Air Shocks 76 Dart Sport

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SDHomesteade

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So I finally got my air shocks on the 76 Dart, Not to bad, only about an hour to do both. Is it just me or do the Air Shocks of Today just not get as high as they used to. (see attached pics of before and after with max air pressure in them). I had a 72 Javelin back in the day with air shocks and before to after filling them I got almost a 8-12 Inch Rise out of them at the Bumper.

I like the rears of My Cars Jacked up, anything else I can do to this ol daily Driver to get some more height in the rear??? There's nothing in the Trunk right now for extra weight either but it only went up about 3-4 inches. UGH. Air shocks I am using are Monroe's.
 

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I'm surprised they still make air shocks! That shouldn't be the way to lift the car. I don't think they are a good idea. New +1 or SS leaf springs will bring it up. Buying new from Summit or Jeg's may be the cheapest way because shipping from a private seller gets expensive.
 
Thanks, will look into that. I guess I am just old school, love the look of the Old Muscle Cars with the Raised (Jacked Up) rear Ends.
 
you want more height!? raising the front a little may give you the illusion of more height to the back... you'll be sacrificing handling, but you've already done that with the air shocks. You can also get taller rear shackles.. a word of caution here, none of these modifications are suggested as good ideas - only as answers to your question.
The +1 or SS springs will net you more height - but they are pricey and not the couple hr. bolt on those shocks were...
 
Add some longer spring shackles,car will only lift so far before those short factory ones hold it back.
 
Add the air shock extenders for that extra lift you are looking for, summit sells them and I would guess you could get them at any parts store.
 
We drive this car 2 miles per day, 1 mile to work, 1 mile back. It's not a Super Stock Racer Show Car or anything like that, just personal Preference is all. Thanks all for answering the questions.
 
Looks good. More tire will help the way it looks too.

At least you're not lowerin it ghetto style like most everybody these days. Good for you.
 
SDHomesteade said:
We drive this car 2 miles per day, 1 mile to work, 1 mile back. It's not a Super Stock Racer Show Car or anything like that, just personal Preference is all. Thanks all for answering the questions.
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your car...do your own thing..and have fun...
 
What Rusty said. I would add 15" tires to the rear and a 255/60/15 or taller tire.
 
I think espo sells springs that are as much as +3" over. If you want to go higher than that you'll have to flip the perches on the axle. That would be a cheap solution by itself, weld a new set of shackles on the top of the tubes like a truck and lift the old girl around 3 1/2". Could dial in a correction on the goddawful pinion angle while you're at it.

Air shocks are horrible, not only to they do a lousy job of dampening the springs (their job!) the shock mounts aren't meant to carry the weight of the car (which is what happens when you raise the car with the shocks) and will eventually fail. Obviously you're not worried about the handling, but at least if you raise it with the springs you won't break stuff. Raise it with the shocks or extended shackles and you'll have even worse handling and broken parts in the long run.
 
A couple things that air shocks do RIGHT off the bat. As you increase the height of the rear of the car, you also decrease the caster angle in the front. Also, don't forget to readjust your headlights. They will be aiming at the ground.

Air shocks can be done safely as long as you drive carefully. No, they are not the "most correct" way to raise the rear of a car, but then can work. I had my share of them when I was young.
 
Thanks Everyone for your Input, Greatly Appreciated. I may look into some Stiffer Springs or as 72bluNblu suggested moving the Leaf Springs to Over the Axle.

Sorry to get everyone's knickers in a bunch, I just like the raised Rear end look on the Muscle Cars.
 
I think you will run into trouble trying to do the axle flip. It's not a good idea. I believe you will end up with "too much" lift. Also you need to keep in mind your pinion and drive shaft angles. Air shocks already change those a little and an axle flip will put too much angle there, IMO. I think you will have better success sticking with the air shocks, or going with a different leaf spring. An axle flip usually results in about twice the lift of the diameter of the axle tube. That would be about 6".
 
RustyRatRod said:
I think you will run into trouble trying to do the axle flip. It's not a good idea. I believe you will end up with "too much" lift. Also you need to keep in mind your pinion and drive shaft angles. Air shocks already change those a little and an axle flip will put too much angle there, IMO. I think you will have better success sticking with the air shocks, or going with a different leaf spring. An axle flip usually results in about twice the lift of the diameter of the axle tube. That would be about 6".
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The OP's car is already lifted a good 3"-4" from stock according to him, and he clearly states that isn't enough. From the before and after pictures I'd have to agree, it's lifted at least 3". Using air shocks to lift the car that much will tear the shock mounts out of the car. Maybe not tomorrow, but it won't be years and years either. And the pinion angles are already completely jacked up.

