Has anyone put air ride on a 54 mercury? How much of a notch is needed in the rear to get the car as low as we all like them to be? And is there much of a body drop needed or is that not necessary to get the body down to the ground? And if a body drop is needed what seats are you using or what mods did you do to the seats so they arent sticking way above the windows? Pics please! Luke
No pics yet but I'm doing my 55 Montclair and Airride tech has a front kit for your stock suspension and a 4bar for the rear.
Like anything its doable, my friend has a 53 and I have looked at bagging it a few times, one thing we noticed is we would have to re work the front inner fenders as well as the rear. Depending on what rear suspension you choose the rear floor will need to be cut up quite a bit as well. The truck arm or two link would be least invasive but you will still have some floor cutting. my buddy at this point has decided not to do it but you never know. Hes been watching my chevy build and may be changing his mind. As for your original question on the notch, im guessing it would be around 5 - 6 inches depending on how far down you wanna go. you wont need to any body dropping to get it down all the way if thats what you want do, I really dig the white car you posted and would shoot for that myself!
Everything u need to do the front, bags and adapter that replaces the coil, then relocate the shocks.
use the search this forum feature & check out Crazylegs' my 54 Ford build, I think it might help with what you are looking for.....& that Merc in the picture above, imho, is definitely setting with its frame on the ground. If it's like the Fords, the rockers are about 1" above the ground when laid out.
Call Gambino's..I'm sure Alex can hook you up or at least get you in the right direction. Plus he's a HAMB alliance vendor, and a pretty good all around guy.
I have done a few but it's been a few years since i did the last one. Your 54 Merc has a ball joint IFS and will bag fairly easy with std stuff that avail every where. Use a quailty 7" dia bag up front ( I personally like the SS7 bag ) Fab a flat mounting plat and weld it to the lower A-arm and get a set of gereric 2" tall bag cups and make them bolt in some how. I do it with a bolt that goes through the old shock hole. Then you will have to fab up your shock mounts and that's it. For the rear i would not think of a 4 link with bags especily a tri or a big U notch kit as they require allot of un needed sheet metal work. Usally you only need a 5" deep C notch to get the frame laid on the ground with normal size tires. I will only install a 2 link in my and my customers rides as they require way less buchering of the rear floor,seat area and trunk sheet metal plus if done correctly they will drive & handle better so its a win win. If you install your bag's slightly in front of the axle and on top of the bars you will get a smoother ride & more travel than over the axle plus you should be able to fit it under the stock floor pan. Also if you install your rear axle with the driveshaft to pinon angle set at -2 at full lift your drive shaft will probally not hit your floor pan when slamed so there is no need to make a custom tunnel. You will need a long pan hard bar and if you make it set level at 1/2 lift your rear end will move only 1/4" from side to side. Sorry i do not have any pic on this computer of the 54 merc but if interested i can post some of other i have done so you can get a better idea. Rick Erickson / Extreme Kustoms 951 678-3520
Depends....how low you want it. Want ti lay fram or lay rocker? You want to buy a kit? Id honestly suggest not buying a specific kit.
If you did a truck arm or two link type suspension you could probably get away with mostly trunk and a minor tunnel raise from what I can see, if you go four link you will cut more floor under the seat to allow the top bars to rise up as well as be able to get to the bolts later. Depending on how much room you have with your wheels you will have to possibly cut and raise the tubs or make new ones altogether, also something to consider is if you go two link you will need a pan hard bar wich in most cases makes the rear shift slightly when airing up and down and can cause the tires to hit the outer wheel wells if too close. The triangulated four does not have that issue. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
this is jonny from gambino kustoms, we have a kit made for your car. comes with the tri link with brackets and not tabs for easier install, (2) 6" slam bags, over axle bag brackets, rear shock mounts with shock part numbers, and a c-notch made for your frame rails. the kit is $830.00. we also have the parts to do the front end. my number is (209) 814 1431. thanks
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