51 Plymouth air suspension

[Operatorfailure]

So, I want to put air ride on my 51 2 door cranbrook and haven't been able to find any info on anyone that has done it. I'm sure there are people on here that have and I was curious what bags and setup you used for the front. The rear is pretty much the same as any other car, so that's not bad. I'm just wondering what bags would work well with the stock suspension.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sam_Fear]

I'm not sure what the front suspension looks like on those, but for bags, the bigger (diameter), the better. A bigger bag will give a softer ride. Basically the largest diameter bag that will fit into your upper spring pockets without too much cutting. You want about a 1/2-3/4" (thumbs width) clearance around the bags at all times. I used Slam Specialties bags because they don't balloon outward when aired up - so you can use a bigger bag without fear of rubbing.

As for systems, I learned quick, unless you plan to hop, keep the valves and hose small diameter. As for tanks, a 5 will do, but a 7 or 10 is better.

And lastly, I'd go with a 4 valve system unless you like to lean hard around the corners.

 

[Operatorfailure]

Here is a couple pictures of the front suspension, the car isn't at my house right now so I won't be able to get actual measurements until tomorrow night probably.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Here is a pic of my bagged Olds. It sits on a 85 Cutlass frame. I had to cut a pretty good notch in the side of the frame pocket to clear the bags. You have to figure how much frame you can trim and still keep integrity of the frame.

Try this forum thread from LayItLow.com. Page 1 and 3 has most of the good pics, the rest of is largely BS. There is some good info on that site if you can find it. http://www.layitlow.com/forums/showthread.php/178059-Kit-Diagrams-Instructions

 

[Operatorfailure]

Thanks a ton! I have been debating putting the car on an s10 frame just because bagging an s10 is so easy nowadays and a longbed s10 and this car just happen to be the same wheelbase. The only problem is that this car is in such good shape I don't want to cut the entire thing up swapping frames.

 

[brchopper]

keep the stock frame for the coolness factor

just my two cents but if the frames in good shape try to make it work first.because if you can pull off air on the stock frame it will be cooler.

 

[Operatorfailure]

Yeah, that is true. One benefit of doing the s10 frame is that I can be doing it piece by piece while I'm still driving the car, where if I do the factory frame I will have to have the car out of commision for a while. I'm still undecided. If its as easy as throwing some bags in the coil spring pockets and clearancing some areas that won't be too bad though. Who knows, im still in the planning stages right now anyway, I just need to get the brakes fixed so I can get it back on the road.

 

[BigIrish]

I had a '50 plymouth and looked into airbags. I recall the spring pockets were very deep & quite skinny. You would have to get a narrow bag and also do some major cutting of the spring pocket, at least on one side.

The good thing is about that generation of plymouth is the frames are fully boxed and considered overbuilt compared to other cars of the time, so I wouldn't worry too much about cutting it.

All in all, I think it would be much easier to bag the stock frame rather than swap out the whole frame.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

...or you could save yourself a lot of headache and invest in a set of dropped uprights. I know Fatman offers them for early Mopars, and probably a few others by now. That and a wrap or two off the coils and you will be riding plenty low without the hassles of airbags. It is a simple bolt-on deal and you can do it all while you have the car torn down for brakes. Get driving, safe and operational. Leave the S-10 frame for mini-truckers.

 

[Operatorfailure]

I'm not sure that my disc brake conversion will fit with the dropped uprights, I need to look into that. I had been looking for drop spindles for it and hadn't had any luck, I guess this is the way people are doing it. I really am pretty much set on bagging the car, around here the roads are terrible and to get as low as I want I would rub on every pothole without the option to throw a little more air in the bags.

Oh, and Sam Fear, holy crap I love your car. It is now the background of my phone.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Oh, and Sam Fear, holy crap I love your car. It is now the background of my phone.

Thanks.

I'd ditch the S10 frame swap idea too unless your floor is gone or your suspension is un-salvageable.