O.k. so I was talking to someone the other day who has an original custom from the 60's. Instead of using bags, he had air shocks set up in the rear. He had two levers up near the dash to lower the vehicle, and a gauge that showed how much air pressure was in the shocks. He told me that this is how many people did it in the 60's. I would really like to set up a similar system, but i'm trying to figure out the setup. Any 60's customs builders want to help here?
The air lines was the week point for that set up in the sixties it was prone to leaks. They weren't designed for up and down usage. Compared to air springs (bags) which are designed for heavier lifting capacity.
Air shocks are just shocks, they were not designed to take all the static weight of a car; springs or coils were designed specifically for that. It was a common thing though to use air shocks on the rear to jack it up. If going down that road I would use purpose built air springs designed for that and also use separate shocks. Be mindful though that shocks when properly installed are at 2/3 stroke and extend and compress only so far.
We lowered my dads 49 merc with lowering blocks in back and blocks in front under a arms set on ground pretty good and then put air shocks on the back with portable air compressor in trunk to lift as needed. But stayed on the ground most of the time except when you didn't want to drag going into driveways or uneven places.He said that's how we used to do it....SON lol we didn't have airbags .......
Air shocks used as a helper used to work. But I remember seeing air shocks punching holes in trunks and ripping shock mounts off in my old junkyard days when asked to do too much. Most mounts were only designed for shocks.
I use em for lift when needed, carrying extra people or luggage they add alil extra help but thats about it.
My buddy has a '59 Buick, which is lowered. He uses air shocks if he has passengers or loaded for a vacation. Also useful for getting into steep driveways. He installed a cigarette lighter socket in the truck and has a compressor.
do a search there was a big thread on this subject. the guy ended up doing it and loved it if i recall.
Back in the 70's I think every Mustang, Nova, and Dart around had a set of Hyjackers on them. I had 'em too and they lasted for along time as long as if you had a leak you fixed them right away. If driven flat or over inflated it would ruin them. Most of the line problems came from poor routing and hot tailpipes melting them. I had a '37 Chevy with them on it and used them to adjust the height when loaded for a road trip or when pullin' my trailer with it. I'd use them again especially with a control on the dash and with them mounted so they are extended to run at the right amount of shock travel.
Here's an example Late model 2001 or so Buick lesaber with air ride. The springs are so soft they barely hold the car at ride height. Just a couple hundred lbs will squat the ass end. So the springs are pretty well balanced and in a neutral state. The air shocks provide substantial support and adjustability to the system. However that system doesn't support the entire weight of the vehicle, only the extra weight.
you can buy a brass fitting that will allow you to run dot 1/4 air line, you will need to set up the suspension so that when the air is all the way out it doesn't sit or ride on the shock, if it goes too low it will tear the "bag" that's inside the shock
Air shocks, as said before are not rated to hold the entire load, just help. They are also not designed to have 0 pressure in them as the bellows may pinch. These are not even the biggest problems. The bellow doesn't have vary much lifting power as most of the internal space is taken by the shock it self. So even if its 3" dia, its really only around a 2" dia air spring. Most customs need an 6", 7", or even 8" air spring to ride as good or better than stock and lift the car with a reasonable amount of air volume and pressure. One other concern is, lets say you need 150PSI to lift your car to the min ride height. Well with that 150PSI at a stand still, you can go well over 250PSI in a corner if you hit a pot hole for a split second. Air shocks will not stand up to much of this kind of abuse. I would bet over 90% of the guys that used air shocks "back in the day" would have loved to have real air springs, electric over air valves, 12 volt compressors, ect, ect. Point being, they used what they had available, but its not really the correct way to do it
i use a nice set of gabriels w a rancho on demand setup on the back of my wagon.had it for close to 2 years.no problems yet.you do need tomake sure your top shock mounts are sturdy.my biscayne wagon had them as afactory option so mine are bridged.good luck.Jimmy
Interesting post. I've been looking at them to not lower a car, more assist a lowered car when towing a small caravan (camper). I was hoping that when towing or full of folks i could ramp the shocks up to help keep the car the same, low height. With a low car the towing hitch can get a little too close to the floor than i felt comfortable with at times and if air shocks would help i'd go for that set up with my next car. Dan
I have them on the back of my 1940 Ford sedan delivery because the tires rub against the fender lips under severe compression or when carrying a load. This was cheaper than changing wheels or narrowing the rear end and so far they have worked out well. Like anything, if you abuse it, install or use it incorrectly it may fail. Install them properly and bear in mind that they are helpers....
So it sounds like the best option if I'm looking at this is lowering blocks in the rear, possibly letting minimum optimal pressure ride just lower than blocks alone, letting air added fill to help with a load. Yes?
+1 that is how they are intended to work on a stock height car. Almost every Cadillac sedan from somewhere in the 70's though 1988 at least had air shocks on the back to level the car when you put someone in the back seat. They have a switch/valve on the axle that maintains static ride height and a compressor mounted under the hood that kicks on automatically. That setup is pretty easy and inexpensive to put on almost any car with air shocks on the back to be able to maintain static ride height or clearance when you put something in the trunk or extra people in the back seat.
O.k. so much of a differential is there between an airshock at it's lowest point, and an airshock at it's top end? I'm thinking with this option I could go lower than with block alone right?
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