bags (suspension)

[Mike Landwehr]

Being a old school rodder strictly traditional , I know squat about air bag suspensions , got this little beauty on the hook ,4 wheel bags ,mustang II, chopped (poorly,but driveable)new butted windsheild, glass fenders /running boards,new grille ,373 posi,new grille $2000 needs to be put back together and a sbc put back in (came w a core sbc)was running /driving and still has current tags- now, it has no shocks and he says it NEEDS em,too much of the rock n roll thing and not in a good way. -techs? I am guessing the rears would be the same drill as any other just more travel?(longer) what about the fronts? the bags are in the mustang spring pockets, also the rear is way to the outside and a bit forward of the fenderwell centers, not wild about that.restricts trad. wheel choices a bit and i'm not into those billet things.here it is-

[haring]

Jeez, Mike. Reading your post is like dancing through a minefield.

I *think* the question was -- "where do I mount the shocks?"

If so, you can mount the shocks outside of the original location through the front spring. You will need to mount tabs on the a-arms and the frame or shock tower so that the shock either rides in front of or behind the a-arm. On my car, instead of a simple tab, we used a full bar that extends the width of the a-arm. I've seen tabs rip off under stress.

Hope this helps.

[Mike Landwehr]

looking at it,I,d agree
shock mounts F+R is the main question, opinions on wheels rear end mounting (to far forward and to far out)second, the front wheels have a 3" spacer adapter from 4 bolt wheels to 5" bc Which I am not comfortable about.It has goodyear bags and dual electric pumps.The only reason its like it is in the pic is he needed the motor for another project other than that its a driver, bouncy + cold ,but a driver.Figure on tabbing the lower a arm up to the frame figuring max. length and min. length to get a shock lenth figure. not sure how to figure rear length, but prolly the same . the shock angles are another concern,I'm not a frame or suspension guy , I'm startin dumb here.If it becomes an issue I got (or will if I go with the deal) a complete parts truck so I may dump the entire bagged frame and go with traditional rod style -up in the rear down in front,standard suspension or mustang II all be it wider.

[Mike Landwehr]

I could live with the wheels if I could find a way to move the drums out so that Wheel adapter would not be required , those are scary.maybe go to rr bags only,as its already low enough in front now w/o em.

[41ChevyTrucker]

what year? I agree, you have to move that fender forward or shorten the front of the bed or something. And the wheel adapter sounds like a hack. swap the rear end or get some wheels with less backspace.

check out airride tech for how they mount the shocks with their kits. bottom of this web page (http://www.airride.com/productinfo/coolride.asp) shows a stang ifs with tube shock mounts.

[porknbeaner]

The shocks are pretty straight forward. The fronts I would mount just the 70s and '80s Suburbans.
As for rock n roll. You really need each bag on a separate control. If they are on the same line from side to side, then the air will shift from one side to the other when you make a corner, and it takes awhile to even out again.
I guess I don't understand the whole wheel adapter sting. The rearend is too narrow? or just not where you want it.
If it were steel I'd say to move the fender wells. That would look pretty custom. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If the rear is too narrow, why not look for a wheel with a wierd offset. If its too wide, its pretty easy to get wheels with a deep backspace, but they just don't look as cool.

[Mike Landwehr]

The truck is a 46 Chevy,the wheel adapter thing is on the front where the M II is too narrow, and the rr is to wide and too far forward moving the fenders is prob the best idea is to move the fenders forward.I'll check the web site,thanks

[Lomino]

here is a couple of pics of front shocks on a Mustang II front. http://www.killerridez.com/images/37%20truck%2080.JPG

http://www.killerridez.com/images/37%20truck%2064.JPG

This is on a '37 ford truck.....

[subrock]

holy caa caa, that looks expensive. but so right http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[41ChevyTrucker]

oh wierd the front is too narrow? oh well sounds like a good basket case project anyway. it looks like it is channelled or maybe that frame came from something else? if you go back to the stock 41-46 frame one thing you can do is flip the stock front axle so it mounts on top of the springs. there is a guy here in WA who works on old chevy axles and is modifying mine for me. he also shortens them too.

[Mike Landwehr]

He brought over some pics of the truck w some 14x6's on the front ,I think it is livable the way it is , Its the rear thats to wide , that sucks as its the hardest to deasl with , full neg offset wheels on the back are ness. while standard works on the front kind of a weird mix hence the adapters on the front so all 4 look alike,I'll just wait for now and leave it w the ones on it as its only going to my club meetings n back about 12 mi round trips at first,and research and decide later ,maybe move it to pay for the 56 gasser finished and 65 malibu SS getting painted maybe to buy a flathead 6 motor for the 39 Dodge. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif