Shackles OR air shocks ???

[skip68]

What's the best way to lift rear of 68 charger 1.5 in.? Air shocks, or change the shackles? 

[Ghoste]

I don't particularly like either one myself.  Air shocks seem to make for ill handling in my experience and shackles look cheesy to me.  John Paseman of US Car Tool makes a hangar for the front of the spring that can raise the but stays hidden.  I think it only raises it one inch though.  You could also opt for getting leaf springs re-arched so they have the extra height in them.

[DC_1]

I m with Ghoste, a good spring shop can re-arch the springs and it is a  much better cure than the other ways you are contemplating

[skip68]

Thats a good idea Ghoste!!! I wonder if the springs have just lost there arch since there 37 yrs old??? If I jack the body up about 1 in. it looks to sit right. Do they sell new springs or is it best to have them re-arched? thanks.......Chuck.

[Ghoste]

They sell new ones but the ones you get from Chrysler are now made in Mexico and are notorious for wearing out quickly.  If you want new, your best bet is a place like Espo or Eaton.  I bought a set of the heavy duty leafs for my car from Eaton Detroit Spring and so far I am more than happy with them.  The Chrysler rear suspension is designed so that when the car is sitting, the rear leaf should be flat (maybe a slight arch).  If it sags, it's worn and after 37 years, there is a good chance.  The originals for my car had been re-arched but under load they still couldn't properly do the job.  They were fine as far as ride height but the re-arching did not seem to restore any ability of the spring to control load.  For a while maybe, but not over time.
So it depends on what you want.  If you're concerned about the way the car sits, re-arching may be a good and less expensive option.  If you use the car hard, you may want to spend the 400 bucks and get a new set.

[skip68]

My idea of using this car hard will be some tire smoke a few times a year once the 440 is done. This is my weekend warrior(CRUISING) car to dinner,movies,friends house, ect. I would like to try the 1/4 just to see how good I am at least once since I've never done it. So buying new springs is probably my best bet. I'll have to plan on it down the road a month or so since my motor is in the shop and just about done... OR You could just give me the $400 now and I'll send you a picture of my wife    HAHA. Just kiding! Thanks Ghoste..   Skip68------------------------------------------------------

[Ghoste]

Well, as I said, I'm really happy with the set I got from Eaton Detroit.  They had them in stock and it made a HUGE difference in the car.  They have a website but I don't have a link. 

[Chryco Psycho]

longer shackles generally bend the rear of the spring down a lot & virtually do not lift the rear fo the car at all on Mopars due to the both longer & softer rear section of the leaf spring

[toqwik]

How about some coil over shocks.  I like those alot better than air shocks, don't lose ride quality, and can adjust ride height...

[Chryco Psycho]

it works to a point , the coilovers put a lot more load on th eshock crossmember & it is not designed to take it & will either bend or wear the crossmember out over time 

[Steve P.]

I agree with Chryco. The same goes for air shocks. The shock cross member was not designed to hold up the car and over a period of time you will bend the snot out of it..

New springs..

[skip68]

Thanks guys, I'm going with new ones. Have a great Thanksgiving. .   Chuck.....

[GTX]

When I got my Charger it was a combination of all of the worst worlds.

There were long shackles on it and thus had horizontal leaf springs since they got all warped out of shape over time.  It also had coil over shocks which I had never actually seen on a Mopar before BUT some gomer had also welded a new shock mounting plate on the top of the axle housing instead of on the bottom to get several more inches higher.   
Apparently this was to get maximum altitude at the ass of the car. 
The whole thing was a complete mess and the end result over time was that the back of the car sat lower than ever.


I had to replace the shackles and springs, pull off the coil overs and replace with gas and grind off that nasty old plate and all the welds.
It took me a while to grind off the welds and clean and repaint the axle housing but now the car looks right! 

[Steve P.]

And the worst of that scenario is that if the (New) shock mounts were short or mounted very close to the axle, they more than likely added to axle wrap up, making all matters worse....

[BigBlockSam]

shackles look cheesy to me   

i put comp springs on mine. they work great but they don't give you alot of lift. even on the high setting. Rene

[Rolling_Thunder]

I don't particularly like either one myself.   Air shocks seem to make for ill handling in my experience and shackles look cheesy to me.   John Paseman of US Car Tool makes a hangar for the front of the spring that can raise the but stays hidden.   I think it only raises it one inch though.   You could also opt for getting leaf springs re-arched so they have the extra height in them.

if you run seperate air lines it will handle alot better

[Ghoste]

It isn't so much the imbalance which affect handling as it is the way that air shocks alter the suspension.  Each time they are raised or lowered, the alignment characteristics of the car are altered.  Not to mention thata higher preload is placed on the spring. 
I don't pretend to be an engineer, but my experience has been that air shocks are just a bad idea.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Ive had them on my car for almost 4 years now and my car was my daily driver for just over 3 of them....    i never had a problem...   then again i didnt put much pre-load on the springs - just pumped them up when i was driving friends around

[Mike DC]

Air shocks can work okay if they're just an appearance addition, and not serving as an integral part of holding the car's ass end up.  (If you do the latter, you WILL ruin the rear shock crossmember in a matter of time.  The shock crossmember on a Mopar was not designed to carry the weight of the car the way the front & rear leaf-spring mounts were.)  Separate air lines on each air shock are a good idea too.

The rear shackles work to raise the height of the car's rear end but they're not increasing the spring stiffness any.  So the performance & ride & hauling ability won't be helped at all.  (And if you run rear shackles, you have to run huge ones to notice any difference.  2" longer shackles only gives you a 1" higher car.)  If you do decide to run shackles, get a little brace in the center (between the spring bushing & the frame mount bushing).  It stabilizes the long shackles from bending side-to-side so badly.

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