Tommorw im going to start doing the rear air bag setup in my 49 GMC. And i need to do a frame notch, and fab a new cross member. I want the truck to sit all the way on the ground so i need about a 5-6 in notch. But i was curious to see how some people did the bracing for their setups. And i was also wondering if it is better to have the bags mount on the top of the rear axel or in thje front or rear of it? Can someone help me out here? -Andrew
Here is one on the back of a 50 Chevy truck, if you mount the bags up the links like this one has, you will get more lift and a much softer ride. Bags only give about 6 inches of lift, so if you mount them right over the axle you are only going to get 6 inches of lift.
Heres the one SLAMIT and I did on my 51 Ford, still need to grind down the welds, pretty it up, and plumb it, but you get the idea...
Forgot who, but somewone on this board pointed me to this link. Alot of S10 stuff obviously, but you can definately extract alot for custom applications. http://www.s10forum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=125 try this one too, they have a section for airride suspensions.... http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&f=17
Yeah the S10 Forum has LOTS of pics and info on rear bag set-ups, and most all of it can be applied to your application. droplord49 is right about mounting the bag to the link bars for more lift, but one word of caution:You can't just mount the lower bag mounts to a "normal" size link bar, because that bar now must handle the load weight of the entire car, not just locate the rear as it was meant to do. The bottom line is the first bump you hit you will bend the link bar like a pretzel if it is not designed for it. As his looks, you can use heavy wall(.250") box or round tubing for your link bars, 2x2 square or 1.5" round will be fine. You also don't want your lower links to be crazy long either, as even heavy walled tubing will bend in long lengths. Also if you do decide to mount the bags to the link bars, mount them approx. in the middle of the link bar. Some guys(on minitrucks mostly)will mount the bags close to the pivot to give stupid amounts of lift, but this is not an ideal setup for many reasons. Another good link for airbag stuff is: http://suicidedoors.com/ Jason(the owner) is a real helpful guy, and his prices on many brackets/link bars etc are cheaper then you can build them for, and the quality is top notch. I hope this helps a little-good luck!
right now the truck is fully stock in teh rear. I have a triagulated 4link setup that i wanted to use. So im still not sure the best way to do it. Im thinking the way that i might go now is the way they did it in the second set of pics. That seems to be the best. Now im wondering how much of a nitch i need to do. Cause Droplord said that the first setup listed put the running boards on the ground and all they did was a small C notch.
Thats a 68 Chevy pickup, The stock trailing arms were stepped up in the rear, its a Ford 9" with disc brakes.
Droplord, is that our own set up? Does the upper bar help minimize flex in the lower bar and to reduce effect of axle twist (wrap) on take off ? Glen, I really like the one you show. I have a 4 link with top mount bags (slender style, not coveluted) It gets more lift but does not ride as nice (I have had both) I plan to redo mine next winter and really want to do with a set up like DropLord showed (or Glen). The main reason is you can hardly find space to run full exhaust and no room for a panhard bar
I am redoing my setup this summer/fall I had replaced the front half of my leafs with a bar witht eh bags on it (before axle) I had sat them over to one side a little for tire clearance. prob is that this puts torsion in the arms and twisted them in the rubber mounts giving a ****py ride. I am going to tapered bags this time behind the axle on some modified coilover brackets so that I can adjust my rideheight that way and not through air pressure so that I can maintain a decent ride.
in arizona everyone I know uses AIM industries. they have it all except their fitting last I checked were plastic so a company called hei-tek has that covered If you do decide to cantilever your rear you gotta post pics and show what kinda lift you get. cantilevered trucks are sweet. It is the only way to compete with the juiced crowd. here is aim http://www.truckin.com/ here is hei-tek http://www.heitek.biz/
Don't buy **** from AIM ever. Ever. Ever. Someone mentioned suicidedoors.com. Jason is cool. Check for a local industrial hydraulic store to source DOT compression fittings. Copy Glen's design. Or use sleeves.
AIM is ****, I've purchased a few things from suicide doors and I am very happy with their products and their service.
why put so much work into a two link? you couldve built a tri 4 link just as easily with almost the same parts... you coulve had a better ride rode at multiple heights and gone over bumps with one tire with out the other comming off the ground. also mounting the shocks at that much of an agles makes them almost inefective... but it does look like nice work
oldskool55, I definitely agree on the shock location. However, if you look closely at his setup it is a 4-link(kind of). He has two bars with heims going from the axle to the trailing arms which allow him to set pinion angle and keep the axle from twisting forward. The main reason for the upper bars in a parallel 4-link is to keep the axle from twisting forward or backward. Moreover, just because you have a 2-link doesn't mean the wheels can't move independently of each other (i.e. one wheel stays on the ground while the other one goes over a bump). Sometimes 2-links are quite simple and practical, especially if you have a car with a closed drive line.
Another vote for suicidedoors.com I've ordered multiple peices from Jason. And they are premium!!! When it comes to backhalfing you truck, there are a millions ways to skin this cat. You just have to find one you like, it fits your budget, and it fits your skill level. Then get after it. One of my favorite backhalf setups. 'Vette, to cantilevered shockwaves. http://img.sportruck.com/events/bss04/33.jpg The whole truck http://img.sportruck.com/events/bss04/32.jpg
its the same thing as a ladder bar witch is the same as a two link. with a two link there is no articulation.. this one might be different depending on how the bars ar mounted to the axle. the pinion angle still changes through the arc of the suspension travel. also with the panhard bar that short there would be alot of side to side movement depending on the amout of lift his set up has...
Ah yes, you're right, the pinoin angle does change through the arc of the suspension. When I mentioned the setting of the pinoin angle, I meant at ride height. Those little adjustable bars with heims form a triangle with the trailing arms and the axle, not allowing it to twist forward or backward under acceleration. Adjusting these bars would effectively change the pinion angle(at ride hieght). The way his trailing arms are mounted to his axle would allow him some articulation. If they were mounted directly to the axle with no form of a bushing, then yes there would not be articulation. I agree, in his situation I would have gone with a 4-link, probably a triangulated 4-link, but 2-links can work quite well with a closed drive line.
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