ok been working on the cj again and i am thinking about how to do my rear end i would like to do air ride but then i need a huge "z" to get to lay frame if i am going to air ride this its going to lay frame.I would need a "z" of 20" or more and my body is only 19" wide and i dont want my frame above the body. so here is what i have come up with laying the frame under the axle with a cradle above the axle to that will hold the air bags, and the 3 link wish bone or maybe a radius arm set up. so what do you guys think will this work.
Maybe keep the frame under the axle idea but cantilever the airbags so they would be in front of the axle instead of on top. My autocad is toast or I'd draw up a quick idea for you.
Frame under the axle idea is good but will limit the lift you get until the axle hit the frame again. the canti lever idea will allow you to place the bags almost anywhere. how big of wheel and tire are your going to run? another idea for bag placement is if you do a 3 or 4 link mount them on the lower bars.
I have often considered this. If you used an upsidedown leaf spring stacked backwards, then the airbag could be used to push the frame to the ground. If you ever blew a bag or line, the frame would pop up to ride hieght.
I used a free photoshop-like program called GIMP to make this illustration
You can put the bags anywhere. When I build mine I have a set of chevy truck arms that will come off the trans crossmember to the rear axle and I devised this arrangement to conceal the airbags inside the profile of the frame so I could avoid over building the rear suspension out of a lack of engineering.
Think along these lines-
building is not engineering
Engineer more-build less
Lighter is faster
Going fast is looking good
What I wanted to avoid in designing my frame was several hundred pounds of un necessary overbuilding in an area that could be better used for storage or cargo
Some of the frames with Uber humps over the rear axle with all the bracing required to keep it stiff always looked to me like a cobble job for lack of a better way to do it
But then again when I see one with that old school high arch transverse spring
it looks perfect
It's just a quick sketch and not related to any actual dimensions so it does have it's flaws but I think it illustrates the idea
Torchmann I think your gonna be disappointed when you go to use those truck arms. If I remember correctly they have to sit at a certain angle with the rear end to seat properly with it. I believe they will have to be to far apart to use on a narrow frame. Maybe I'm wrong but worth looking into before you get to far into it.
I used a underslung frame in my build. I was originally thinking about air ride with a cantilever set up but everything I could come up with used more room then I had. It can be done but it's going to take some time. Please post pics of what you come up with.
Your right they are wide. I might have to do some pie cuts and re welding to change the angles. As long the arms intersect close to the tranny u-joint it shouldn't bind, the pnahard bar would contol side wobbling but I wont be able to figure the exact geometry untill I have more than a pair of axles and misc parts to work with.
I've got an extra 77 f150 supercab cab and am thinking of chopping it down to ranger cab dimensions. I was gonna scrap it anyway it either becomes something cool or remains scrap.
I've got a 60s f600 that rust free. Thought about using it as practice to cut up and build. I haven't chopped or channeled one yet so I figured it would a good first one lol.
