Houdaille shocks?

[choppinczech]

I wouldn't even consider it myself.

I have to agree.

Your front end is so clean and cool the way it is. Do you need shocks?

 

[RPM]

I think you meant "oscillation" Ron , no offence meant...
dave

Yes the dang phone with auto correct.

 

[PotvinGuy]

I can read people. You all think it is a great idea and I should proceed! Sigh...I do like to try new things, but I agree this is just too risky. It would be disconcerting for the suspension to unravel in freeway traffic. And maybe fatal. So I'll wimp out, keep the 4-bars, and add a link from the shock arm.
I've never had front shocks and that's OK around town. But on the Interstates the wheels can break into dancing at some speeds and that interrupts my fantasies involving Annette. Don't deny it, you've been there in your head.

 

[2old2fast]

You mean the mouseketeer w/ boobs , nope , never thought about her ..
dave

 

[golddredger]

Here is my setup hopefully the pictures links will work fine now. This is a fully custom 27T frame with airbags up front and 47 merc shocks

 

[golddredger]

My radiator shroud fits directly in between them but slightly back and my headlight brackets will sit right over the top.

 

[golddredger]

Oh yes this is all the way aired OUT so if you want to see some pictures at ride height I can get that for ya. The airbags are completely flat right now. Frame and brackets have some surface rust on them. Was all new steel and I left for a bit with the chassis outside and it rained before I got home so it got wet. The next day I got a rusty mess.

 

[fletcherson]

Interesting contrast between old school shocks and new air bags. Cool setup.

 

[PotvinGuy]

I thought I'd seen everything, but never saw bags on a bucket. Love new ideas. Where'd the bags come from? My setup will be similar with shocks on the sides of frame rails. Wavering between a link like yours or maybe a sliding joint between the shock arm and the batwing.

 

[golddredger]

Bags are brand new 2600lbs from one of the mjor air ride suppliers. My Panhard bar is under the main frame cross tube. Clears everything and is the lowest point when at ride height at 4". Car sets on the frame when aired out. The frame is stepped up to the front so the front section does not set down just from the cowl back.

 

[golddredger]

Not hijacking this thread for sure just wanted to share something different and show my vintage shock setup.

 

[Zandoz]

I'd love to study the air bag setup for a while. If things go as planned, I'll be using bags on the rear. I've pondered ways to use them on the front, but I've never come up with a set-up I liked, and was within my means.

 

[Intrepid]

I am also adding this shock to the front of my bucket. Will post some picks once they are mounted.
I just wanted to add that you don't want to heat these things up with a torch or the like, the original shocks were filled with glycerin, not oil.

 

[Gerry]

Unequal R Rods are tricky to get right; (Hemi joints all round) don't forget that the axle can be up on one wheel and down on the other, putting the axle at an angle when viewed from the front.. Depending on your suspension travel and the relative length of the 'bars' will dictate how much caster angle change you will experience. I get about 1* on 2 1/2 inches of travel.... thats OK for me as I dialled in a little bit extra caster to take this into account. I am also running a rack, so the steering effort is very very light.

Being logical, there is nothing stopping you running a solid R Rod the same length as the damper arm, but outside of the real damper arm and with the same pivot centres, as a suspension link, but it would probably look like crap. Needless complication.

You could go 3 bar and still use the design you have but it would need to account for axle twist. The 3rd bar (in the centre of the axle) would have to be the same length as the damper arm, and with the same centre distance and mount points. Nice design exercise to have a play with. Got me thinking.

As 2Old said, I would not rely on one for a suspension link. JMHO

Take a look here. Unusual front ends

 

[fluidfloyd]

For those of you thinking about designing a air bag suspension then maybe this will help you. Firestone and Goodyear both use to have printed technical catalogs and still might. I found this with a quick google search but have not really searched through it as I have both of those catalogs. There are a number of bags or as they like to call them idolaters in those catalogs allowing true custom designs and applications for those outside of the box types. The only time I ever used bags was some years ago when I designed a dragster front independent system using one single very small bag. I'll see if I can find the pictures of it later.

riderite.com/-/media/www/riderite/files/ride-rite-catalog-2015.pdf