Customs Which bags? 52 Chev

Guys, I have searched a little but I'm not finding what I need.

I was lucky enough to be one of the high bidders on Kustombuilder's recent airbag auction to help out Jason Graham after his fire.

Mike says I have a choice of Air Lift bags and is suggesting Dominator 2600's for the front and sleeve bags for the back.

Not to suggest that I don't trust his advice but I have had very little to do with bags and want to make sure I get the right ones for my application...so a few opinions from those with experience would be appreciated.

The car is a 52 Chev with a front frame graft using a 76 Holden front end which I believe is similar to a Camaro of around that era. It runs a 327, PG and 9" rear.

I don't need to know technicalities about fitting them at this stage, just some advice to ensure I have the right stuff.

Thanks

Pete

 

Wow, Things are moving fast tonight. Any takers?

 

Well if you're putting the 2600's in the front, you'll want something in the rear with a good stroke as well.

I have 2600 in the front of my '54 IHC with an MII front end. Those bags have 9.7" of lift for a max extended height of 12.5". I'm using Dom 2500 out back over the axle. They are identical to the 2600 but minus 2" in stroke and height.

I'm still in the early stages of my build so I cant tell you how they perform but so far so good. You can find all the specs to those bags at gravity-werx.com. Go to Airlift>Dominators>Specs. Good luck!

 

Thanks RatPin. That link will be handy. I searched for specs on the Air Lift site but couldn't find any.

Pete

 

Anyone else have an opinion about this?

 

FYI. the sleeves have a longer stroke than the bellows but the reason i recomend them is simply that sleeves offer a softer ride.

 

Thanks Mike. Only reason I'm asking is every thread I get on, guys seem to be using the bellows type on the rear also.

Obviously you reckon the sleeves are up to the weight of the Chev.

I'm all for a comfy ride in this car so long as I'm not compromising something else to get it.

That Paypal is coming soon, by the way.

Pete

 

Striper,
If you want to talk to somebody in Vic who has probably dealt with holden front ends before, call the guys at DWCustoms - 03 9794 7234. they build some magic bag setups and would know the answers to all your questions.
Brad

 

i've put these same sleeves on several trucks. a 50 Chevy, 40 Ford and a 63 Chevy that was used to pull a small car trailer quite often... i think the load rating is near 2500 [EDIT: i checked and the load is only 1100lbs on the 1S6 sleeve bags.]. i need to confirm that though. get back to ya later today.

 

Thanks for the number. I'm not overly concerned about the fronts to be honest. I have some work to do on that front end anyhow. I need to shorten the control arms while I'm doing this job because the slightly wider track of the Holden drives me crazy. Then again, maybe they supply shortened ones??? I should call.

Thanks. I just want to be sure. Been trawling through the "Gambino Files" tonight trying to get a handle on it. There is sure plenty of info on here as far as notching and 4 links etc. No one seems to state what bags they have used. The pics all show the bellow type though.

 

the bellows will carry more but do you really need it. its just a matter of preferance. we can go any way you like.

 

Sleeve bags on the rear are definately up to the task.
Got kustombuilder's kit on my 50 sedan, and I'm very happy with it.

 

sleeve bags dont get that much travel and regular bags get more travel and ride allot better!! that jusy my 2 cents!!! I have done sleeve bags on a S-10 setup and they dont get much lift and they are pritty stiff no matter what psi you run them at!!! so i would suggest you to run regular bags for better ride and lift...

 

not sure what bags you have been usin but the ones ive always used the sleeves get much more lift and its a widely known and accepted fact that sleeves offer a softer ride when properly installed. ive done more than i can count and done them with both styles. that is my experience any way.

 

yeah ive done quite a few airide systems myself.... and ive used the firestone f9000 in a air ride technologies road greater and air bar and they get no lift both of them were installed on s-10s. and like i said no lift at all and they are stiff. there is no way to install thos the wrong way if the are bolt in!

 

sleeves suck in my opinon, never liked them and agree with CARLOS8A on this one, they dont seem to get as much lift and are stiffer I bought a car with sleeves and didnt like it at all and I've rode in numerous cars & trucks with em...if it was me I'd go air lift dominator 2600's all the way around

 

does'nt mean the design don't suck...

i just looked it up. the 1S6 sleeves from Airlift are 3" compressed height and 10.5" extended giving you 7.5" of stroke. the new Dominators offer the same amount of usable stroke (these new Dominators really are amazing bags).... the sleeves have an 1100lb load rating (much less than i was thinking) but are still more than sufficient for most cars (like i said i've used them on a few trucks with great success).


here is a quote from Kev Elliott right outta the May 2010 Rod and Custom (i'm sure he got his info straight from Air Ride Technologies):
"RideTech offers two types of air springs; double convoluted and rolling sleeve. The former has more load capacity, a shorter stroke and a more progressive spring rate. making it appropriate for front end applications, where the weight of the engine and trans require the increased load capacity. The rolling sleeve design has a longer stroke, more linear spring rate and usually a smaller diameter. The short short stroke of the double convoluted design is'nt a problem, as most front ends mount the spring inboard of the load point, meaning the stroke length is almost doubled at the actual wheel."

don't forget that mechanical advantage up front with the double A-arm suspension. if you mount the rear bags directly over the axle you will only get as much lift as the bag. if you mount them forward on a link bar you take advantage of that lever and can get more lift. the trade off is that you will be putting more stress on the bag as well. this will effect the ride...


not trying to take anything away from your experience guys, just trying to make this a little less confusing for the masses and explain to you what i've learned in my 14 years selling and installing air ride suspensions as well as what i've picked up talking to and hanging out with the R&D and sales guys at Airlift for almost as long.

 

what if you dont want to clip the front. has any one tryed useing a 4 link set up on the stock front axle?

 

i have 2400# on the front of my 52 stock susp.,droped uprights,50 olds trailing arms on the rear,2600# bag on bar. but i also have inline 6 power plant!

 

This sounds about right, and the same as what we used under the 49 merc. We used convoluted style Firestone 2600 up front, Firestone 9000 Series Tapered Sleeve down back (Note: Jag series 2 front, and triangulated 4 link rear).

Cheers,

Drewfus

 

Slam Specialties RE7's.