Projects air bagging a 50 shoebox need help..

hey guys new to the site. like it alot hope to meet alot of ppl.

so i got a 50 shoebox. i got my 50 on drop spindles and smaller coils and in the rears i got 3'' spacers. sits nice but i want to air bag.... so my question is can i air bag on the stock suspenstion or do i need to drop in a front clip. the front end is re-bilt and i got a 302 c4 combo in it. so realy dont want to put a front clip in. so just want to now if any1 has done this or does everyone drop in a front clip to air bag. thanks in advance...

WILL.....

 

I've seen the jamco ball joint conversion for the shoebox frontend, they also have bag mounts for that frontend as well. I'm not sure about air riding the front stock suspension. Someone will pipe up!

 

yes you can bag the front on stock suspension. the rear i dont know i had a 4 link put in!

 

I would do a search on here for it. I could have sworn I saw a few shoebox Fords with air ride on stock front suspension. Call up Jamco and ask, they sell top notch suspension parts and are pretty knowledgeable.

 

You can bag the front with stock suspension I did with no worries at all.the rear is a different story. What you do to the back is dependent on how low you want to go. The lower you go the more mods you will have to do to the frame like C notch,4 link etc .Putting in a tunnel on the floor is another concern if you want to go real low.I like bags but they must be done right by someone who knows how to weld,knows pinion angle and geometry. And don't let the bags rub on ANYTHING

 

You're in SFV? Not too far from Gambino's Customs in San Jose.

Yeah, I know it sounds like a long way to you but Alex has customers worldwide that would LOVE to be as close as you are!

 

a 6 hour drive from us yo! maybe more with traffic.

 

Hombres Ruin said it all!

 

well thanksfor your ideas... am call jamco and see what they got..... thanks again...

 

I bagged my wife's '50. The tricky part, up front, is relocating the front shocks. I kept the stock inner wells and with a set of tall Firestone 670-15 Bias plys I had about 4" of air underneath my frame just before my tires would have touched, if I hadn't installed stops. The frame and rear crossmember were notched and the car was tunnelled. Rest of floors were untouched. Jamco did my A arms and I had dropped spindles.

 

Check out the Jimenez Bros. trailing arm kit..just got one for a friends shoebox and it looks pretty good, got one for a merc too. Gonna do the Jamco arms with Granada spindles and brakes in the front with bags.

 

My god that is an amazing shoebox, perfect chop and color... And the stance is right on-the money

 

sounds good.... and ya thats a clean shoebox....... anyone got some pics. of the work they did to bag there shoebox.....

 

I bagged mine with the dropped uprights/stock suspension...wouldnt ever do it again its a handful on the highway I would only recommend ride low at low speeds..If I did it over again I would just do the rear and leave the front with dropped uprights and cut coils...I dont think that knee action **** should operate that low...I would clip it,theyre cheap and youll have front disc...I bought my taildragger kit and got hosed on shipping so becareful who you buy from.



if you must bag the stock front you make sure you reforce everthing you take out.








PS how ever gave this thread one star is an ***hole.

 

Yes you can bag the stock front suspension. Many others have as well as i have done many but i am not a fan of it or any bagged MII set up. If you want to add bags and really improve on the handling you can do that with my ball jointed stock arms or by adding a S10 clip. For the rear you will need a 2, 3 or 4 link setup and the frame C or U notch. I personally do not like 4 links as they require the rear seat floor pan to be highly modified. I personally like a 2 link setup for 2 reasons. They do not usally require the rear seat floor pans to be modified and they are stronger as they have 2 pivot points that are usally much larger and stronger than the ones used on most 4 links.

 

thanks guys good info..... keep it coming... thanks THR1LL3R ugot pics on the rear and how u set it up. and how does it handel when the bags are all the way up. or does it just handel bad all the time. by the way nice shoebox and it sits nice thats how i want mine to sit. what motor are u running in there. and were did u mount yr compresser for the baggs. just trying to get an idea for mine am thinking in the trunk corner. just trying to get ideas cause tax season is coming up and want to take this project on with the tax money...haha lol... all post a pic of my car later this weekend... thanks again everone for yr ideas and info....hey one more thing THR1LL3R did u relocate the front shocks or no shocks i dont see them on the pics....

WILL...

