Hi all, great to see the interest on the HAMB regarding our straight axle airride set up. We have been working on it for the last 2 years and debuted it at the NSRA Nats where we came home with the best new product of the year. Anyhow, just wanted to let you guys know that I would be happy to help anyone out with installation ideas are tech info. The crossmember is pretty different from a stock or A-style aftermarket one due to the need for bag clearance and swingarm set up. The spring is replaced with 2 swingarms that pivot near the center with the bags located outboard as far as possible. The bags have a combined weight rating of 1600 lbs, which is plenty for the sprung weight of a early car or truck. Ride height adjustment is over 5 1/2" with the bag height engineered into the crossmember for optimal bag extension at ride height. We are currently finishing a second airride set up for 37-40 Fords. Should be done in the next month and it will have heavier bags to take the extra weight of the fat fendered cars. Let me know if you have any questions... Regards-WORM
Hey Tman, we have been swamped..Just finished new truck axles and have been selling like gang busters. Then this airride deal took off and put me behind. I lurk every other nite or so, but don't get much time to post. Just finished up a tech article which took me the better part of 2 weeks of photos, layout ...etc. Thought it would be no big deal, but it kicked my*****. Doesnt help I'm a pecker when it comes to typing. Regards-WORM
So your saying that the bags are not acctualy mounted to the axel but to a lever of sorts that pivots in the center and attaches with a shackel out at the stock spring mounting location? That would cure my concern of instability in corners. I guess I did not look at the pic close enough.
Exactly, the set up looks like a traditional front end when the bags are down. The swingarms are machined to look like the end of a leaf spring. Someone would have to look for the two center bolts on the crossmember or see the front end up....let me know if you have any questions-WORM
hey that looks pretty cool! i don't know about your switch mounting location though. must be made for trailer queens?
THAT'S a very cool design dude. No wonder you won the award. Lookin' at it makes me wish I need one, just so I could see it in action. lol
Doesn't look like a spring, sort of a locator arm. At a quick glance you would mistake it for a spring. Cool idea. Let's see, The SBC is 50 years old and a lot of folks here don't consider it traditional, so I'm guessing about 2060 this thing should be making it's mark in the TRADITIONAL hot rod field.
Im thinkin what Im seein is a 48 ford style setup right?Is it available for a 32-34 and if so where is the radiator bolted on that application- to a welded nut on top of crossmember above bag mount? Also why is the crossmember "taller/thicker" at the front view-is it to conceal componentry I am not seeing? How much does it lower the car if it HAD a dropped axle and spring and then was switched to your set up?
32 Style uses a stud on top of crossmember, 33-34 style uses a mount in front of crossmember. Yes it is a little thicker??? to conceal the bags. At first glance it looks an awful lot like a 32-34 crossmember when mounted in the car. With the car at "normal ride height" as in most straight axle cars, you get a full 2 3/4" drop or use of the shock. The real benfit to the whole system is that the car has that much ride travel....85-90% of straight axle cars are built inproper with only 1-1 1/2" of down travel. Most guys think straight axle cars ride rough, when in reality they are feeling the shock bottom out from a poorly designed front suspension...made that way to sit low. We spent almost two years doing CAD designs to get the best ride (ie ride travel) we could get. The other benefit from our design is that the bags were not just thrown into a crossmember. We started with the bag compressed at ride height, and built the crossmember and swingarms around them. Sorry for rambling...just wanted to give alittle more info. Regards-WORM
'Nuther question-- what is that axle? Looks kind of neat. And yet another one--- what are your honest feelings about using that setup in a relatively heavy '40 (no hood, aluminum radiator, BUT with a very heavy blown 394 Olds and Hydro*******), launching the front off the ground by two feet and coming back down???
You need to scroll around on the site tagged at the bottom of Worm's responses. That's their CNC SS axle, another Best Product of the Year. http://www.cenpen.com/axles.htm
Axle is our Precision machined axle.... We are currently working on a 37-40 front end that will have heavier bags in it.....I would say that one would be the one you are looking for-WORM
Cool, I look forward to it. What would you say the overall total weight savings would be with this setup from stock?
Just revisiting this a bit. Worm, if you are looking at this topic, could you tell us if a panhard or lateral locating bar is still recommended with this setup? Also-- the locating bars/springs in the photo of the kit components looks flat, more like a strap, but the bars in the photo of the installed kit on the suspension look very thick. What am I looking at?
Panhard bars always will tighten up a straight axle front, so yes for better handling, I would use one-Regards, WORM
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