Ridetech level 1 air bag suspension for 1967 chevelle

[lsxoo7]

Hi guys just recently purchased a 1967 chevelle Malibu will be doing a ls1/th400 and turbo from my old camaro and really want a nice cruiser street car with still plenty of power

Looking into ride tech level 1 air ride . My chevelle has all new bushings on everything and all the suspension has been rebuilt hence why I don't want to step up to the level 2 right away already has aftermarket -2 spindles and rear control arms .

I have a few questions . How is the quality of the level 1 kit ? Will it stand up to say 600+ hp ? How low can it get with the bolt on kit ? And does anyone have any pictures of a level 1 kit installed in. 1967 chevelle ? Pictures of the level at its lowest point .

Looking to run either 18 or 20s not sure yet

Have plenty of other questions but lets start off with these first thanks ! Glad to be back in a another chevelle !

[lsxoo7]

And will the level 2 drop the front suspension more because of the strong arm design ?

[lsxoo7]

AnyBody ?

[onair]

lsxoo7,
The Level 1 kit is designed to be used with stock spindles and would get you way to low in the front. You might be thinking you can't get to low, that is not true. Air Springs all have a range that they are designed to be used at, when we design a kit it is designed around this range. If you put a level 1 front kit on your car you would have to over inflate the Air Spring to get the car up to a drivable height and that would give you a harsh ride. The level kits are designed to make it simple for the customer to pick their setup, but, there are times when it is better to look at the individual parts to get the customer what they truely need. In your case you already have aftermarket spindles and rear control arms, so you don't need either. We can put together a setup for you based of what you need and don't need.

Let's start with the front. Since you already have dropt spindles, you would want to run Strong Arms with Shockwaves. There are several advantages by switching to this setup, corrected balljoint angles, improved caster, and more tire clearance. With the level 1 you have to relocate the shock to the back side of the control arm because the Air spring goes in place of the spring and shock, the Shockwave setup has the shock and the Air spring as one unit so there is no need for relocating the shock. Also, by going to the Shockwave it also allows us to get the Air Spring in its designed range to ge operated in. Keep in mind we have several different Shock setups for our Shockwaves, they range from a fixed valving shock all the way up to Triple adjustable. Your telling me you are building a street cruiser, fixed or single adjustable shocks would be all you need. The fixed valving shock is valved to provide excellent ride quality, the single is designed around that same ride quality with the added benefit of being able to fine tune your ride quality a little more. Now keep in mind you will also have the ability to adjust your ride with the air system.

On the rear, you already have aftermarket control arms. Do you know what brand they are? They will probably be just fine, if you run into some kind of crazy vibration you might want to change them since ours are adjustable. As far as the Air Spring setup goes, the setup we offer in the level one will work great for your car and needs. The shock options are the same as the front shocks so you could run the same style shocks front and rear.

As far as the air control system goes, the level 1 kit comes with an Analog 3 gallon setup. This setup will work fine for you, but i want to point out some of the options we have and the differences in some of the systems we have. The analog setup is our basic setup, it comes with 2 dual neddle gauges (1 Front and 1 Rear) and 4 switches. It is all manual control, meaning once you determine what your driving pressure is you have to use the 4 switches to raise and lower the car to your ride height. We also offer the E3 digital setup to make this alot easier. The E3 has a pressure based ride height on start feature. How the ride height on start feature works is when you start the car it will go to the pressures that you programmed into it, making things alot easier for you. We also offer external ride height sensors for this setup to make it even more accurate. We offer both of the systems in 3 gallon or 5 gallon tank setups. The E3 we can also do in the Airpod setup where everything is already mounted for you.

So to make a long short, we have what you need. We just need to get together to make sure you get what you need. If you have anymore questions let us know

[bret]

The level 1 system is an entry level system that uses an airspring with an outboard mounted shock on your stock control arms up front. Great system, gets low, but can be troublesome with a large front wheel/tire package because the outboard mounted shock will decrease the turning radius if anything larger than a 8" wide wheel is used. Also, be aware the shock mounts require welding to install. If you are building a boulevard cruiser on a budget the level 1 system will do quite nicely.

For this crowd I like the Level 2 system much better.http://www.ridetech.com/store/1964-1967-gm-a-body-level-2.html
On the Level 2 system you get the StrongArm tubular control arms front and rear, taller spindles to improve the front suspension geometry, SA series ShockWaves and rear shocks, and an e3 digital compressor system. More money, yes, but it will provide the level of ride quality and handling performance that this group has come to expect.

[bret]

Sorry Rodney...guess we were responding at the same time!

[lsxoo7]

Thanks guys ! I was steered in the right directions I'll be going with the strong arm/shockwave front and the shockwave rear set up along with the upgraded pro3 air compressor set up !

Now that I have made up my mind does anyone have a 1967 with the same kit lowerd to its lowest point ?

And will the strong arm and shovkwave set up work with any after market -2 drop spindle ?

[lsxoo7]

And thanks ridetech very informative response by both of u !

[Mingus]

Here's a pic of my '66 Cutlass at driving height and all the way down. I used ATS AFX spindles which are 7/8" drop so I believe you could be up to an inch lower with a 2" drop spindle. The rear is sitting on the stock bumpstops. You can't drive it lowered all the way (except putting around in a parking lot) but it sure does look cool. I have been really happy with my setup. I went with the lower StrongArms and DA shockwaves up front (already had the ATS spindles and SPC upper arms) and the bags with SA shocks (which were already on it) in the rear with the 3 gallon AirPod / E3 controller.

[lsxoo7]

That looks awsome !! Any one else with pictures?

How well does the bag set up handle the power delivery ?

Anyone drag race with a rear bag set up ? If so what kind of 60ft times are u able to cut ? Very curious to see if the car can be fast

[bret]

The car in the video is a 70 Cutlass, but the suspension is exactly the same. http://www.ridetech.com/tv/2010/11/ridetech-3-hour-suspension-install/

[marolf101x]

Power? Drag Racing? No Problem!
http://www.ridetech.com/tv/2010/02/twin-turbo-68-camaro-on-shockwave-air-suspension/

Almost all of our autocross cars are over 500 at the wheels and we beat the snot out of them every weekend.

[lsxoo7]

Holy cow is that 68 really on a air ride system ???! Any other pictures or video ?