 

I bagged my '49 years ago with the stock suspension (dropped uprights in front).
Ive got to agree with THR1LL3R and EXK...the car isnt fun to drive with the bagged stock front suspension.
It wanders at highway speeds so you are constently having to correct...could be the steering box, or that the "knee action" suspension doesnt work well at a lower ride height (it does wander less with more air in the bags) or it may be a combination of things. I may go back to coils up front...
Front shocks were a pain, I ended up using front shocks from a Chrysler Cordoba (no dust shield on top) mounted upside down to clear the brake calipers at full lock.
In the rear Ive got 2 main leafs per side and 3" blocks plus I moved the leaf spring mounts up in the frame and shortened the shackles to get it as low as I wanted.
Im now thinking that those leafs dont have much life left in them, so the plan is to switch to Chevy Pickup control arms (2 link) before something breaks.
Part of me is so "over" the whole air bagged/slammed suspension thing, but then I start thinking of how much I like the way the car sits...decisions, decisions...

 

I did the Volvo box at the same time I bagged and the car rides and steers beautifully. Do yourself a favor and run Slam Specialty bags. I mounted 2 Viair 480's in the trunk but one is probably sufficient with a larger tank. I also hardlined using 304, .035 wall SS and used SMC valves and dixon and Swagelok fittings. DOT plastic tubing with push in fittings is more than sufficient. Just make sure your cuts are straight and clean and the tubing is pushed into the fittings all the way. good luck

 

any pics tommy's cycle ......

 

Hey Tommy's Cycle did you have the stock A-arms modified to ball joints ?

If so are you sure they were done by Jamco or by me.

Your shoebox look's real familiar. Could it be one that was chopped in my dads back yard in HB many years ago ?

 

If interested i have rebuilt manual 140 Volvo box And adapters in stock as well as heavy duty tie rod kits.

 

nice front disc brakes thriller

 

Does any one have pics of where they mounted they're front shocks? the 54 ford coupe I'm buying is half done and I need to know where to put the mounts, thanks

 

you can go with bags and cups in the front and notch over the axel brackets blocks and bags in the rear or a whole gambino tail dragger ( trianglated 4 bar notch over the axel brackets and bags )
call me 408 561 5744

 

We just got through putting an S10 frame clip on a '50 Shoebox frame (customer's choice). It worked out pretty well, and will lay frame with 2" drop spindles, else, it is 1" off the floor. Sorry for the ****py cell phone pics:

 

Yep, you guys did the chop. Jamco did the A arms.

 

Not to hijack but I have a thought on your wandering issue, you said your shocks are mounted upside down? is the front end really bouncy and thats why it wanders? If im not mistaken, with the shocks upside down the rebound wont work correctly because the oil in the shocks is not going through the internal valveing correctly. This is true for gas shocks as well from what I have been told. I got my info from a shock rep when I was a counter guy for carquest years ago. Just a thought and if anyone knows for sure please chime in!!

 

I though that chop profile looked to have an erickson style to it.

If interested i can make ball jointed stock a-arms as i still have my fixture. I can also make the complete bag kit including the upper shock mounts as i still have those old patters as well. It's been awhile since i have made this style of A-arms and can not find any pics easily of them being installed but the last pic is of the last set i made. They use the 1st gen camaro spindle and brakes just like my merc ball jointed A-arms do. I also make a 2 link rear air suspension kit that does not require you to cut up the rear seat pans or driveshaft tunnel un**** a 4 bar.

I know the word S-10 in not cool to use on here but IMHO if they are installed correctly with bags and are in good condition you will not find a better driving front suspension no matter how much money you are willing to spend.

 

I was concerned about this also. I talked to a few counter people before I did the installation and was told that standard shock valving wasnt far enough off between compression and rebound to matter.
Good info or bad, I dont know, but the front suspension is nice and firm with 7" diameter bags @ 60 psi, no noticeable bounce.
I may be the exception to the rule, but Ive had no noticeable problems with my upside down shocks for the past 11 years.
I, too, would like to hear others input about shock orientation, but would probably have to start a new thread.

 

I just finished my front...I used bags from ridetech and dropped uprights and disk brake kit from Fat Man fabrications. My biggest issue was shock placement. The weld-on towers they (ridetech) provided would not fit... They wanted you to place them behind the A-arm but there was no way it was gonna fit. I ended putting small notches in the frame and making simple shock towers by cutting pipe in half. I have plenty of clearance now... I bought 2.5" bumpstops from Summit Racing for $15 and they worked great. I was careful to make sure the lower arm hit the bump stop before the shock bottomed out. It took a little time to figure this one out.. I would be happy to get you measurements if you like. I haven't lowered the back yet and I'm probably 3/4" from laying frame in the front. This is my first experience with air-ride, so plese do your research.... I hope this helps...