Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

oh yeah, it's fully customizable to anything you'd want.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

got the 'Aire Jax' switches hooked up last night and they are amazing. super easy proportional control for slower speed and fast as hell if you want. i dropped the front once hard enough i was worried about breaking something, but i can also easily take however long i want for it to drop. the new switch location is also money. highly recommend.

with the switches and no psi regulator, i was able to get 140psi in the front bags, the max on my tank regulator. but i got very little extra lift. i'm starting to get worried about making the 8-8.5" height i wanted.

after that i started hooking up the relay and fuse block to get the onboard pumps running. got them to run, now i just need to wire them thru the psi switch.

https://i.imgur.com/v5f6Zn9l.jpg

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

get'er done. let us know how it goes.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

nice tidy work. good job you're doing. better than sone proffessional jobs I've seen.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Ii remember back in the day with the square body trucks they used some air bags inside the coil springs. can't remember if that was a factory thing or an aftermarket thing. I always wondered how much they helped but never actually found out since i was the repair guy not the truck owner or driver. mostly I seen them on 1 ton trucks but the max engine size/weight would have been a big block or a 6.2 diesel. hopefully you can make your's work without having to rework the control arm.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

bag inside the coil spring or in place of the coil spring?

this is the second set of LCA's i've built to take a bag in place of the spring. these use an 8" dia bag, the first set was for a 9" dia bag. i could also go back and make another set for the higher capacity bag again.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

bag inside the coil. standard factory ride height. i think maybe the ride height was taller on the air bag assisted trucks but that was a long time ago.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

oh yeah, compensate for added weight or try a small lift by making things stiffer ... they still sell those, even seen ppl use footballs :lol:

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

yup, stiffer comes to mind for sure

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

got it! i was determined to get you that full height picture!

so i finished wiring up the dual OBA compressors with the tank psi switch and got actual good PSI to the bags. she went right up to height, and a weight off my shoulders.

8.5" front, 9" rear

https://i.imgur.com/ocMNAQMl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WwscXDLl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hKhsi8il.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Dp2Udpml.jpg

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

fewf, load off.
looks good for height there.
thanks for the pics.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

One of my favorite duallys! (and I'm not a dually guy)

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

are you puting a bumper on the front?

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

thank you!

hopefully you still like it after i do the bed. it'll be a little different.

sure thing, i have the factory matching patina front bumper for it. will get placed a little tighter to the body, and a little lower to the ground.

i then have a 70's step bumper for the back

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

the task force trucks with no front bumper kinda look like they are launching when they are sitting still, haha.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

so it begins ...

i only have a few things to hook up, but there are so many damn wires!!

https://i.imgur.com/qogarqj.jpg

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

looks pretty neat to me. keep going one circuit at a time and soon you won't have any circuits left.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

You're on the downhill side. It looks good at that ride height.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

thanks, and i even get to weed out n not use quite a few of these wire too!

i have always HATED the "Christmas tree press-in clip" style zip ties on factory harnesses. just a pain, never reusable, etc. well while working on the wife's vette i finally bought a bag of 100 of em and i'm starting to really like them. now that i can just cut em off n replace they are super handy. 1/4" hole, super secure, done.

also, this cheap split seam loom from amazon is way better than that old plastic corrugation stuff i've used in the past.

https://i.imgur.com/rnXmqchl.jpg

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

thanks! cross your fingers for me it functions n rides well too, haha.

i've searched and searched, but cant' find a good cheap set of factory late-gen C30 knuckles. i'd really like to have a set on the shelf for back-up. i made some 3" bag spacers for the back, and by swapping out these drop knuckles i could gain back a real functional height while still getting low enough to be pretty sick.

what drives me nutz is i had a set on that chassis i bought and they got scrapped. immediate regret.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

there is also a tool that helps insert the wire into the splkit loom.
https://www.cabletiesandmore.ca/wire-loom-tools

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Wait!! You built a chassis from scratch and you are griping about pulling a few wires through your truck??? LOL. Is it just me???

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

:lol:

generally a fabricator is allergic to electricity ya know!

satisfying at completion, just not my favorite work. partially cuz ideal functionality of routing is not the same as a nice looking routing for the most part ... i end up with an internal struggle of hidden and serviceability.

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

oo! good call on a tool for that. i used a box wrench last night and was pretty decent, but could be way better.

found these online and printing a few different sizes of them now.

https://www.printables.com/model/662...esser-werkzeug

https://media.printables.com/media/p...ge_662378.webp

Re: Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)
 

Have you looked at a racepak for your gauges and data logging? For the cost of the holley stuff I think the racepak might be a better option price wise.

Your air valves look like the little Larry ones I have on my truck. I'm guessing these guys bought Larry out. Unless they changed design or upgraded something inside them, plan to add some lube to your air system maybe 1 or 2x a year. I only have the 2 valve and not the 4 but they will stick some times and that sucks. Hopefully yours won't. I've had mine on the truck for a long time so maybe mine is just an old design. :lol: