time to shop for airride..

[LEllyson]

So I know some of the diehard "original" guys are gong to scold me for putting my 71 shortwide on air but I am not going to cut the frame in any way so that later it can be reversed easily without any eveidence left behind of the pickup ever being on airride if that is what any future owner would decide. But for now I think i want to start shopping for airride for my 71 and I am curious what parts any of you have had good or bad luck with? I think I want to end up roughly around 4/6 dropas a ride height and want to run 20/8 and 20/10 for wheels but still keep a good clean driving manor with the pickup. The pickup is not a hot rod at all and will never be as long as i am owning but I do expect to handle and drive good as i would like to eventually have this as my daily driver.

So basically i want to know what sems to work? for a good price? hows the drive? and what would you suggest staying away from on a daily driver?

[cubber]

I am bagging my 69 right now. I would strongly suggest doing a c notch, which is pretty mild, and is a good idea on a truck lowered 4" or more in the rear. I would also run 2.5" drop spindles on the front. They help you achieve a little more drop while still maintaining some of the factory geometry. Aside from the c notch, everything on my truck is bolt on, and could be removed and put back original. You will need a lot of little parts in addition to your bags. You will need to relocate both front and rear shocks, get shorter shocks, and get an adjustable panhard bar. All of these little parts have a big impact on your ride quality and handling. I have used a lot of the Porterbuilt stuff on mine. It is, I think, higher quality than some of the other stuff out there, but is more expensive, and is made to order, so a lot of times it takes a little while to get it, but to me it is worth it. They offer some kits geared toward milder drops. You can get them direct from Porterbuilt, or PRoPerformance here on the board sells it. You will also need an air management setup, manual valves work great, and are cheaper and less problematic because there are no electric parts to fail. They aren't as good for playing, though, like if you wanna impress all the kids at the mall, lol. Check out the suspension marketplace for some good deals, and you can usually save some $$ by getting a package deal. Even so, done right, air ride ain't cheap. There are TONS of threads on here about all different types of setups, and installs, too. The search function is priceless. You can check out my thread, I'm really just getting ready to hit the air management portion hard. Feel free to ask or PM wih any questions.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to tell you some of the stuff I wish I had known starting out.

[firedog]

A pic of my truck, frame is not notched, only add-ons are tubular lower control arm and drop spindles in the front. The bags are bolted into factory spring location on the rear. I studied several posts in the suspension section and pieced together my air ride parts from craigslist. It has been bagged for a few years now and only issues I have had was a sticky valve that was easily cleaned. I am running 18" wheels.

[Pro Performance]

There are a few ways to go about bagging your truck. The above posts have some good information (thanks Cubber for the good words).

You can bag the truck without a c-notch, but the back will not lay out as low when delfated. We can put together a kit using the Porterbuilt Stage 1 front and rear setups, with either our manual or electric air management kits. A system like this using manual air management would be $1,295. If you wanted electric valves with dual compressors, it would be $1,925.

We also have out Pro1 air ride kit which is a popular choice, but does require the c-notch.
http://www.azproperformance.com/Pro1...r-Bag-Kit.html

Let me know if we can be of any help at all.

Travis

[ZUBZ]

Travis is a top man, I am in the process of ordering a Pro 1 kit for my c10.

[Square_78]

I'm doing slam specialties RE7 bags front and rear. Bolt in bag plates in the front with 2.5" drop spindles, bags in the stock spring locations in the rear, c-notch and 2" lowering blocks. To control it all I am using Accuair stage 2 air management system with dual compressors, 5 gal tank, VU4 air manifold, and eLevel for load leveling and preset height adjustment. This is the BEST way to go (in my opinion) judging from all the research I have done. You can pass on the accuair and eLevel if you dont want to spend as much. There are much cheaper options. You can save $1000 by going with normal valves and a regular controller that isnt computer controlled. I just wanted to do it right the first time because I have no plans to ever sell this truck.

[LEllyson]

thanks everyone for the replies.

firedog I'm glad to see you chose against the notch, that reassures me on what I've been thinking I want for mine. I have a buddy that has a custom truck shop here in town that hat a 68 a few years ago he put on surprise and notched but with his aired out it still didn't set in the notch. he has given much the same advice as all of you have so thanks again for reassuring on something I am not familiar with.

