el camino suspension

[flyinlow]

I am working on my wife"s el camino . It has stock rear coils and air shocks that don't dampen well . I was thinking about using air lift bags and putting good shocks on the back. Any one use the air bags?

[earthquake68]

You'll never get a coil spring car to feel like a leaf spring car. If you put new springs in it, it'll be a ton stiffer. They should only be about $80 for the set. Those and a good set of gas shocks should give the feel you're looking for. If it still feels "boat-like" put a rear sway bar on it. That will go a long way to tighten things up.

DON'T put an over load air bag on it. It's a band aid at best and will act like one. Drag racers use an airbag to pre-load the spring, but that one works differently. It goes inside the coils of the spring and you put air in it to push out on the coils and make the spring work slower on a hard launch.

For just a street driven car, redo what the factory did. If it feels loose now, it's because the car is over 20 years old (or older) with worn out parts on it. The factory had a good design, it just doesn't last forever.

[flyinlow]

I wanted to raise the rear riding height about two inches over where it sits with just the original rar coil springs. It has tired airshocks now that will do that , but the dampening part of the shock is worn out. I thought about Moog Cargo Coils or the  original springs with air bag helpers , but I have no idea how dependable the air bags are. I put 245/60-15 tires on it and wanted more body clearence with a load. It wont be carring more than about 500 lbs. or pulling a small trailer. I have a  Ram if I need a real truck.

[learical1]

I have nothing to add to the discussion, but, since my kid has a 77 El Camino, I was wondering what year your El Camino is.  We've done the front suspension already, haven't started anything on the rear yet.

[flyinlow]

1980 . Did the front end , bushing ,ball joints idler arm.  Car was stored for 15 years,just getting it back on the road. Had a 3.8L originally,someone was going to race it with a 400SB. project stalled . I got it without the engine or trans ,alot of parts in boxes. Built a  mild  vortec headed 350 for it. Was suppose to be a project with my son . He lost interest and I was going to get rid of it when my Wife decided she wanted it to go antiquing with her friends. She watches too much American Pickers.