I recently picked up a 54 truck. It's got a 70's Camaro front clip and air bags front and rear. When it's aired out it'll lay frame - which is not important to me. I'm not sure on what brand of air system or if its pieced together. The air system has been giving me problems with major leaks and I have to run the compressor just to keep the system aired while I drive. I haven't been able to crawl under the car yet because of the rainy weather we have been having (no garage). I am uninitiated when it comes to air bags and I know it's probably easy to fix the leak. But, all this has me concerned about the safety issues of running air bags. I would hate to lay frame while on the freeway. I know air bags are a cool thing for alot of guys on the HAMB so I'm hoping I won't get flamed for this question. Once the front spring pockets are cut for air bags can you switch it back to the stock springs? Any advice is greatly appreciated. aloha, rustfarmer
Check out this thread for ideas on tracking down and preventing leaks: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139046 I'd imagine you'll have to assess the spring pockets to see if/how much they've been modified to determine if you can put springs back in. You can always replace the pockets if you need. Bryan
Will you consider selling the system? Having the same front clip and researching air bags for the past 3 months or so, it really depends if anything was cut and re-bracketed and how close that new bracket is to the stock config. PM me and I can take pics of mine since airbags on mine has not been installed yet to use for your reference if need be. Chevnut~Al
Loads of guys run bags without problems. I think it may be easier to fix the bag set-up than to switch back to springs. Check it out and see what the real problem is, fix that and live with the bags for a while. If you don't like 'em you can swtich back but you may really find them to be OK once they headaches are gone. I'm sure someone here has done the de-conversion from bags. Stay tuned & don't touch that dial!
I'd think 70's camaro A-arms would be easy to find at the junk yard... at least around here they would be. as for laying frame on the freeway, if you fix the leaks and decide to keep this system I would recommend some sort of rubber bumpers on the suspension to stop the car from bottoming the frame in the event of an airbag failure
This has me thinking (explains the smoke)...there has to be some way to keep things above the scrub-line while driving that would be removeable to allow full travel when parked. Has anyone done this? Bryan
"This has me thinking (explains the smoke)...there has to be some way to keep things above the scrub-line while driving that would be removeable to allow full travel when parked. Has anyone done this? Bryan" Hey Bryan, I also been worried about this too ( that would really suck!!) What Im doin is drilling and taping a hole on the inside of the notch so I will be able to thread in a long truck style bumpstop by hand before taking off(kind with the thread on the end) , then when I get there pop the truck unscrew them and lay her out
51chevysled,chevnut,oldcarmike,49ratfink, Thanks for the comments. I think oldcarmike has a good point to find out what the real problem is and give the air bags some time to see if I really like them or not. I do tend to like things that are less prone to giving out. I just switched the truck from shaved handles and solenoids to door handles. The solenoids weren't working properly so I removed them. So yeah, maybe I need to be a little more open minded with the air bags. But, like 51chevysled mentioned having something that would keep it from dumping below the scrubline would give me peace of mind. I would still like the option of switching to the stock springs though. Anyone switched back from air bags? I'd be interested to hear your comments. Thanks again guys!!!! aloha, rustfarmer
Good idea Phil...I might be stealing that one from ya. What about the front? I know that's gonna be on your mind soon.... Bryan
they make a bump stip that is about 3/4"-1" thick that has a threaded rod that you could mount on the lower control arm where it would hold up the vehicle by hitting the frame if you lost air pressure and it would be easy to remove just like on the rear. you would probablly want to either weld a nut to the arm or just add a nut and carry a trusty wrench. washers could be added to add extra height if needed also. hope this helps.
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