Air Ride Install - '69 Chevrolet SWB Stepside

[tuddend]

You've inspired me brother, I order the parts this week!

[bigguy69]

looks great!!!!

[big_al_71]

Man what an improvement from what the truck looked like when you first got it till now....

Those clamps that you used to hold the hose on the frame I used a bunch of them when I redid my truck they work great....

[63chevyll]

looks good,

i may have missed it, but is this a kit or did you piece it together?

[leos11104]

can u post a list of the thing you had to buy n part#'s is possible thanks

[tcb-1]

^^^ pieced it ALL together. I don't think I bought more that two items from the same vendor/Ebay/Craiglist.

once I have everything complete, I will have about $750 in the entire system. (that doesn't include the drop spindles and c-notch I already had installed).

[Becker67]

That is a very nice install you did. I have to say you have one of the cleanest looking step sides. I really do love that color.

[tcb-1]

Kevin,
thanks for the compliment. the truck in your avatar is BEAUTIFUL, I only hope to have mine looking that good someday....

mine is just a beater with original paint, surface rust, and dents.

but I love her

[Becker67]

Originally Posted by tcb-1

Kevin,
thanks for the compliment. the truck in your avatar is BEAUTIFUL, I only hope to have mine looking that good someday....

mine is just a beater with original paint, surface rust, and dents.

but I love her

Thank you. Thats the best way to have a truck original paint and surface rust. It took me over a year to find one like that. I ended up with same color green 69 swb.

[butternut1972]

The truck looks killer. Good job! I love the wheels.

[mcbassin]

Great looking truck! Not sure how I missed this one? I like the way you stuck to a budget....i.e. the shocks. Keep up the great work!

[LOW DOUGH]

Nice! What a difference 3 years makes.. LOL wish I could say that about mine.

[invicta455]

Hey Doug looking good so tell me what did you decide to do about raising your bed up for clearance,Mike

[gonzo6869]

Late comer here. Just got done looking over your bag build and I got to say you convinced me to go with bags instead of a static. You got a bad A$$ truck, I think you also convinced me on the color, yours is the stock Light Olive Green (or something like that ) right. My truck was that color, but the paint was tried, was going to go with a sunset copper pearl, but that green and white looks badA$$ classic.

[gonzo6869]

Oh one more thing, I want bag mine the same way you did. Don't want it to lay frame, but want it to get as low as possible with out any major frame work, as I don't know how to weld. If you can, can you measure how low it is with the bags down and how high it is with the bags aired up?
Thanx
Josh.

[tcb-1]

Josh,
Like I said, this build is a "how-to" for us guys who have a small garage and who needs to stay on budget. most importantly, everything in this build is bolt on with simple hand tools. the most specialized tool I have in my arsenal is a 90 degree drill. it's become an obsession to make this a simple project that everyone could do without breaking the bank........

Ordering a tank today. got my eye on an AVS 5 gallon tank.

[powell72]

Doug, any ideas on how you'll raise the bed floor yet?

[tcb-1]

actually Chris, I do. us stepside/wood floor guys really have it quite easy.

1. remove all the bed wood/strip bolting
2. take the wood and metal strips out carefully. we'll be reusing those.....
3. remove the side angles and relocate 4" higher
4. install bed
5. place 4" c-channel on the 4 bed braces
6. redrill c-channel to accept the bed wood using the original mounting holes

going for the totally stock/stealth look.

I think I have a final design on how to mount the compressor/tank/and valves. still need to get the tank in to do a final mock up.

[tcb-1]

stay tuned. I have a complete list of material I have made that's on an excel spreadsheet. I will post what I have in a day or so, since I need to convert to a pdf.

[MTCHEVY]

So I read that you used "Rustoleum Industrial OIL based enamel" and you brushed it on? Looks really good, is it a pretty hard finish? What did you use to clean the frame with? Any primer? Thanks again for taking the time to share your info. Looking forward to seeing more of your install...i will be doing the same thing to my truck this spring.

[tcb-1]

M.J.
Yes, I am very happy with the Rustoleum finish. just as a gauge, I dropped a 1/2" socket driver from approx. 2 foot onto a section of the frame and it did not chip whatsoever. I cleaned the frame by, 1. powerwashing it after soaking the greasy areas with Simple Green (undiluted), and 2. after the frame was dry, again going over the entire frame with degreaser. 3. then I wire brushed the biggest part of the loose scale off, the 4. degreased again, and lastly 5. blowing it completely dry with high pressure air. nothing special and done on the cheap! but the frame looks so much better.

I would have coated the frame with POR15, but I want to be able to remove the coating someday when I do a complete cab off resto and sandblast the frame to bare metal. POR15 is a b!tch to remove even with an industrial sandblast unit!!

hope I could help!

[silvervic99stang]

i was just wondering if you was almost done with your list that you was going to post on all your parts..

[tcb-1]

Silverstang,
Yep, I'll post it up tomorrow. I have had a looooong week at work and I haven't had a chance to tie up the loose ends. but I'll send it home tomorrow and post hopefully tomorrow night.

Sorry for the delay!

[michael bustamante]

Im doing the exact same project right now, except mines a long bed. its ALOT of work drilling in these frames and front crossmembers lol
couple of questions on the lca`s.. did you cut the steer stop on yours? (it looks like you did) also did you have to bevel the cup to get it to sit correctly in the lca? I noticed that if you just lay the cup in there, it doesnt sit flush. like theres a high spot in the lca cup itself. I know you shaved it but did you notch it to sit flush also?

[tcb-1]

michael,
I cut the bump stop/seering stop towers off. HOWEVER when the bags are aired out, the remnants of the towers are dangerously close to the bags. so I am going back and cutting them off flush with the lca's.

I cut my cups down by 5/8" and did bevel the leading edge a bit. but, the bottom of the stock coil cups on the lca is not flat to begin with. the bottom of the cup is stamped so that an open end coil will sit flat. I didn't sculp the bottom of the cups to match the lca. imo, the cups should be conforming to the surface so that they sit flat. but, when installed, the cups pretty much lock into place. I plan on welding in cups in my lca's in a few months though. hopefull that will take care of those isses.