I would like to put an air ride suspension in a 50s olds coupe to slam it to the ground. the existing a arms will not give me the travel/ drop i want. Does anyone know of a front end conversion that is some what easier?
I would like to do a complete subframe swap on the front end. The stock suspension wont let me go low enough.
why does everyone wanat to" slam" a car to the ground?? in the "old days" we used to heat the front coils,give it a nice rake, and call it a day. i bought my first of many 50 olds for 45 bucks.the one in this pic i paid 500 for and raced it at Long Beach{Lions Darg Strip} every weekend
Hmmmm....Why do you want to put a air ride suspension under it? Like cruzr said, that's ain't how it was done in the old days. Not even on the 50 Olds or 52 Olds I had back when. Everyone thinks they have to have a air ride suspension....Why, got a cushy *** or hemorrhoids? For those that want it lowered to the ground, I would suggest 12" tires. Problem solved. HellRaiser
Check out this site. It’s only on Swedish but lot of pics so you got the idea. http://www.rocket88.se/
Well not to be a jerk Hellraiser or Cruzr ****tt i asked for help not critizism.. This is the 21st century and new technology is available, heating the coils and giving it a "nice rake" would be cool but its not what how i want this car too look. No i dont have hemmerhoids i want the car to sit on the ground when parked and the low rider look figured air bags will do just the trick.. Thanks ORN for the pics!
If you want to do a subframe swap either a 68-72 Cutl*** or Vista Cruiser, or a 78-85 Cutl*** 'G' body are good options. I am using a 72 Cutl*** on my 50, because I am going to run a big block, and wanted to use headers. It came with power disc brakes and power steering, so should be an inexpensive way to get all the upgrades. The 68-72 is 2 inches wider, the G body 1.5 inches.
I used mid 70's cutless springs on my olds. Dropped it about 3" with a good ride. But then I didn't want it slammed on the ground, just lowered with a good ride.
A friend of mine lowered the front of mine for me while I was in Iraq... Pretty awesome present to come home too! He used 55 Chevy springs up front I believe, and 4" blocks out back. In my opinion the stance it has is perfect, wouldnt change it a bit. There is some stuff that looks good bagged, but I just dont think alot of the 50's cars look right that low. Just my $0.02
I'm guessing it may be similar to the 50 pontiac? If you can get drop uprights for the olds it'll get alot lower. Without them this 50 Pontiac we are doing didn't sit to the customers liking. Here's some pics for you so you can see how it sits without doing a clip, It's 4 linkd, dropd spindles,lays frame. o by the way we got the uprights from Fatman. hope that helps.
As an Olds owner, I have asked the same question and done a bunch of research, probably the best examples of airbags on an Olds suspension (for me) are the following: this post shows how to set up the front knee action style suspension (similar to Olds) with airbags, the rear is a bit different than olds but you gt the point: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=324865&showall=1 this one does both front and rear setup, the front end is swapped out with a g-body front clip http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334849&showall=1 complete 1953 Olds airbag set up (similar suspension to 50) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229851&showall=1 If you want it to lay on the ground you need dropped spindles and a step notch in the rear. Unfortunately there are no easy conversions for Olds like other brands (Chevy, Ford). Good luck, I am still working on getting mine bagged, I am taking it in steps, I step notched the rear end already, have all the bag suspension/components, but am waiting for the winter to do the install, but for now its low enough to cruise.
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