anyone have any idea where, or who I could get air ride front and rear for my Pinto. I decided to pull all the stops on this project. I just flipped my 86 351 H.O. powered Stang Sat. night. My Pinto is my new all out toy ;)
With all the Street rodders usung Pinto/StangII parts the front end shouldn't be too big of a deal.
The rear however may be a trick. If i'm correct in order to use a "true" airride you'll need to swap in a 4-link setup. however you could take all but the main leaf out, and use truck style bags so support the rear. You won't be hopping this setup though
That's what I was afraid of. I'll have to think on that before I make any rash decision. I didn't know if anyone had tried to do this as of yet. I'm really hyped up about my little project car, I just hope I'm not trying to stuff 10lbs of crap in a 5lb box :-\
the front air bags can be bought from almost any hotrodder parts web site....but you have to buy the tubular a arms with the kit and they are some $$$. You can buy dropped spindles and a coil over kit for them so you can drop the ride hight (or raise it) as much as you like. (within reason of course) For the rear..hmmm, you could maybe get some springs with very little arch and make up a rear airbag kit to give it the ride hight you want. just my thoughts
Or a 4 link with a panhard bar to locate the rearend, then the air bags would work.
Thanx for all the suggestions, this group really seems devoted to the Lil Horse cars .It seems to be very informative. I hope to post pics as my car progesses, right now is is totally stripped and in primer I plan to paint it either pearl white/ sub-lime green or bright assed yellow/ black
Besides being into PIntos I'm also into lowered trucks. I own an xtreme about ready to be dropped. I think you could use a 2 link set up on a pinto. I've been throughing round the idea for awhile. the front would mount where the front spring eye does. 2x2 box tubing could be used for your links with a brace going across the two under the rearend to strengthen it and to keep side to side movement down. Check out www.silverstarcustoms.com to see what I am talking about. with this set up a panhard bar is unnecessary. bags could be mounted on theaxle tubes andthe tops could be attached to a custom crossmember running between the frame rails. as far as the front goes i would put 2inch drop spindles on it and trim the spring pockets to clear some firestone bags. plates mounted to the lower control arm would serve as bottom bag brackets. post pics. i would love to see the progress.
Brad Gray
That certainly sounds like the easiest route. I really would like to put this car on bags but, they are so hard to find ANYTHING that is a direct fit I guess you have to own a honda civic for that :). That's OK if nothing else my wife says I am tenatious. I'll post pics as soon as I figure out how to get them to attach ;D. Thanks for the advice I'll have to sit in the garage and ponder that over a cold one :D
[url]http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp/dept_id.L2~362/dept_name_p.Street+Rod+Products/deptSearch_id.225/qx/prod_list_display.htm[url] try this ...about halfway down the page. Hope it helps for the front!
www.silverstarcustoms.com
I looked carefully at the setup on the website mentioned and, for a daily driver or even a car driven moderately on the street, I don't think it would be a practical setup. It removes the flexibility needed to absorb the bumps or potholes hit with just one wheel. With a four-bar setup and a panhard rod, the axle has the flexibility to absorb the irregularities found on every road. For a drag car or a show car this may not be an issue.
i see where you are coming from on the daily driver route. but what about making it a 2 link that resembles what the mid 60's chevy trucks used. it was a 2 link with a panhard bar. This seems a lot simpler to me than installing a 4 link. the 2 link would be made as the other one i suggested except instead of a brace from bar to bar the panhard bar does the job. this would allow semi independent movement from either side. Just an idea.
Brad Gray
Brad,
That makes sense and would probably work fine, but the ends at the frame would have to be Heim joints or similar so they could twist somewhat without binding. The way they did it at the Silver Star Customs website would not allow this flexibility, but because they lock both sides together with the welded brace, the flexibility is not needed. Also, I believe the pivot point for the arms was nearly at the front pivot point of the front u-joint on the Chev truck rear suspension you mentioned. In some respects, it's nothing more than a simpler ladder-bar setup. It would be interesting to try it and see what you come up with.
The 60's Chevy truck setup is what NASCAR uses , so it's gotta be tough, and reliable. Plus you can copy geometry from any Winston cup (excuse me, NEXTEL cup) team's setup. This includes jack screws, wedge adjustments ETC
I agree with the nascar thing. It would make it nearly bulletproof. And couldn't you use hiem joints where the bars meet the frameon the 2 link set up with a panhard bar. The reasoni ask is that when I do mine I want it to work well and not bind or anything else. And also i thought it would be much easier to use the spring pockets istead of cutting and welding in a new crossmember. Would save time and the cost of actual 4 link bars or ladder bars.
Brad Gray
How sick would this be under a Pinto? it's from Total Control Products. this is a bolt in for a 1st gen 'stang so it's gotta be close to a Pinto right?