Hi guys, I'm planning to put my 63 Rivi on bags soon and wondering what products people are happy with and what the options are for a good quality setup?
go with Air Lift products, they are the best out there..PM me with any questions you have I'll be happy to answer them
Contact kustombuilder (mike) here on the HAMB, he's been the go to guy for this stuff here for 8 years. He supports the HAMB, so support him.
slam specialties bags are #1, parker valves, viair compressors, & make sure all the fittings are DOT hit up AVS in fresno they ship out everywhere & have any air ride part you can think of... www.airbagparts.com i been messin with air ride setups for the last 13 years.. iv learned the hard & expensive way what works & what don't
they are about the same price as everyone else for things like slam specialties and parker.. but you pay for what you get i guess... i dont really care what it cost me long as i know im not gonna be stuck someplace cause of cheep parts. i been dealin with avs since before they were avs... always been good to me far as price goes
Just make sure you use good fitting - br*** "push" fittings are great and reliable. Plastic ones WILL break, just a matter of time ! Also make sure you have clearance around your bags when aired up and layed out, ****s to pop a bag just because you didn't trim enough. Liquid thread tape, not tape on a roll seals better. Good luck
What was the problem with the air ride system oddrodgarage? And thanks everyone. All this helps. I want a good reliable setup.
Where is Kustombuilder? After my own thread on this topic, I am convinced that he is the way to go. I PM'd him two weeks ago about a system have heard nothing.... Hope he is OK. Probably just busy. JH
I got a PM from him about a week ago, I think he's busy painting show cars for GM or something, hit him up again.
Thanks Zman. I'll give him a few weeks & hit him up again. For PRDDETROIT: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354112 JH
I don't know how much you want to drop your Riv. I dropped my Riviera 3" with Jamco springs for under $400. Rides fine. Just a little stiffer. And it wasn't hard to drop. You can do it in a half a day.
I used air lift products from Kustombuilder on my old riv. It has several thousand miles on it now without any issues. Installed it myself w/ pretty basic tools in one weekend. Computer controlled w/ shockwave type bags on front. Lots of build pics and info on the build here... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293538
Great intel guys. Thanks a million. I thought about the Jamco but I know a guy here in L.A. that has it and because of L.A. drainage route in a lot of road and steep driveways and little SUPPRISES on the freeways out here i want be able to adjust it up or down. Plus I wanna slam it when i park it. And thanks DirtyDan. I have your install saved on my computer from when I first joined. That car looks *****in! Also I got my H.A.M.B firewall badge today in the mail. Thanks Ryan Thanks again everyone
slam specialties bags are the best!!!.......made in fresno, ca, too, and they stand behind their stuff........compressors.......viair is hard to beat....and parker or gc valves.....
Mine was done years before I bought it; it was a hack job and has been repaired, still isn't really right, but is functional. If you want low, bags are the way to go.
i vote nothing electronic, no shockwaves unless you drive like a grandpa... if you drive laid or lifted they WILL blow, and air ride tecch will NOT replace them under warranty slam bags, smc valves, parker fittings, viar or engine driven compressor, good check valves, water traps, make a valve to drain the tank (s) remotely so you dont have to take them out, run hydraulic hose instead of DOT and all that cheaper stuff. loc***e red all the fittings... no leaks, no issues.. ps - carling switches only, worth the few extra bucks, cheap ones stick in time
In my experience build a kit that you can repair your self if need be and love!!! I had mine done and they threw everything together. Since i have no time to do a bag job on my ride because i work out of the country... i had them done here in san diego to save me the headache and my wife from getting mad at me for spending ample time on my car. They work fine but the air line installation was poorly mapped out but the fabrication was great in some areas. I started out with slam bags in the front but the right one ended up popping because of the lack of attention to detail when it came to cleaning the frame opening. Now I am running firestones all the way around not by choice. so I came back in to the USA for surgery and I noticed my **** was leaking and my car would be on the ground the next morning... I was checking my lines and I started to look at the work that they did... I started seeing lines rubbing on the frame and **** all over the place. (make sure air line cuts are level because they will seal far better).Now i have to go in there and run all the lines inside and make the set up look clean. I went with 1/2''line, 2 viair compressors, one 10 gallon tank, 2 switches f/b only, w/all br*** DOT push fittings. The air bag plates that are welded on to mount the bags can be bought anywhere even in the sites mentioned above and all you have to do is go down to the metal shop and buy some 1/4 4'' dia pipe to make the cups. (if your joints and bushings **** change them while you have the car apart I got lucky my stuff was nice) you fabricate a threaded mounting rod to mount them like your shocks did and you bolt the **** on and make the hole big enough to allow no friction to the line. i used a grommet to make it look clean and give it that extra protection. if you want to make it look good and protect your lines take your time. the guys who built the black one above has a lot of good pictures on his job! The riviera comes with an extra rod that comes from the frame to the lower a-arm below the sway bar, you can mount a shock mount there for that stiffness. Trust me you want to install them. Now it does take some work to get air but I paid 4500 for a job I could of done for 2500 with the best parts and built the system that would of gave the warm and fuzzy's every time i'd hit the switches. I would leave the bump stops in because you never know when you might have a loss in air pressure or a snagged line and you need to ride home going 40MPH because your **** is bouncing all over the place. I am doing the clean up and re routing lines as I speak. I will post pictures ASAP! good luck other than that rivis ride good on air.
I would love too for the time being but, I have a steep hump entering my garage so any fixed system and I'll tear the bottom out of it. But, Its developed a slight rod knock so I have to do the motor first.
Thank for the bag advice. If I had the tools and space, I would do it myself But, Everything I need to do that is back in Detroit with my old man. And my garage is tiny as hell. haha Unfortunately I'm forced to do the motor first. It developed a slight rod knock. I'm lookin for a good nailhead guy around the LA area if you know of one for a complete rebuild. Also, Whats your exhaust setup? I want to have mine redone following the frame and also get rid of the big drum muffler. I was thinking about going with the GS style muffler. Whats your setup and any recommendations?
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