Hey all, gonna post up some pics of the 'Bird going down low. I had done a Falcon back in '08, and learned a lot on that install. Being that you don't see many '55-57's dropped on air, had to go for it. I wanted to conserve trunk space, the car goes on the road now and then and the trunk is small as it is. 2nd, wanted to keep the compressor as quiet as possible, being the trunk is open to the p***enger compartment. The AMK compressor is pretty quiet and has some good isolation mounts. To maintain trunk space, I stayed w/ 3 gallon tank, that allowed for mounting it under the trunk alongside the fuel tank. Also tucked the solenoid and compressor set up in the RH well of the trunk. Then I had Rich the muffler man out n Wylie run a clean set of new pipes front to back that tucked neatly up in the car. Check out the progress pics..
The car rides great. The rear is much better centered and does not sway like it did on the leafs. Stays nice and planted. Took a few pics out at the Texas Motor Speedway in October. And one shot for the "Before" on hubcaps ...
Very nice install! Space is tight, but you definitely made smart use of it. Very positive change, coming from a fellow '56 owner. I don't want to hijack your thread, but xould you PM me about your rear bumper treatment? Todd Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Thanks a lot Todd, glad you like it. I will PM you about it. It's a 55 bumper and one of the coolest things about it you can't see, the old Ford sticker.. and part number. Here's a bit of before and after on the bumper. I have all the OE stuff, there is t******* of the valence and welding up the slots, but my shop did a great job. Used stock '55 brackets. I elected to run the new exhaust tips down low but tucked up almost invisible, vs. the OE '55 routing. I left the mounting for the continental kit stock, the holes, captured nuts, etc. If someone wants to reverse it someday... I have the trimmed pieces and all the parts. For the license plate, used a piece of rectangular aluminum tubing as a spacer. Thanks, Veach!
In your first batch of photos it still has the leaf springs; did you do bags & leafs? The bird looks absolutely first rate. Steve
Thanks for the compliment! I should clarify. Yes bags and leafs. Leafs are there, plus the RideTech Shockwave air spring. It had 4 leafs stock, pulled out 2, the 2 shortest leafs. The Shockwaves mount basically where the stock shocks did. Since the Thunderbird is a full frame car and it has a stout crossmember at the top shock mount, it serves to carry load. The Shockwave, pic below, is an airsring w/ a shock damper all in one unit. Mounts like a coil over, and has adjustable damping settings. In this set up, when the car is aired up to drive, the leaves don't do much except locate the axle. When aired out, the leaves carry the full weight of the rear but it's only doing so in a static parked mode. This arrangement, since the Shockwaves are canted inward, seems to really center the axle nicely and take out the rear body sway that was there before.
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