Now I'll start this out by saying I'm not trying to start a chassis war or divide the HAMB'er nation... so put your air guns back on the tool boxes, disconnect the air line, and step away slowly..., and give me, and probably some other guys out there wondering the where "traditional" line in the sand is, if there is even such a thing (and whether your use of bags is tied to tradition or just your preference). I've got a guy at work that hangs with custom truck guys (slammers), and he keeps dropping hints that he and his buddies could "bag" my '39. Being a drag car builder for so many years my mindset has always been to keep the accessories and vehicle weight to the minimum. Eventually I took what I feel is the traditional route and lowered the'39 via spring height and rate reduction. Yeah I can't adjust it from an asphalt dragger to speed bump jumper on the fly, but then again I also don't have a trunk full of pump and air tank. In the end though, I guess I'm not really building my car to suit any click, club, or show requirements, but for myself and possible future buyers with like minds. But to me this air bag thing just rings back to the ol' hydro days (is this part of the evolution?).
I dunno but i had air bags on my 51 ford and ahve them on my 47 buick and whether they are traditional or not i think they are fun! people like to watch and i think a car laying frame just looks awesome.
Now I'm no expert so I'm sure someone will correct my mistakes. For a true traditional system it would have to consist of WWII air craft hydraulics. That is what they used back in the day and then it eventually changed to air. Big bucks to go true traditional but definetly a neat set-up.
Ive got a full set of four way bags waiting to go in my Caddy. Over here in OZ we drive a long long way to get to car shows and i want the look but retain that 1960 Caddy ride..Go the bags!!!!
Run 'em if you want 'em. The pump and tank can be kept very small and you will still have plenty of trunk space. They will be invisible on a '39, and the ride will be improved greatly. Good luck...
I think the traditional police have been slacking around here lately, just enjoy your car traditional or not.
Hydraulic systems on cars as a custom didn't come about until 1959 with Ron Aguirre's X-Sonic Corvette. Air bag suspension was experimented with in the late 30's and implemented in factory vehicles beginning with Cadillac in late 1957,and magazines were putting out tech articles on how to modify your ride for air suspension setups in 1958:
Every one of these set ups were Air Helper Systems, All ran Air Inside a Spring . NONE of them were the Body Dragging Up & Down Systems People think are so Cool today. Why do you Air Bag Guys always go back to This when the "Traditional" Question is asked ??? If you like Bags, Its YOUR car and you will do as you Please. I think Chopping up your Frame, Removing your Suspension & replacing it with Air Bags is Lunacy. I cant stand it when someone pulls in a show and has to show everyone they have bags by Creeping in real low & then "PSSSSHHHHT" lift it to go over a crack in the pavement "PSSHHT-PSSHHT" drop it back down. Just Fucking Annoying ..
I alway's heard of double bagging it, if you just meet the women for a one night stand, if that helps?
you don't even need a comp some of the lowriders and minitruckers use a nitrogen tank setup for speed
Mayflower had bags on their trailers in the late '50s that I know of. So if you are haluing furnature coast to coast then they are traditional as hell. Who really cares trad is a pretty broad term these days. Just build it the way you want and let the chips fall where they may. With all the '70s crap being called trad these days I can't imagine that anyone could bithc about how you build one anyway.
I've only been here a short time compared to most. but I've noticed that the "traditional" vrs "non-traditional" is a loose definition at best. there are HAMB cars i've seen on here built with only parts that were ORIGINALLY PRODUCED in the 50's or later. but not many. it has been said in this post that the only air systems were WWII hydro's or that they were in a spring... OK.. I'm no expert i'll believe that.. it is also true that you would not have used japanese or chinese bolts, nuts, fasteners, shocks, fuel line, glass ect... where do you draw the line? do the parts have to be made by the same original manufacturer that has been out of buisiness for 50 years? or are you allowed to substitute parts that are made today, possibly better with more features. then there is the theory, well the air bag systems were experimental. heck alot of the stuff hot rodders did then and today is experimental. it is not stock that is the whole point. so do you go with truely authentic traditional (only parts manufactured before 64) , or traditional in spirit with newly produced parts? are you building a hot rod, or restoring a vintage hot rod, I find irony in the guys that say that a restoration is not there cup of tea, but spend months watching ebay to find a vintage NOS hot rod intake manifold for a flat head 8 and then spend a ton of cash on it..... funny that is what restoration guys do...... I guess it all depends on who you are building your car for,, yourself, or to garner attention and acceptance from others? build it for yourself, build it to be kool, build it to get the girl, build it to make friends, build it to show off how much money you have, build it for the love of working on cars, it doesn't matter why at the end of the day just that you built it yourself. that is what seems to make these posts so emotional. if a group says air bags are the coolest, and another guy doesn't have them,,, well then his car isn't in the cool group anymore,, if another group says that they are not cool then bagged cars aren't in the cool group anymore. myself, i never hung out in the kool group in High School, didn't much care what there opinion was, and don't do it now.... if you want an answer to a question like this the real place to go is all of the hotrod magazines that make there living off of deciding what is kool at the moment and what is not. every couple of years change your car to fit the mold. myself (and a ton of others here) we will build them for ourselves and like it or not i'll drive the hell out of it. I'm not planning on chopping the top on my car either.... I like it just the way it is and there were tons of hot rods back in the day with stock tops on them...... but I love the looks of a properly chopped top!!! my 53 I plan to lower with Jamco lowering shocks in the front, and blocks in the rear. because it will fit the look i'm going for, but i'm only droppin it 2 or 3 inches. but i still can appreciate the bagged cars too..... just like my 5 year old LOVES flame thrower exhaust. he saw a set at a car show and was wowed....LOL.... I could care less about them,, but he thinks it's the koolest..... now HIS opinion I care about..... Question = are airbags traditional? Answer = who cares?
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