Air shock options

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ajarofclay

ajarofclay

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Anybody have any ideas on getting a little lift in the back without air shocks. I always thought A bodies had a sagging appearance in standard dress and want to get a little lift but not sure if I want to go the air shock route again. Thanks for any advice.
 
New springs from springs and things at this address, espo.com. Get the 1’inch overbend sorings for that hot rod rake but not overly so. You can always drop it some with blocks and longer U bolts.

They ride well and handle good power. My Duster always went straight.
 
Since 1970,I've done it about every way you can think of, and rearched springs, with extra mainleaf worked pretty good for me.I gotta say tho, the double mainleaf is pretty stiff.

I experimented a bit with air shocks, cuz it was so easy to get the look on Saturday night, yet run low the rest of the time. But it didn't take long to sacrifice the look and just stay low.
 
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Thanks for some quick replies, gentlemen. I don't know much about air bags? Do load adjusting shocks have any affect on height. I'm only looking to ad an inch or two, ideally.
 
Adding an inch with additional springing, either leaf,coil, or air; will increase the ride stifness, and probably harshness.
A re-arched leaf will not.
Or just install taller tires? 28s for the back and 24/25 for the front.
275/60-15s are about 28 tall, and just fit in most A-body wells . 255/70-14s are also about 28 tall. 235/60-14fronts are about 25. A 28/25split is a 1.5" rake. The rest can come from the T-bars and a new alignment. Jus tossing it out there.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
Adding an inch with additional springing, either leaf,coil, or air; will increase the ride stifness, and probably harshness.
A re-arched leaf will not.
Or just install taller tires? 28s for the back and 24/25 for the front.
275/60-15s are about 28 tall, and just fit in most A-body wells . 255/70-14s are also about 28 tall. 235/60-14fronts are about 25. A 28/25split is a 1.5" rake. The rest can come from the T-bars and a new alignment. Jus tossing it out there.
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This ^^^^^!!!!!
Or new +1 springs.

Doing both may result in that 70’s overkilled look.
 
ajarofclay said:
Anybody have any ideas on getting a little lift in the back without air shocks. I always thought A bodies had a sagging appearance in standard dress and want to get a little lift but not sure if I want to go the air shock route again. Thanks for any advice.
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Back with my unpopular opinion...I have Gabriel Airs on my Dart to get an inch or 2 of lift...40lbs air...they ride just fine.
 
If you take a look at my profile pic, those are N50-15's on 15x10 rims. Needed air shocks to clear those but it had a B body rear end in it. Will be stock width now. I want to get some wide rubber under it again but not at the risk of throwing the speedo off too much. Thanks for all the good input. I will look into all options.
 
ajarofclay said:
If you take a look at my profile pic, those are N50-15's on 15x10 rims. Needed air shocks to clear those but it had a B body rear end in it. Will be stock width now. I want to get some wide rubber under it again but not at the risk of throwing the speedo off too much. Thanks for all the good input. I will look into all options.
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Rumble mentioned earlier. Do it once and do it right! Buy Quality Automotive Leaf Springs, Coil Springs and Suspension Parts for your Classic or Antique Auto
 
65Val said:
Back with my unpopular opinion...I have Gabriel Airs on my Dart to get an inch or 2 of lift...40lbs air...they ride just fine.
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Mine rode fine too with a soft main leaf. Actually it rode better than fine. My home built slapper bars worked pretty good with that funky set-up, too. I won a lotta impromptu street races.

I even plumbed a water tank, with an electric solenoid and a small pump, to piss water on my G-60s at the stab of switch. Then on with the line-loc, and smoke 'em up. I was 17, and flipping nobody was smarter than me,lol.(that's a joke btw). Well if nothing else, the girls thought I was clever.
 
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65Val said:
Back with my unpopular opinion...I have Gabriel Airs on my Dart to get an inch or 2 of lift...40lbs air...they ride just fine.
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Gabriel's on mine too. I need new springs, but this was a quick easy way to lift it a little. 30-40 lbs. and it rides just fine.
 
Like A/J said larger tire in the rear and smaller in the front also creates a nice rake. I have 245-15's in the rear and 205 14's in the front.
 
TF360 said:
Like A/J said larger tire in the rear and smaller in the front also creates a nice rake. I have 245-15's in the rear and 205 14's in the front.
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AJ is dead on with that one.
I have 205/70/14’s up front, 26X10 in the rear.
1 inch over bend in the rear, T-bars adjusted to suite.
 
That's part of the problem. I have N50-15's on the rear and if I'm going to keep them I need to get it up because they won't fit in the wheel wells. I think I am likely going to go to a narrower tire.
 
What’s the wheel offset?
How wide is that tire? Diameter?
 
You just need more back spacing on the wheel. I have Wheel Vintiques Chrysler rally wheels with a 4-1/2 backspacing with a 26 X 10 tire in a 67 Cuda wheel well. I could have gone with a 5 inch back space.
 
I Brought the rear end back to A body specs. It was a wider B body so that will help. Wheelwell openings are actually only 12.25 though so I'm likely changing tires. Can't have 1/8 inch clearance on either side. Wheels and tires are a whole 'nother issue. Really am leaning to original Rallye design as of now but probably a wider than stock rear wheel.
 
15 x 10s fit into most of the short wb cars, given the right offset and with the springs moved in a bit with the offset hangers. 1/8 is a little tight to the springs but works. To the inner wall you need about a half inch if you like torquing around the turns. .25 is too tight, except in a straight line. .375 is OK if you drive reasonably nice. This assumes that your springs have very little arch and all your bushings are tight, and your shackles are original or boxed.
I ordered my Wheel Vintiques with a tad too much backspace so I could fine-tune final fitment with spacers. After I knew exactly what BS I needed, I had the spiders moved. I can now run 325/50-15s , but no torquing in the corners. (68 Barracuda, factory tubs). IIRC those are 13.5 cross-section by 27and change tall. I did roll the outter lips a tad, because my car is pretty low.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
15 x 10s fit into most of the short wb cars, given the right offset and the springs moved in bit with offset hangers.
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:thumbsup:

After I knew exactly what BS I needed, I had the spiders moved. I can now run 325/50-15s , but no torquing in the corners. (68 Barracuda, factory tubs). IIRC those are 13.5 cross-section.
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So, you evicted a group of spiders?
Failure to pay rent?
:lol:
No mini tub huh? Nice! 325 is a whole lot of meat.
 
do it once and do it right.. call these guys New Quality Matched Pair Leaf Springs For Your Car or Light Truck 1940-1990's+ awesome customer service and product. get the 6 leaf +1 or +2 inch springs and be done with it. they aren't very expensive which make it not worth dicking around with other half assed ways of raising the rear...

espo +1"

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espo +1"

Jamiemagazinepic.jpg



espo +1"

kat.jpg
 
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