The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - Project: Pro-Rat

6DoF · 02-01-2016, 01:06 PM

started in on the IFS to prep it for air. my goal was to get it as low as possible with all stock components, and with as much travel as possible.

the bags (front and rear): 26c Double Convoluted ... http://www.ridetech.com/store/air-sp...onvoluted.html

-completely removed the bump and steering stop pads from the LCA
-trimmed the x-member pinch seam back and welded back together
-UCA ball joint is the limiting factor in travel (bump stops set as functional limits)
-UCA pie cut to adjust travel. the arm was cut, assembled to IFS, i sat on the x-member until the LCA contacted the x-member, and re-bent the UCA to the ball joint limit. tacked, removed, fully welded.
-the factory LCA rubber bumps assemble into the UCA once the slot is opened up, with slight trimming of the rubber the limit can be tuned. i'll do this with the fully assembled truck and the bags at full PSI.
-upper bag mounts are nested into the factory spring perch and perfectly leveled to the frame mounts. the slots would allow me to place the bag anywhere from centered at the factory spring to 1" towards the front of the truck. the 1" fwd let me center the lower cup into the LCA and is exactly what i used.
-LCA bag cups are 9" ID, slots were accidental after copying the upper plate in 3D.
-i fully deflated a bag, taped the port, and bolted it to the x-member and cup. i put spacers under the cup edge to tip it out, stretching the bag with no air held everything nice and tight and aligned in place. this also kept the bag on it's bump stop. i then kept cutting on the LCA until it fell over the cup and landed on the x-member. the very outside edge of the hole is JUST short of no longer hitting the x-member, I got lucky so don’t cut too much. cup was tacked, pulled the LCA, trimmed to contour with the LCA, and fully welded.
-the cup is 3" deep, but if doing it again i would make them 3.5". then no spacers needed, this would tip the cup exactly where it ended up.
-12.25" of total travel before rubber bumps

I’m pretty happy with the look I got on the upper bag mounts. Should be pretty cool lookin in paint and right side up.

02-01-2016, 01:06 PM	#10
6DoF Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: somewhere, PA Posts: 1,049	Re: Project: Pro-Rat started in on the IFS to prep it for air. my goal was to get it as low as possible with all stock components, and with as much travel as possible. the bags (front and rear): 26c Double Convoluted ... http://www.ridetech.com/store/air-sp...onvoluted.html -completely removed the bump and steering stop pads from the LCA -trimmed the x-member pinch seam back and welded back together -UCA ball joint is the limiting factor in travel (bump stops set as functional limits) -UCA pie cut to adjust travel. the arm was cut, assembled to IFS, i sat on the x-member until the LCA contacted the x-member, and re-bent the UCA to the ball joint limit. tacked, removed, fully welded. -the factory LCA rubber bumps assemble into the UCA once the slot is opened up, with slight trimming of the rubber the limit can be tuned. i'll do this with the fully assembled truck and the bags at full PSI. -upper bag mounts are nested into the factory spring perch and perfectly leveled to the frame mounts. the slots would allow me to place the bag anywhere from centered at the factory spring to 1" towards the front of the truck. the 1" fwd let me center the lower cup into the LCA and is exactly what i used. -LCA bag cups are 9" ID, slots were accidental after copying the upper plate in 3D. -i fully deflated a bag, taped the port, and bolted it to the x-member and cup. i put spacers under the cup edge to tip it out, stretching the bag with no air held everything nice and tight and aligned in place. this also kept the bag on it's bump stop. i then kept cutting on the LCA until it fell over the cup and landed on the x-member. the very outside edge of the hole is JUST short of no longer hitting the x-member, I got lucky so don’t cut too much. cup was tacked, pulled the LCA, trimmed to contour with the LCA, and fully welded. -the cup is 3" deep, but if doing it again i would make them 3.5". then no spacers needed, this would tip the cup exactly where it ended up. -12.25" of total travel before rubber bumps I’m pretty happy with the look I got on the upper bag mounts. Should be pretty cool lookin in paint and right side up.