[pride63]

heres a quick video of my 63 country sedan with the ridetech shockwaves fitted.i know its not everyones cup of tea but its mine lol

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anne-mark-photos/8035395137/in/photostream

 

[DirtyD]

NICE man! I'm going that way also. did you get the whole kit?

 

[pride63]

no i didnt get the kit due to cost.i bought the shockwaves,airoverleaf and 5 gallon tank with upgraded compressor.
i need to fit another compressor to allow tank to fill quicker as when tank drops to 135 ps1 the compressor takes 5 minutes to fill it to 150 psi. i takes 17mins from empty to fill. i have mounted my compressor and valve under my rear seat so compressor is very noisy in cabin.

 

[DirtyD]

The compressor under the seat is a good idea. So you have shockwaves in the front and bags over the leafs in the rear??
Did the shock waves in the front bolt right in as they claim?

 

[pride63]

yes with no modification at all, it took about 3-4 hours for me to do as i have never stripped a car front end down before so i was being very careful.

 

[lgh1157]

Nice, if you run 2 x 480 Viairs you will have a 6 min fill time 0 - 150. . . . . . I ran 200 psi on my 64 and it was awesome, quick response, almost instant.

Running a compressor under the seat will be like a vibrating bed in a cheap hotel .

Better to move the comps as far rear as you can and use some skateboard bushings or some other insulating type rubber donuts to take the humm away

L

 

[fakesnake]

The front looks great! The back doesn't appear to move at all.

 

[pride63]

i wanted the compressor hidden so thats why its under the seat its mounted on rubber cotton reel bobbins and dynamat so you cant really hear it now with the radio on or if you are having a conversation. i am adding another compressor to cut time down soon.
the back doesnt move as its not done yet as i need to move my exhaust pipes first.
the front end is not floaty at all now.
The one problem with wagons is everything is on show so that's why I mounted the tank on the back of rear seat so I lose very little load space when I drop seat down

 

[lgh1157]

^^ dig the bobbin idea !

L

 

[CMEDROP]

i wanted the compressor hidden so thats why its under the seat its mounted on rubber cotton reel bobbins and dynamat so you cant really hear it now with the radio on or if you are having a conversation. i am adding another compressor to cut time down soon.
the back doesnt move as its not done yet as i need to move my exhaust pipes first.
the front end is not floaty at all now.
The one problem with wagons is everything is on show so that's why I mounted the tank on the back of rear seat so I lose very little load space when I drop seat down

Watch out for the compressor overheating because of limited airspace under seat.

 

[IR Mechanik]

Which shockwaves did you get?
I'm interested in running the same setup. Want to set up my car as a cruiser and wondering if it's worth the extra to get the adjustable.

 

[pride63]

i have looked at my emails but cannot find the number of unit im afraid, i know its the one used in the galaxie kit they do , i will see if i can find my reciept tonight.
i would have bought the adjustable if i could have afforded it at the time.
i would would use the cce twin compressor system for air management if i was doing it again for reasons stated above

 

[drdano]

If the rear of the '63 wagons is anything like my '62, you've got a ton of room back there to hide compressors and tanks behind the rear wheels where the factory mufflers are. Get those mufflers out of there and there is some good spots to mount that stuff. That is my plan on my '62 someday. I like the shockwaves you used as well, no custom pads or perches for them, just bolt in. :tup:

 

[pride63]

I will have a look tomorrow as I have it on a ramp to sort out my ss exhaust routing ready for bagging the rear on sun but tbh I'm quite happy with where it is.

 

[pride63]

i had a look today and there loads of room under there, i am moving compressor to there and fitting another compressor in there so they run cooler and for less time.

 

[pride63]

finished the install today, first we dropped the coil overs and removed u bolts then lifted axle and supported it so it was out of way. we then removed the lower 2 leafs and the third one down as to help in the displacement of force through the leafs.we then made a spacer to replace the 2 leaves we had removed and mounted this along with the ridetech airbag plate to leaf and bolted it all up along with new dampers to axle, we then fitted air bag with top bracket fitted to it and jacked it up into position and marked the chassis prior to welding. air bag was then removed and bracket welded in place. refit air bag and plumb it in . the wheels wouldnt fit know even with axle dropped to lowest point (235/60/15) so i fitted my chrome smoothies with 205/670/14 narrow white walls on. its all done and only took 2 of us 4 hours woorking it out as we go .i am a happy bunny now.
i cant thank patrick enough for his help. we are putting hydralics on his 64 impala next .

stripping leafsprings by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

starting to rebuild the leafsprings by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

one bag trial fitted by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

upper chassis fixing for air bag welded in position by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

 

[pride63]

my rear suspension fully inflated to 100psi

airbag and leaves at full height by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

fully deflated, i am adding another leaf back to the suspension as i dont like how the leaf looks

airbag and leaves at full drop by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

car at fully pumped up


fully lifted by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

car fully dropped

fully dropped by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr

just to add fender skirts and move tank,compressors and valves now but that will be over winter.

 

[pride63]

pics of my leafspring now after adding 2 more leaf back in(effectively removed one). the car feels better and is more confident on road.

drivers side rear leaf with 5 springs in , i feel this is a lot better than earlier version by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
more pics on my flickr link

 

[johnstund]

bad ass

 

[pride63]

I have moved the original Ridetech compressor to under the rare of the rear drivers side fender and installed a viair chrome compressor in the rear passenger side of my cargo bed.

Air compressor mounted to chassis by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
You can just see the viair on the l/h/s

New birch bed by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
The tank fitted in nicely on the p/s under the rear p/s fender.
I also fitted a hand held avs controller switch on the seat for ease of control.
Fully raised

fully lifted by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
Fully dropped

fully dropped by mark & anne's photos, on Flickr
I must admit knowing what I do know I would not have bought the kit I did, I would have bought 2 smaller higher pressure tanks with a separate compressor to each. It would run 250lbs and be bagged using double convuleted bags all round and relocated dampers. It would also run 3/8" solenoid valves not the 1/4" I have at the mo as the front doesn't lift anywhere near the speed I want .