Mechanical compressor in air bag setup?

I've been thinking of using a mechanical/ engine driven compressor on an air bagged car I've been working on. The idea of an air bagged car that doesn't sound like a blender when the tanks are filling is just too good to pass up.

So, what do I use. Is it just an A/C compressor with the refrigerant line hole plugged? Or?

That Vintage air company makes some nice looking & fairly compact compressors for a bit of money or the junk yard has endless piles of old a/c units for cheap.

Thanks in advance.

 

the best compressor to use is a york ac compressor, because they are self-lubricating, kinda like my girl. many have used sanden compressors too, with an oiler on the input and a filter on the outlet. whatever comp you use, you basically put a filter on the intake side, and run the outlet to your tank, use a good high temp hose, stainless is good. run one wire from your pressure switch to work the ac clutch. i run a york on one of my cars, i love it, it puts out a ton of air compared to any of the elec compressors.

 

i heard york compressors are the desirable ones. heres a link with some info. this is more geared to off roaders, but you get the idea.

http://www.coloradok5.com/york.shtml

 

haha, about 2 minutes too slow!

 

check out suicidedoors.com as well.

heres a direct link to their engine driven compressor page.

http://www.suicidedoors.com/AirManagementEngineDrivenCompressorKits.php

 

mercedes benz from 1958 through to 1972 had various top range cars with air suspension( 300SE,SEL etc ) .The compressors were driven off the engine.You need a decent size tank to if you want quick rise those.

 

there was a guy here in town (whaletail on here) that had a belt driven set up that used a clutch...no tank, and it was FAST up and down. 59 Elky. Kick ass car.

from what he told me, he had the usual solenoids (2 for each bag, though) and 4 of them would also activate the clutch on the compressor-air on demand.

I was wrong about the tank- search "Members" for a (relatively) detailed explanation. apparently, it only took the compressor 20 seconds to fill his tank from empty!