im in college and im restoring a a 54 ford f100 and i want to put it on air ride but i have a tiny budget but i found air springs by air lift from JCWhitney does anybody know anything about these or anybody got any other products that they would suggest

 

Sorry I cannot answer your question as you would hope. Air ride and a tiny budget don't mix well. I would suggest conventional springs and switch to shockwaves later when the budget allows. Shockwaves bolt in just as coil overs do.

 

There's no short cuts to installing an air ride suspension. It will take a complete overhaul of your truck's suspension, including eliminating the leaf springs and going with an independent front end and a 4 link rear to do it correctly. It's very likely the air springs you found from Whitney are a helper or assist spring designed to add load carrying capacity or stability, and work in conjunction with the factory springs to hold the truck up, not to give it slammable adjustability. If you're a struggling college student, I would highly recommend concentrating on your studies and waiting on the project until such time as you have the proper time and resources to do it right.

 

oh im not struggling at all but we have to have a project vehicle so we get hands on work and i wanted new suspensions so i was hoping that i could put air ride in without spending a couple grand

 

Hey Ryan,
Welcome Aboard! A project to improve the suspension on your '54 sounds doable. I wouldn't just jump directly to bags as your answer - lot's of options for just about any budget.

o Refurbish the Original Stock front end - Around $800 for parts - including new king pins (fun), bushings, etc. This can get you a pretty solid ride & eliminate "the loose wandering steering". Tons of learning going this route and could take you a couple of weekends. Extra credit for
doing the Toyota steering box upgrade - another $400.

o Replace the stock front suspension with later model independent front suspensions that fit our width - search for Jaguar IFS, Volare, crown vic, etc. Probably the lowest budget approach - salvage yard parts & some good welding skills. A month or so. $500 - 1,000?

o Replace front end with an aftermarket "Mustang II Type" IFS - $2000 or so in parts & a couple of months. Pretty involved - pull engine, front clip, transmission, etc. Replace steering, etc. $2k to $5K.

o Replace/Upgrade the rear suspension - Salvage Yard Ford F100 9 inch or Explorer 8.8 inch axle. $150 - $300. A weekend or two max - pretty straight forward - minimal welding.

o Bags - Do a search for Bacagriz - he recently upgraded his suspension & has a pretty good step by step with pics on his page. Pretty involved - took a lot of work & dollars to get it right.

Good luck over there. (We went with an Explorer 8.8 rear end $125 from salvage yard & a Mustang II type front suspension - approx $5K with expert welding help).

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

sweet thanks the guy i bought it from had just put a 351w engine and c6 tranny can anyone tell me about that?