Air bags

[jason_sps]

Does anyone out there know of any Air ride kits for the older hearses? I went to our local Air Ride dealer and they told me they would just use the universal kit with a few more hardware items.

[R U INJRD]

Does anyone out there know of any Air ride kits for the older hearses? I went to our local Air Ride dealer and they told me they would just use the universal kit with a few more hardware items.

I don't know of any Air Suspension company that makes a specific kit for any type of hearse. You will probably have to put the parts together on your own to get it done. The problem is all the commercial chassis cars are different, and there's no money in doing a lot of R&D on a product they'll likely only sell a couple of.

A good place to buy parts is www.suicidedoors.com . They can even fabricate brackets for you if you figure out what you need. There is also a lot of good information on their site about how to incorporate an air suspension into your vehicle.

www.airridetechnologies.com and www.airliftcompany.com or www.easystreetair.com are also good resources. typically their prices are higher on just about everything, but they do a lot of research and can really help you get set up with the right stuff if you're not mechanically inclined.

[Creepy Cruiser]

Nope, you pretty much have to built it all from scratch, lol. It takes quite a bit to get them to lay all the way out.

You can see more on my build if you click on the link in my sig

What year and make is your car?

[jason_sps]

I have a 1975 Cadillac MM.

[Creepy Cruiser]

Cool.

How low do you want to go, and how big are your wheels?

[jason_sps]

I'm putting 20's on it and I don't want to slam it or bounce it, but i would like to go fairly low

[R U INJRD]

How long have you had it? I know where there is a 75 Cad M/M for sale with a complete 3-way table in it.

[Creepy Cruiser]

In that case, I believe they do make a kit for the front, but you would still have to build the rear from scratch.

[jason_sps]

I have had the car for three years now. I've grown quite fond of it. I even had it tattooed on my leg. As for the rear kit, I don't think I would have too many problems with fabricating some mounts for it.

[Creepy Cruiser]

It's relatively strait forward. The only thing is if it's anything like mine, it was super tight to get it all to fit and not have to cut the floor. Luckly you'll probably be keeping your leaf springs, (which is way easier) instead of building all new control arms and mounts to get it to lay flat on the ground like me.

I've bagged well over 100 cars over the years, and there is nothing like draggin body and frame at 60 mph down the freeway and throwing 60 feet of sparks out the back, lol.

[R U INJRD]

I used Air Ride Technologies AirOverLeaf brackets on the back of my GMC, and they have worked out well. If you have leaf springs, you remove all the leafs but one or two on each side, and the air bag replaces the load carrying capacity. The remaining leaf is used to locate the axle and keep it in place. I've been running it for 2 years with no problems. I did run two bags on each side in the rear for extra weight carrying capacity. Probably not necessary, but good piece of mind. I would definitely do it on a hearse since it probably weighs a good ton or two more.

I agree the front is probably the same as a standard Cadillac of the same year, so there may be a kit for that. You would maybe want to step up to the next higher weight capacity bag there too, due to the extra weight of the commercial chassis.

Be careful and do a lot of research though, especially on the weight capacity of bags. Bags are commonly referred to as 2500# or 2600# bags, and people think this is the weight capacity of the bag. Sometimes it is, or is close, but not always. If you're designing the system on your own, make sure you find out the true weight carrying capacity of the bags, don't just go by the part number. Most bag manufacturers have this info available if you do a little digging.

[Creepy Cruiser]

That's all good advice.

I personally like Slam Specialties bags.

[hearseboy]

... If you have leaf springs, you remove all the leafs but one or two on each side, and the air bag replaces the load carrying capacity. The remaining leaf is used to locate the axle and keep it in place. I've been running it for 2 years with no problems.

I have gone in favor of 4-link rear suspension, in the past. Have you guys had any issue with rear sway or shift when running just the single leaf? Any sign that the spring or shackles are fatiguing?
-Just curious, cause this would save me a LOT of hassle on a car I don't care enough about to 4-link.

ps. Creepy - I like em low too.

[Venom]

I have gone in favor of 4-link rear suspension, in the past. Have you guys had any issue with rear sway or shift when running just the single leaf? Any sign that the spring or shackles are fatiguing?

shouldnt have any side shift problems, since the first leaf is usually the only one that runs all the way to the mounts anyway, it carries the side load whether a full leaf pack or by itself
Also shouldnt be any more stress on the spring or shackles, the load there should be the same as well

[Creepy Cruiser]

You should be fine with mono leafs and even if it did have a little side to side you could always add a pan hard bar to it. 4 link is by far the best way to go normally, but to get one to fit in one of these, you have to cut the crap out of it, lol. I run a 2 link with a pan hard bar in mine, and while I was in there, I did 4 wheel disk brakes and an 8" narrower rear end to get 10" wide wheels to tuck all around.