what is needed for front air ride?

[05Gibbs]

ok starting to do the suspention on my 65 shortwide and im still up in the air on what to do for the rear i know im going to z the front but i dont know how much and if im going to need drop spindles and any good combos for the rear will help also i would like to stay away from a triangle 4 link would like to go with a paralell (spelling) i do not want to back half just going to get a SD notch and if possible i was thinking about running stock arms with the notch and running behind the axle brackets but then i cant use a panhard in the rear can this be mounted on the top somehow? any ideas or sugestions will help thanks

[Irishpilot]

I just did the front. I bought bags, fittings, lines, and drop spindles. I had to cut out the stock bump stops so I could go lower. This allows me to lay the fron on the frame if I so choose. My bags came with the mounting plates, which you will have to drill the upper A-arm for.

[Spray-Bomb]

Actually you drill the crossmember for the bag plates



You need the following for a simple front bag setup
Bags, upper bag plates, 90 or 45 degree air line fittings, grommets, bolts & most people use spacer cups under the bags to keep them from rubbing on the LCAs

Drop spindles are a good idea as well as shorter shocks

For the rear I would run the bags in front of the axle, the further back the bags are from the pivot point the less travel you are going to have, on the flip side it makes the weight handling of the bags closer to what they are rated at (not needed for a 1/2T pickup) & it can make it ride rougher
If you mount them in the stock coil spring location (some people move them forward a lil bit) then it will ride better

Bags in place of stock coils


Also, if you have the skills to keep everything level & aligned correctly, then I would Z the rear instead of doing a step notch
You dont run into the trailing arm to frame clearance issues with a Z

[05Gibbs]

ya i have the brackets for the front i was just wondering how much of a z do i need and if im going to need spindles and i dont really want to z the rear because i will have to raise the bed floor and i would not know where to start with that but it looks like it would work the best will it lay all the way out with the rear z

[RunninLo]

2.5" is a good z. for extreme wheels you can go more but you can lay the main rails on a 29" overall outside diameter wheel/tire combo with the 2.5". Keep in mind you will have to raise the trans tunnel in the firewall to account for the motor going up with the Z. you'll also need to raise up your steering the same amount as the Z.

There are many posts from skilled guys who have documented z from start to finish. It would be wise to read as many of those as you can just to see the big picture. there's a lot more to it than most people think.
Arm yourself with knowledge and you'll do fine.

Josh

[scotts62]

do homework, measure a 100X and cut once

[94tx]

Spray-bomb, would z'ing the rear allow you to lay out completely?

[Spray-Bomb]

Well it would allow the rear to lay out all the way, but you still have the front to worry about & the front is the hardest part to get to lay frame

I didnt want to Z my frame in the front on my truck & I didnt want to get into all the other mods you can do to the front & I cant afford a Drop Member right now, so it doesnt lay frame
If you want to lay frame & dont want to Z the front you can buy a Drop Member from Porter Built

But yes, Z'ing the rear will allow you to lay the frame on the ground depending on how much you Z it
I only Z'd mine 6-3/16" because my front wont go low enough to need any more of a Z in the rear

When my truck is dumped, my frame is about 2-1/2" off the ground & my LCAs are laying on the ground

[RunninLo]

Originally Posted by 94tx

Spray-bomb, would z'ing the rear allow you to lay out completely?

You can lay with a simple step-notch as well. a rear z is mostly a personal choice as opposed to necessary. if you're looking at a back half custom frame section then you can incorporate the z into that, otherwise you can lay with a step notch. only caveat is if you retain your stock 2-link arms you will need to clearence them or the frame to lay completely as they hit the frame just in front of the axle.
Josh

[Kontrol Phreaks]

People like myself used to section the front crossmember as much as poosible and then you can reduce the amount of the frame Z up front. This was pre Porterbuilt Dropmember days. Today I'd throw the Porterbuilt front end under the truck and call it a day. 5 hours and she's done.

If you're looking to retain the factory crossmember and Z the truck, than you can get away with a simple front plate and cup system paired with drop spindles. The early ball joint trucks work with a 2.5 drop spindle, but you can press them out to the later ball joints and run a 3.0 drop spindle as well. I'd reccomend getting the front air ride installed along with the spindles. Once you have your overall tire diameter figured out, mount a temp combination set up front, and measure for your Z. That way you know how much to take it down and ensure that it will work with what you want to run. Plus you can give it a little extra incase you decide to change the tire size later.
Better to measure and calculate several times so you cut once and don't leave yourself short, and off the ground.