The axle flip should lift the car in the neighborhood of 5 to 5.5" or so, since it will be twice the distance from the bottom of the perch to the center of the axle (about 1.75", so ~3.5"), plus the height of the spring pack. But you won't need a bunch of added leafs if you flip the perches, the stock springs would be fine and the stock spring pack isn't that tall. And of course you're welding on new perches, so you have the opportunity to correct the pinion angle when you weld the new perches on.

Shocks are for dampening the springs, not lifting the car. To lift the car you either need to use a spring with a LOT more arch, or flip the perches. Since the OP apparently wants more than 4" of lift, well, that's flipping the perches territory. The only added issue, other than the amount of lift, is that you'll probably need to figure out a new shock mount. But if you can weld the perches on you can weld a shock mount onto the axle housing, truck style. The lifted springs would be the right way to do it, but in this case the tallest lift springs for these cars are around +3", and the OP is already lifted that much, if not higher. The goal should be to throw the air shocks in the trash where they belong, or at least air them down so they aren't lifing the car, so flipping the perches and using proper shocks should get another 2" or so of lift from where the OP already is. It will handle awful, but if that's what the OP wants, that's the way to do it. I like to joke about 4x4 height, but that's what's really going on here.
 
Springs, Springs, Springs. As said before, springs support weight, shock absorbers dampen spring action/reaction. You can always go all the way doing it the wrong way and loosen the front torsion bars if rake is all that you are looking for. Back then the main reason to lift was rims and tires that were too wide to clear the fenders. Using smaller diameter tires on the front just amplified the rake. There is a reason that you don't see this very often now. Just curious, since you can't see the outside of your car when you are driving it, who is looking ? Another option not given yet is airbags. They will do everything that you could want. They support weight without overloading suspension/shock mounts. They are adjustable so you can go high when you want but also go back down when you need to.
 
Thanks again for all the Input, I am clearly aware of how Shocks versus Springs work. This isn't no Restored vehicle. It's Clunker I picked up in exchange for a calf. Yes I know Air Shocks can and do cause Damage. Yes, I have Priced a new set of Springs for the car (little over 400 bucks from springsnthings dot com, I can't seem to find anyone else that will show me a catalog for 76 dart springs or even an additional Leaf to buy. The Springs from Springsnthings she said would give it a 2 inch lift over stock. That's as high as they will go from them.

Now, on the other hand, My wife was coming home yesterday and I sat on the Porch and waited for her to drive down the highway in the dart and video Taped it as well as watched it and the Ride Height I am Currently Getting out of the air Shocks is just right watching it actually on pavement and a hard surface. So, the air shocks will stay, until I can afford the Spring Kit from Springsnthings.
Doesn't matter if I can see the car from the outside if I am driving it, it's what I want LOL. So there LOLOL. (Don't get yer panties in a wad). I've seen the Air Bag Suspension Kits and 1grand is a bit high in my opinion for that setup.
 
But they will not cause damage as long as you use everything that's supposed to go with them. The shocks, shock extensions and shackles. If you do that, you won't break anything. It's still not the best way, but it will work......and especially with the extensions and shackles, you would likely get the lift you're looking for.
 
They Didn't come with any extensions, nor can I find any extensions for them, They Go straight to the Crossmember in the Trunk, straight down to the Shock Mounting plate on the springs.

Here's a Pic of her on the Highway by the house. Looks good to me like that.
 

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The extensions are not sold with them. They come separately. If you do not use them, that's when you can tear the shock mount off.

That will look awesome like a 70s throwback with some big meats out back.
 
^^ I'm with them. That car needs some more meat out back!

I went with a 295/50r15, and yep I've got air shocks and lift shackles (for now)...

I love the 70's street machine vibe.
 

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RustyRatRod said:
The extensions are not sold with them. They come separately. If you do not use them, that's when you can tear the shock mount off.

That will look awesome like a 70s throwback with some big meats out back.
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Ok, I did an internet search and can only find GMC,CHEVY, FORD, PONTIAC Air Shock extensions and am confused as to where they extension, Upper, Lower. The one Extensions I did Find with a google search showed the screw on threaded ones, my Dart has the Two Big Hole Mounted on the bottom and top of each shock. Can you point me in a direction to these Extensions you speak of.


I don't really have a set of 15 Rims for the Dart, unless I take them off the 5th Ave for now, since she's gonna be a while in fixing up as I can only afford one part at a time for her LOL. My Aspen has 14's and my 74 RR has/had 14's on it too. UGH, 14's on a big old B Body like the RR just Look WRRONG lolol.

That's one AWESOME looking Ride there Blue Dream.

N-50's on a 6 Banger LOL, Yeah, those would be for LOOKS only then LOL.
 
They used to make them. I looked and could not find them either. You might need to use a shock that's 2" longer than stock in extended length. That would do the same thing.
 
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