Up front, it was basically the same story. The front suspension on a stock '63-72 will work, but in order to maximize ground clearance and the full travel of an air-suspended frontend, Air Ride designed an entire bolt-on front suspension, also dubbed the StrongArm kit. Replacing the stock A-arms are new tubular control arms designed and built by ART. The new upper and lower A-arms come complete with bushings, ball joints, and cross-shafts, which means all one has to do to install the arms is bolt them up. ART also equips the arms with the correct year of ball joints that fit the stock spindles. As for mounting the air spring, all one has to do is drill a few holes and bolt the mounting plate to the upper spring pocket.
Another area ART improved is the frame mounting stud for the shock absorber. On a stock setup, the upper shock mount is bolted to a lone standing stud off the framerail that is prone to breaking. ART designed a solid upper shock mount that bolts to the frame that can take the punishment of everyday use. Along with the rear suspension, the front suspension parts are all jig-assembled and hand-MIG welded. Not to mention all the brackets are laser-cut and CNC-machined for a precise fit.
For Project Get Shorty, Air Ride Technologies sent us a complete front and rear STRONGARM kit with CoolRide airbags. They also sent us a RideProE system and the new LevelPro system, which we will install in an upcoming issue. As for this installment, we bolted up the front and rear suspension with no problems at all. The only tricky part was determining the new wheelbase pickup points since we shortened the frame, but even that is only a series of measurements. Check it out.
ext, we bolted the trailing...
ext, we bolted the trailing arms to the rearend.
With the trailing arms mounted...
With the trailing arms mounted to the rearend, we slid the assembly in place and bolted the arms to the Air Ride crossmember.
In last month's issue, before...
In last month's issue, before any disassembly took place I drew a reference line on top of the frame where the rearend centerline was located. The first step to finding the new wheelbase was to line up the rearend with those reference marks.
The wheelbase from the center...
The wheelbase from the center of the axle to the center of the front hub is 115 inches, so now it's a matter of finding a location to mount the ART crossmember. I didn't want to mount the rearend crooked, so I found this cab mount (right arrow) on both sides of the frame. I measured from the cab mount to the ART crossmember's forward edge (left arrow) to find the new wheelbase.
Once the ART crossmember was...
Once the ART crossmember was in what I thought was the correct position, I then found a second reference point (a hole about 5 inches from the forward edge of the crossmember [arrow] on both sides of the frame) and took second measurements.
Lastly, I measured from the...
Lastly, I measured from the hub center to the axle center 115 inches, but here's something to look out for: The hub may not be turned exactly straight, which could throw off the measurements, so I also measured from the center of the lower ball joint back to the axle center to make sure everything was squared up. Finally, after three solid measurements the rearend was in place (I know it seems redundant, but this step is just slightly important), and the required holes were drilled into the frame to bolt the ART crossmember in place.