Hello, i'm planning on baggin' a 50 chevy... Found all the parts on suicidedoors.com and am making a front-back system wih 4 valves (side-to-side is not my thing, plus, checking on 2 meters is enough for me) Baggin the front is easy and described everywhere. The rear is not that hard as well but I DON'T want to C-notch my frame. I don't have a good feeling about that and it gets low enough for me with the frame intact. It should have a nice stance then... Now my question is, can i bag the rear without notching the frame? Should I make brackets for the bags that weld to the top of the frame, right under the floor of the car? Any suggestions? Thanks!! (+ happy holidays!)
It is really going to depend on how low you want the back to be and what size tire and wheels you are going to run. You can bag it without notching but your drop might be limited. as far as placement, on the inside of the frame directly above the axle is the most common place to mount the bags. I would say you weld the mounts as low on the frame as you can to get the maximum lift, but this will have to be done after to decide 100% wether or not to notch the frame. Hope this makes sense. What are our plans for locating the rear?
Plus, you are going to be getting rid of the leaf springs, so you are gonna have to do some sort of 4-link in the rear. By the time you do that, install mounts for bags, plumbing, etc...throwing on the Gambino notches isn't that much more...but you get so much more out of the work you have already done. Just my thoughts.
Here is everthing you need to know about doing the rear. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202220 Here is info on bagging the stock front end. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152076 I hope this helps. Todd
listen to lorax54, once you have done the work locating your rear with a 4 link why would you not do the c notch and complete the job to get the most out of the bag job? The notch is not that much more work if you buy the notches, just placing them in the correct spots welding them up and removein the old frame sections. Then you can get the car as low as you want. Thats just my opinion.
Well, i really don't like the layed out chevs, sorry I like the rear to be a tad higher than the front, because of the right stance... Plus, I'm not feeling that secure about chopping my car up completely... 4-link the rear? Why? I'm leaving 1 or 2 or 3 leafsprings intact, blocks on it, then mount the rearaxle to that, so i just need to mount the bag on top of the axle... If i c-notch the frame, i would have to complete cut out the metal of the body between the c-notches, rework new metal in to there... Plus, my LPG tank (i live in the Netherlands, previous owner converted it to LPG, google if you wanna know ), my LPG tank must be in the trunk as well als the complete bag setup and spare tire... Would be possible, but i don't know if i wanna go through all of the trouble if i can reach the right stance without all the hassle... More info or pics are appreciated as well!!! What do you guys think about the bolt-on C-notches then? That can't be strong enough right? I don't know for sure if i wanna do it at all because of strength, if the welds aren't strong enough i've fucked up the complete ride... While i don't give a damn... I'm not even going to use dropped spindles... Layin frame is not my goal!
The only time I would use a bolting notch is if I weld it solid once its done. at that point just use the Gambino kit. I had mine bagged without a notch and it sucked. Even if you dont want it to lay out, its nice to have room for suspension travel without hitting the frame. But its totally doable. I will try to find pics of my car from when the frame was stock and the front was bagged without dropped uprights.
Ok here it is with the stock frame, bagged front and rear. This is stock front suspension with the spring cups raised, and no dropped uprights. The rear is a mono spring and the frame is laying on the axle. The front is slightly up in this pic, but the rear is all the way down These are with 215/75/15 tires. Here it is with the same front suspension, but with a notched frame. It is totally aired out in this pic. And here it is with the notched frame and Fatman dropped uprights. Here is the same setup but with 6.50x15 front tires and L78-15 rear tires:
sounds like you don't want to bag your car, just lower it, like I did my 53. bags would be nice, and HAMBer 37Fabrication will bag mine someday, but I ordered dropped uprights from National Chevy, and rear leaf springs from Posies. the front sit's too low and hits on everything, I plan to raise it up.