Travis thank you as well, I'm sure I will be calling you when my attack plan on the pickup is a little more clear. I still need to research a little. right now I planned on just putting bags in place of springs, in stock locations, and everything else pretty basic but must be reliable. I am not really trying to lay rockers with this pickup so c- notching is not something I really think I want to do.

my daily driver is a 1ton with 2" drop spindles and I'm very impressed with the way it drives (much like it's never been lowered to start with) so I'm sure I'm going to put spindles on the 71.

[Square_78]

If you're not lowering it more than 3-4" then why bother with air ride? You will still have the same ground clearance as a stock height car like a Chrysler 300c so why spend the money? Put the couple grand into something else like wheels or interior. Just a suggestion.

[LEllyson]

I said I wad going for a 4/6 drop as a ride hieght, I just don't want to c-notch.
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[Square_78]

My mistake, but even at 4" front drop you arn't going to have to worry about ride height. You will still have the same ground clearance as any big family sedan. My 78 c10 is lowered 6" in front and i load my dirtbike in the back and take it up the logging roads and drive it everywhere and i have not once scraped a control arm or bottomed out. Air ride is COOL dont get me wrong, I'm installing it in my 1970 GMC. Im just saying you dont really need it with a 4" drop.

The ride is BETTER than stock in almost all regards, and perfect for a daily driver if installed properly. It will be very reliable if you use good quality parts.

Heres a pic of my 1970. This is as low as you can get in the rear without a c-notch. In this pic the axel is sitting on the bump stops and it rides like a tank. Im guessing this is about 5" lower than stock. I havent c-notched it yet but I will be in the springtime when I install my Accuair. It will come down about another 5-6" in the rear, and another 4-5" in front.

In this pic, I have about 5" clearance underneath my front crossmember. I can slide a 4x4 block of wood under the control arms with room to spare. LOTS of ground clearance. The back needs to come down a LOT. Doesnt look bad in this pic, but there is a lot of rake. The back would have to come down about 2" at least to look sorta level.

[bk2life]

Originally Posted by LEllyson

going for a 4/6 drop as a ride hieght

no air ride needed at that height, as that is a pretty normal drop good looks and great performance and no bottom out/hitting the pavement.

[Tom Vogel]

I went with bags on my 2wd Jimmy because of the weight of the top. I liked the ride so much that I used them on the front too. I have about a 4-6 drop and didnt c-notch because I wanted to maintain frame strength. I think you are wise in your choice.

[big_al_71]

Here are two examples of two different set ups on my truck. My truck has not been butchered in any way shape or form other than a small bolt in cnotch.
first is a 4/6 drop with 18's and 20's
the second is bagged with 20x8 and 20x10.. I hope this helps.

[LEllyson]

Originally Posted by big_al_71

Here are two examples of two different set ups on my truck. My truck has not been butchered in any way shape or form other than a small bolt in cnotch.
first is a 4/6 drop with 18's and 20's
the second is bagged with 20x8 and 20x10.. I hope this helps.

This is pretty much exactly what my goal is to look like on my shortwide. I like being able to air up a little and drive anywhere i want but still be able to air down and tuck the tires. Mine looks alot like yours at the moment (minus the air of course) just in a blue and white paint.

[LEllyson]

Thanks everyone so far, you all make great points and have reassured my second guessing myself on what i thought i was going to do in the first place. I am going later in the week to talk to my buddy at the custom truck shop about getting to watching for the parts and getting some things coming so i can get ready to tackle this pickup at the same time I do my motor swap on it. Gonna be a crazy busy time in my garage and hopefully the wife doesnt get to upset from her jetta being kicked out to make room for parts!

[Square_78]

Originally Posted by big_al_71

Here are two examples of two different set ups on my truck.
the second is bagged with 20x8 and 20x10.. I hope this helps.

Damn that looks good. Amazing what an extra couple of inches will do for the stance.

[big_al_71]

Originally Posted by Square_78

Damn that looks good. Amazing what an extra couple of inches will do for the stance.

Thanks!!!!



some more picts to share..