Projects my 63 country sedan airride install

i bought a kit from ridetech in july and have been slowly fitting it since,i finished it yesterday. first thing to do was mount the gauges

ridetech gauges in down position by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
i hinged the plate so i can fold up out of the way when parked

ridetech gauges in up position by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

i then fitted the tank to the rear of my back seat and compressor under the seat along with the valve set.(no pics yet sorry)
then i stripped the front end


front suspension removed by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

inside of wing by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

i painted the arm and and reassembled with shockwave fitted


ridetech shock wave in position by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

heres the front done

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anne-mark-photos/8035395137/in/photostream

 

yesterday me and my mate patrick did the rear ,first we dropped the coil overs and removed u bolts then lifted axle and supported it so it was out of way. we then removed the lower 2 leafs and the third one down as to help in the displacement of force through the leafs.we then made a spacer to replace the 2 leaves we had removed and mounted this along with the ridetech airbag plate to leaf and bolted it all up along with new dampers to axle, we then fitted air bag with top bracket fitted to it and jacked it up into position and marked the chassis prior to welding. air bag was then removed and bracket welded in place. refit air bag and plumb it in . the wheels wouldnt fit know even with axle dropped to lowest point (235/60/15) so i fitted my chrome smoothies with 205/670/14 narrow white walls on. its all done and only took 2 of us 4 hours working it out as we go .i am a happy bunny now.
i cant thank patrick enough for his help. we are putting hydralics on his 64 impala next .

stripping leafsprings by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

starting to rebuild the leafsprings by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

one bag trial fitted by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

upper chassis fixing for air bag welded in position by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr


does anyone know anywhere i can get read up on hydraulic suspension for a 64 impala ?
thanks

 

Subscribed

 

i am now going to fit another compressor to keep tank topped up quicker so i can drop and raise easier and more often.
can anyone design a wiring diagram so i pancake/ drop all four at once for the ridetech analogue system please .

 

subscribed also

 

my rear suspension fully inflated to 100psi

airbag and leaves at full height by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

fully deflated, i am adding another leaf back to the suspension as i dont like how the leaf looks

airbag and leaves at full drop by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

car at fully pumped up


fully lifted by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

car fully dropped

fully dropped by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

just to add fender skirts and move tank,compressors and valves now but that will be over winter.

 

are you trying to break off those springs? The way you built it, that's exactly what will happen. Look at your pic. The spring is bending a few different directions. You should have just built a 4 link or soemthing along those lines. You are asking for trouble eventually.

 

thats why im putting a leaf back as i said in above post

 

nice wagon

 

Still doing it wrong. I don't care how many leafs you put in. The way you have it set up, is how trucks have their helper bag systems set up. TO HELP. not to hold the whole damn car up. As well, when it is set up as a helper, it goes on the axle. NOT THE SPRING. you are asking for serious troubles. And a big car like that, will fall real hard.

 

how would you suggest then? this is how ride tech tell you to do it and sold me a specific kit for my wagon.
link to kit
http://www.ridetech.com/store/airoverleaf-3000lb-underframe-2.5-leaf-kit.html
link to instructions is on that page

 

We do sell the AirOver leaf as a cost effect rear solution for a leaf sprung rear suspension. I do agree that on this wagon I would recommend adding at least one long leaf back into the pack. You may not get as low but you will be a lot safer. To get the most travel and best ride out of the car it would require one of our weld in 4 links. You will be able to get lower with it than a safe leaf setup. The bags you have now would work with our 4 link also.
ps. I dig the retracting gauges.

 

I'm adding 2 more this eve, hopefully this will sort it out . Thanks mike

 

No problem.

 

added 2 more leafs so now have 5 leafs on each side and they look good when dropped so i am happy, just need my new compressor to arrive to help with airtank top ups and suspension will be done. next is fender skirts , new alternator,complete power steering rebuild,replace window regulator on drivers door(when i can find one),intake manifold gasket , replace footwells and a long list of more then its finished.lol

 

pics of my leafspring now after adding 2 more leaf back in(effectively removed one). the car feels better and is more confident on road.

drivers side rear leaf with 5 springs in , i feel this is a lot better than earlier version by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
more pics on my flickr link

 

Check your fully extended height on that shock. You will want to limit the suspension to make sure it does not exceed 12" of bag height.

 

it is no where near 12" luckily.
how would i limit it if it was tho?

 

In most cases you would set the shock to limit travel or add a limit strap.

 

finally happy with how mine sits now , thanks mike for your help.

my 63 country sedan at full height by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

my 63 country sedan at full drop by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

my 63 country sedan at full height by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

my 63 country sedan at full drop by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

my 63 country sedan at full height by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

my 63 country sedan at full drop by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
just need to find out how many amps my solenoids run so i can wire a pancake /lift switch into my door armrest and wire that to my park/neautral switch so i cant hit it by accident.
the ride is so much better its unbelievable.

 

Looks good!

 

Thanks mike, I am now moving gauges into custom built pods on my fascia and am wiring new switches in to my arm rest on door .

 

Great Tec Guy's !!!

 

Looks great! Love the wagons!

 

Here's my 64 galaxie on air ride



Posted from Ar

 

I do like the wagon.

 

Your 63 looks looks great. I really like the swing control panel. I have Ride Tech on my 63 BelAir (car in my avatar) and love the ride as well. One thing I do when the car is sitting I don't go to full drop, I leave the front and the back at 50#. Before I go to move the car I pump the front to 100# and 90# in the rear. Starting at 50# really prolongs the life of the compressor by not having it run too long. Am I right big Mike?

 

I just added another compressor and it only take 60-80 secs to top up tank.

 

looking good...im thinking of this set up for my 54 ford. great write up and pics.

 

Thanks , I am now moved the 5 gallon air tank underneath the off side rear fender and it fits really well . I have moved the Ridetech compressor under the drivers side rear fender sitting on a plate mounted on chassis rail . The chrome compressor is on the rear passenger side of luggage compartment mounted on cotton reel rubber bobbins. Over the winter I am fitting an v belt operated air conditioning compressor from a land rover and losing the electric compressors in total .

Air compressor mounted to chassis by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

New birch bed by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr