[markpj23]

OK so now I'm curious.... I've seen more than 1 LeMans / GTO that has an air bag suspension advertised for sale on eBay. Is this a common kit / trend? Are all of these on-off custom installations?

And the $64,000 question - is it a 'good' upgrade (as in disk brakes).

[Silver Judge]

I have heard that the new air ride systems can be great for handling performance.
There are guys out there in 1950's pickup trucks taking corners as fast as corvettes according to some of the stuff I have read. In fact, I know a guy that put these on a 47 Chev P/U truck and the thing handles great now. When parked, he lowers it so that you cannot even get a toe under the bumper

[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by Silver Judge

There are guys out there in 1950's pickup trucks taking corners as fast as corvettes according to some of the stuff I have read.

I would be highly skeptical of this, as the geometry is not changed. Remeber also you need a tank and compressor to do this.

[Silver Judge]

Scarebird, you're correct, I should have pointed out that the vehicles I've read about have had many other heavy modifications to their suspension systems. The airbag is merely a replacement to a spring, coil or leaf and by itself cannot radically improve handling

[mindspin]

Originally Posted by markpj23

OK so now I'm curious.... I've seen more than 1 LeMans / GTO that has an air bag suspension advertised for sale on eBay. Is this a common kit / trend? Are all of these on-off custom installations?

And the $64,000 question - is it a 'good' upgrade (as in disk brakes).

I have been looking into this as well. Once my brakes and power steering are complete, I will most likely buy an airbag setup. The main reason for me would be when parked to drop it to the ground. Ive never seen a 64GP with Airbag setup so i think it would be unique. It's supposed to have an excellent ride as well.

www.Layitlow.com is a great forum that is geared towards air ride and hydrolics. Tons and tons of info and pics.
https://www.universalairsuspension.com/ is one of the industry leaders in air ride technology. I sent an email about my 64 GP and they said that 64 impala uses a similar frame so all it takes is some different brackets for their kit to work. (I don't know if this is true or not). Here in MA I found a shop that specializes in air ride. When its time, most likely next summer, I'm going to check them out and see if they can install one for me. Im going to Leave it to the experts.

Good Luck

[markpj23]

I appreciate the replies - thanks!

[markpj23]

FYI - the guys at Universal Air Suspension offer a kit for the mid-60s Impala. They told me that the same kit will work on the A-bodies with some different A-arm brackets that they have.

"Average" cost of one of their kits is $1,900. Kinda pricey so I'd want to talk to someone who has installed / used this setup first.

[BILTIT]

I have a friend who has a 66 Grande Parisienne that we put an airbag system in. They sent the wrong kit and we ended up modifying it to work, later we found out the impala system was the right one.

I will try to find the video of him ''workin' the bags'' when i get home.

[BILTIT]

Here it is:

http://media.putfile.com/66-Grande-Parisienne-wair-bags

[mindspin]

Originally Posted by BILTIT

Here it is:

http://media.putfile.com/66-Grande-Parisienne-wair-bags

Sweet....How can you not love that!

[PITTSBURGH 64]

My 64 Bonneville has fantastic handling with the stock (soft) springs. The sway bar is bigger and I use Bilstine shocks among other modifications.
My area (Western Pa) is all bends and hills. I've had my car up to 145 mph and its as smooth as silk.
I think air springs are a waste of money. Spend it on shocks, tires and a Lee steering box.
I use 225/70-15 Firestone Firehawk PV-41 (police) tires.
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/details...ountry=US&shop
My car handles like its on a rail and rides very nicely.

[6704gto]

they did a air ride system on horespower tv on a show