 65 A had the whole enchilada! Air shocks with the vale in the trunk AND 3 inch shackles! The entire 10" tire stuck out about 2 inches past the lip si it had to be that high. Hey, it was the big 80's! Cornered like a snowplow, and took bumps with a huge clunk on trhe rebound as the shocks would hit their extension limits. Sounded like a loud bass drum made of a 55 gallon drum. And a 340 with 9" brakes...talk about a death ride!
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I had a few like that, a couple were other brands, but you got to admit it we were still cool........:D.
 
Cheapest would be the air shocks but I would not do air shocks, maybe helper springs on shocks but even that is sketchy. Glad you are not going the way of shackles. Can't stNd that look. Add a leaf, rearched or new would be much better.
 
Get yourself a pair of spring assist shocks from Monroe. That will raise you up 1-2in. I've got a pair on my Cuda & Fairlane. Gives a nice ride and a little stiffer suspension for cornering.
 
Here's a couple of pictures of my Dart after I installed new superstock springs. I don't think that the height increase was more thana couple of inches and it also helped a lot with traction.
 

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hey super it looks like your springs are mounted on the wrong side.
ss springs should lean the car towards the driver not the passenger
 
I've had air shocks on mine for 18 years and 190,000 miles. It's all in the amount of air pressure for longevity and ride. I've only had to replace one because my sway bar mount cut the air bellow. If you need an inch to level the car out they're great. If you are going for the high jacker look go with new springs and expect bad oversteer.
 
air shocks are only bad when you pump 200 pounds of air pressure into them. the previous owner installed 4" shackles on my duster, not only did they look absolutely horrific, they did nothing for the height. we used to cut off the last 4" off the bottom of the old shocks, slip them over the end of the air shocks, weld them on , basically adding 2" to the air shocks, and pump 50 pounds of air into them, very nice ride, while adding 2-4 inches in the back. you should have seen them with 150 pounds in them LOL

oh the 80's were great LOL

i even knew a guy who welded new perches on the top side of his 8 3/4 and bolted his axle underneath the leaf springs and flipped the shock mounts upside down , switching sides on top so he could use a factory shock. it actually worked and he hammered on that car for a long time.... true story

not a suggestion by any means
 
Way back in my younger, stupider, and more broke days, I used some of these between the rear axle tubes and the frame on my '69 Dart.

View attachment helpersprings.jpg

They did raise the back for the look I was after and worked surprisingly well.
That was back then.
Today I'd save my pennies for new leaf springs so it's done the right way.

Another thing to remember, when you raise the back of your car you're also shifting the center-of-gravity forward.
 
air shocks suck and our cars are not meant to have the weight of the car sitting on the shock mounts
 
I put airshocks on my duster n they ride great for $60 bucks! Advance auto has a rebate now until sept. 26th. Good luck!
 
Why are the A-body XHD stock springs twice as expensive as anything else, including the SS springs?
 
wish i was kidding but my first car was a 68 chevelle back in the early 80s when i got it and i wanted that jacked up in the back look ( ya we thought it was sooo cool back them lol) but i was just a kid not even old enough to drive yet and of course had no job.. i got muffler clamps jacked up the car till the top part cleared the bottom then put the clamps around the top of the bottom part and let her down on the clamps.. wow what a look and even crappier ride lol.. yup true story
 
Yes,,,, yes airshocks do suck!

I rode in a Nova that had them. We aired them up ... rode rough.... we let air out .... rode rough. I have never understood what the intention of these type shocks was. I guess to raise a vehicle I assume but throw the ride quality out the door!!!
 
66plyValiant said:
air shocks suck and our cars are not meant to have the weight of the car sitting on the shock mounts
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To all the nay-sayers... If you had read the OP's message, he said he was looking for an inch or 2 lift, so that's hardly the weight of the whole car on the shock mounts.

Just for the record, I have Monroe air shocks on my Dart as we speak, and with less than 40lbs of air,they give me the inch or 2 lift I want, and ride great!!

Yes, I will agree if you put 300lbs of air in them, the cars' gonna ride like a stagecoach.
 
65Val said:
To all the nay-sayers... If you had read the OP's message, he said he was looking for an inch or 2 lift, so that's hardly the weight of the whole car on the shock mounts.

Just for the record, I have Monroe air shocks on my Dart as we speak, and with less than 40lbs of air,they give me the inch or 2 lift I want, and ride great!!

Yes, I will agree if you put 300lbs of air in them, the cars' gonna ride like a stagecoach.
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okay let me rephrase that; if you put 40 or so PSI in the shocks and it lifts the car a couple inches you don't think there is 300-400 pounds or more riding on the upper shock mounts? cars that were made to handle weight on the upper shock mounts had big mounts on the top and something called a strut

shocks help with rebound; struts hold weight on a car like A bodies shocks shouldn't be used to lift a car any

air shocks cost what? $100? for that price you can get 2 add a leafs and the U bolts and put an extra leaf in either side
 
I have to say, back in the day I knew lots of people who ran air shocks. They drove on rough Indiana roads (including dirt!), absolutely abused the cars, yet not a one broke anything on the frame or shock plates. That's GM, FoMoCo, and Mopars. Hell, some of them even rode pretty good ( a '67 Dodge Monaco 500 comes to mind!).
 
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