In my opinion, and its reflected in the cars I have bagged or helped bag, is that you bag a car to get it lower, but able to dial in the stance and raise it enough to have reasonable suspention going down the road and get in and out of driveways and such.. I saw an early chevy coupe in Paso once that was bagged, MII'd, 4 linked, but aired all the way down it was still about stock height.. WTF is the point of bagging a car to go from high to higher? You dont HAVE to go with a huge notch like the Gambino kit (but thats what im running in mine), my best friends 53 we did has a actual C-notch, the type that is a 4" diameter pipe cut in half and welded into the frame.. If you dont do some kind of notch now, you will later.
Jkustom, what do you mean with what your friends 53 has? Only cut away what you don't need and then weld the half of a pipe in there? Is that strong enough? The floor has to be changed then as well right? @blown240: The rear is actually low enough for me in that first picture, especially if you're running fender skirts like i am... But, i don't think you have the front aired out there did you? Because in the 2nd picture it is already much lower! Can you show me pics or explain how you mounted the bags in the rear the first time? Thanks!
No in the first pic its not aired out in the front. I dont have pics of the bags from when the frame wasnt notched, but the bag on top of the axle should work just fine for you. If the first pic is low enough for you then I suggest doing as JKustom said his buddies car is. You will need to reinforce the frame somewhat, but you wont need to come into the trunk, and it will still give you a bit of room before your frame hits the axle. On a side note, this car just has dropped uprights and Jamco front springs, and blocks with air shocks in the rear. It has 16 inch wheels so it looks lower than it really is. Its my buddies car and it rides amazing.
MellyVan, Do you have any pictures of what your car looks like now? Is it lowered now? Are the roads that bad in the Netherlands that you really need to bad it? You might be able to get it to where you want without going to the hassle of bagging it. I have a '50 with a Camaro clip and lowered leafs/blocks in the rear. Sits pretty decent and no need for bags (but I am going to redo it all as the Camaro clip is too wide) Also remember the wheel and tire combo will have a small effect on ride height.
maybe you should check out these links before you buy and do any thing theres a little more to the front than you might think and not notching the rear will just leave you with a crapy ride you can call me for advise 408 561 5744 we specialize in ALL 50's cars and make tail drager kits for your car othere air ride suply stores cater to sport trucks check out these links http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152076 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394429 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293280 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202220 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194332 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194332 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305649 this one is a ford http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394891 alex
sounds to me like all you need is to hard drop it, and add helper bags for when you have people in the back or on rough roads, because the frame will smack the rearend if you dont....
You will want to C the frame for sure to go LOW. Gambino can hook you up or order parts from suicidedoors as well. I would support Gambino tho. My custom built rear set up. This is with the rear wheel well moved up and aired out.
@Gambino, Thanks, BUT: 1st link: checked it out, front is quite straightforward... 2nd: MII no option for me rest of links: I'm keeping stock driveline, and i know how to cut up my car and c-notch it, but i rather not do that... Overall: if too much work is involved, i'm not going to do it now... If i'm going through that much hassle and work, i'll wanna make everything perfect and i end up restoring the complete car... And i do not have the time and place to do all that now! Reason for airbags: I find the airbag setup to be of a good price (relatively cheap, especially since it's SOOOOO much more expensive overhere, sets start at about 3000 dollar)... So that's why airbags are such a good option for me. Plus, i digg it My trouble: I'm not sure on how to mount the bags in the rear. Ofcourse ON the axle, that's logical. But i think that when the axle is up against the stock frame, there is no room for a compressed bag on top of the axle, is there? So i'll have to start hacking the floor? Or IS there room? @blown240: Your car has turned out really great!! Although mine does not have to end up THAT low... The combination of your front in 2nd pic and rear in 1st, is perfect for me. I have HIGH ASS tires (6.70x15 all around) but that's no problem, i like em! I will not lay frame with them, that's for sure Can you explain how you mounted the rear bag? On top of the axle and how and where did you mount the upper part? Thanks man!
When I did the rear with no notch I made some plates that mount the bag behind the axle, that way it can be lower. But I should have done it in front of the axle, since that would have given my more lift. You can have the top of the bag mount to a bracket on the inside of the frame. Sorry I don't have any pics. You could lay frame with 6.70x15, but thats not your goal.
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