OLD Man Dont Know

[tphsmith]

ok peoples, I seen this 72 at the goodguys southern nationals, with Air suspention. whooo, I need to know more . I need to do this. I gotta have it. what do I need?, All I want is to Lift to drive, period and Drop to the pavement to park............ Nothing else, can you all Help out this ol guy. Pic's of parts, where to Buy?, is it better to shop diffrent places for the parts?, is it cheaper?,, yea yea yea, Im a stiff on spending money.. please teach this ol dog a new suspention

[N2TRUX]

Lets start with telling us what your truck is. Then we can walk you through the basics...
Here are a couple of threads that may get you started in the right direction-
Air Suspension Components?

Air Bag systems ?

Airride tank and comp size??

[tphsmith]

its a 72 chevy 1/2 ton short box fleetside

[N2TRUX]

OK, that helps. Is it a coil spring rear, or leaf spring? That will make a difference in how you do it.

Just to do a quick over view, on the front you will replace your coil springs with an airbag. This will require a bag mounting plate that will bolt over the hole in the spring perch. The top of the bag will mount to the plate, and the bottom will set where the coil spring did in your A-arm.

I'll have to finish this later. In the meantime take a look here-
Air Ride FAQ's

[tphsmith]

coil springs in the rear

[N2TRUX]

OK, I had to stop on the last post, now I can pick it up again. By now you have read enough and looked at enough pics to get a concept of what the front needs.

You will want to start with the basics up front though. If you don't already have dropped spindles, you will need them. Of course now is the time to decide about converting to 5 lug if you haven't already. Check out Classic Performance


The rear on coils spring trucks is something a bit different for me, but I'll try to explain. The bags will go on mounting plates that mount where your coil springs are now. You will need an adjustable panhard rod to get the rear end back in alignment. I'll let the 67-72 guys tell you more about that.

You need valves to control the air. You can get by with 4 valves by hooking the front corners together and the rear corners together. I don't recommened it though. It "will" work, but you "will" get more body roll as the air transfer from side to side when you go around a corner.

I suggest you isolate each corner by using two valves per corner. Air Ride Tech make valve blocks that will do this rather than individual valves.

You will need at least one air tank for storage. A 3 gallon tank is about the smallest you want to use. I have found that two 5 gallon tanks works best, so your compressor doesn't have to cycle every time you air up.

You need at least one gauge with dual needle for a 4 valve system, and two gauges for a 8 valve system. This lets you know how much pressure you have, and tells you where you are at in ride height.

You also need switches to control the valves. The common switch used are rocker switches, so you only need four to control eight valves.

OK, that covers the basics. Try to get an understanding of all this, and we can talk about compressors next time....

[N2TRUX]

I just ran across this in another post. Here's what your truck will look like with bags and nothing else. No spindles, C-notch, or other maens of lowering...

[tphsmith]

well I'm pretty sure I want the york 210 these seem to be a very strong compressor and well I know where to get them for a real deal right now,, I hope the price dont jump up by the time I'm ready to compile all these parts. but the valves, sheesh the valves I'm still stuck on these. So its better to run a manifold with the valves?. Ok still trying to undestand. I would like each wheel independant, so the best controll to help avoid unwanted roll in cornering is to use 8 valves? and manifold??? . I understand that the air will shift from whel to wheel in corners. I got that but if you have a 2 way valve you still need the manifold, or ?. Ok I gotta stop there before I stick to much foot in mouth because I dont know what the heck I'm talking about here. YOU realy are helping. I dont mean to sound ignorant..

[N2TRUX]

Your still doing good. No, you don't need a manifold. You need 2 valves per corner. One to allow air in the bag from the tank, and one to let air out. Some valves are mounted on a block (or manifold) but that isn't required.

The York compressor is the way to go if you want a lot of air in a short period. The are very reliable, and quit too. The down side is, the are large and require brackets that can get complicated. It appears you already understand all that though.

It is more common to run an electric compressor. They are "fairly" cheap (start at $100), and easy to mount. They are noisy though. One of the more popular brands right now is ViAir. They are good compressors, but the are loud. The most common is the Thompson 315 or 317. They will do the job just fine, but none of these will compare to the York in speed.

How are we doing so far...

[Iron-Butt]

I think you did a great job.

[tphsmith]

we are doing great, now All I need to do is learn a little more on the valves, and shop for the best prices. You know this has helped me alot tthanks Nu2Trucks. your alright

[N2TRUX]

Originally posted by tphsmith
.... thanks Nu2Trucks. your alright

I am told I'm not bad for a fat white boy.

Just make sure your shopping for quality as well as price. Some places sell industrial valves that aren't "bubble tight". The last thing you want is a system that leaks.


Speaking of leaks, that reminds me. Make sure that your compressor is wired so it's off when the key is off. If not, and you get a slow leak, when the pressure gets low the pressure switch will turn the compressor on. You don't want to find your truck aired out with a dead battery.

Good luck with your research. Check back in when you have more questions.....