Air shocks, the good, the bad and the ugly?

[Kern Dog]

I thought he mentioned that the rear was sagging a bit.

[b5blue]

Yea the fix is new rear springs but....

[RiverRaider]

   But I really want to know where you can find 14 inch tires that could make you concenerned about clearance.

Outside of drag/street tires I think Coker re pops Pro tracs in N-50 and other wide tires.  Not many Mickey Thompson sportsmans left on the shelves. 
I bought up the last of the NOS Indy Profiles that I could find a couple years ago.  They were still easier to find than 10"+ 200 s wheels though.

[HANDM]

Why not install a set of air bags or springs instead?

I installed bags on my 97 Ram after years of overloading, the springs were looking like a handlebar mustache. I keep em just filled enough to level it out and the ride is perfect.

I also installed a cheap set of coil springs that bolted to the axle and sat right under the rebound bumper on my Cuda and they woked just the same as the air bags and stayed on untill I sold it several years ago.

[Mike DC]

          
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

[c00nhunterjoe]

         
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

Those pictured helper springs were top choice for the general lees during filming lol.

[cdr]

         
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

[Mike DC]

  

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

Are you using other stiffeners just because you don't want to pay for new OEM leaf springs?  Probably not.  


I'm not trying to get on a high horse about anything here.  Sometimes one man's "ghetto fix" on the street is another man's "tuning method" on the track.      


Look at the OEM left/right bias in the R/T leaf springs.  That was a ghetto fix from the factory.  It still got the job done.    

[hemi-hampton]

I used them on my car, Same ones that been on there since the 1970's.

[c00nhunterjoe]

         
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

Im down. Lets do it. Stock springs and a 9" wide tire, pump gas now. Would love to line up against you.

[cdr]

         
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

Im down. Lets do it. Stock springs and a 9" wide tire, pump gas now. Would love to line up against you.

Would be fun !!! I am ready any time,

[cdr]

 

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

Are you using other stiffeners just because you don't want to pay for new OEM leaf springs?  Probably not.  


I'm not trying to get on a high horse about anything here.  Sometimes one man's "ghetto fix" on the street is another man's "tuning method" on the track.      


Look at the OEM left/right bias in the R/T leaf springs.  That was a ghetto fix from the factory.  It still got the job done.    

The springs I have are Caltrac split mono leafs, they work with their bars, when at the track the shocks have no air in them, street driving I need the springs a little stiffer for big bumps in the road, a little air in the shocks & problem solved, I need double adjustable coil overs but they are about $600 so the $50.00 air shocks will work for now.

[odcics2]

If you need more height why not just get some longer shackles for the back spring mounts ? 

Don't do this. Just don't.
It looks terrible, reduces stability and alters the pinion angle.

What he said.

[lloyd3]

Growing up in "Hillbilly Hell" allowed for me to experience shackle extensions in a very up-close and personal way and... I'm fairly certain that they have all of the detrimental effects on handling and a drive-line that have already been listed here. While I'm sure there are exceptions, it's not likely that I'd be tempted to go that route. While my car's present factory-stock set-up is probably getting a bit tired (@ around 125K miles now) it is hardly to the point of "sagging".  The psychology of owning one of these cars is a funny thing.  After owning it for a while (which can be a long while for some of us!) you stop seeing what is correct and start seeing only what 'isn't" or... perhaps only seeing the inevitable products of age and use. That can have the curious effect of causing what can only be described as an almost obsessive-compulsive form of behavior.  Ignoring the artistic and perhaps now-iconic elements involved, these cars were mass-produced, relatively common, and fairly-inexpensive consumable items.  That all seems to be forgotten after a financially (and otherwise) all-consuming restoration when parking it or washing it or even driving it in heavy traffic. One can get pretty defensive and even downright "fussy"... which seems a little silly when you actually think about it when it's sitting under a cover in your garage. Now...some of that behavior can be justified by the economic realities we're all currently experiencing, as the values of these cars continue to climb and the costs of repair become simply astronomical. Some parts are becoming extremely scarce, with even the re-pops getting harder to find or use.  I'm sure there is a natural limit to all of that, but we don't seem to have found it just yet.  My goal here is to replace a set of tires and wheels that are excessively old and limiting now (20-plus years and on 5 1/2-inch wide rims). The seemingly common solution has been to go with 15-inch aftermarket rims and then shop the plethora of tire options that clearly allows.  As it now seems to be my usual, I'm more focused on keeping it as close to original as the folks at Hamtramck produced it back in July of '68, with at-least wider but otherwise good copies of the 14-inch Magnum 500 rims it came with. From what I now understand from my reading (here and elsewhere), my tire options are extremely limited (mostly just BF Goodrich T/A Radials?) and in sizes that my fender-wells should easily swallow (the biggest being 245 60 R-14s).  If I need to buy a little more space under the car to keep things properly cleared I'll go ahead and secure some air shocks, otherwise I'll try to avoid that or any other modification of the way things were when Ma Mopar produced it.

[c00nhunterjoe]

235/6014 and 245/6014 are readily available in multiple brands and if either require air shocks on a charger, you have problems.

[c00nhunterjoe]

         
Meh.  Just get some helper leafs and be done with it.  


Yeah, helper leafs are ghetto.  So are air shocks, air springs, coilovers, and shackles.  Everything besides new/re-arched leafs is a band-aid.   You might as well use a band-aid that doesn't abuse the shock crossmember.  

Yeah my car is pretty ghetto, want to race LOL

Im down. Lets do it. Stock springs and a 9" wide tire, pump gas now. Would love to line up against you.

Would be fun !!! I am ready any time,

Cecil county drag way. 1916 theodore road. Rising sun maryland. 21911.  Call me when you are ready and im there for a private track day.

[Kern Dog]

235/6014 and 245/6014 are readily available in multiple brands and if either require air shocks on a charger, you have problems.

I agree. Even with the stupid design of the outer wheelhouse....