Air suspension on '73 dart sport?

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JozefJ

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Hi all,

Below the rear licence plate of my '73 Dart Sport there is a sort of valve (like on the tires). Behind that, tubes run towards the rear shocks (I think). The rear end of the car seems to be raised quite a lot, could it be that this is some sort of air shock system?

And if it is, how could I lower it a bit, what tool should I use and towards how many PSI?

I have included some pictures, hope they give an image of what I mean.

Thanks for thinking along!

20240928_213934.jpg


20240928_213749.jpg
 
Yes you can lower it. If you lower it all the way down, you will damage the shocks. Check how much you have now with a tire gauge and go from there.
 
No offense meant for the following:
I love these threads. They make me smile when someone asks a question that has them confused and it is a situation that others have seen and dealt with many years ago.

Yeah that valve is similar to what you see on your wheels. They are Schrader valves that control the air in the system. Just like with a car tire, you press the center pin and the air comes out. You press an air hose to it, the pressurized air goes in.
"Air shocks" were popular many years ago as a means to raise the rear of a vehicle for a few different reasons. One was for style. Some people loved the look of a raised up rear end of a vehicle. Some people wanted to put wider tires on the car and when they wouldn't fit, the car had to be raised for clearance. Some people used them to allow them to tow a boat or to carry more people or cargo when the stock leaf springs sagged too much under load. They were popular but lost their appeal sometime in the early 80s.
I've used air shocks before. One drawback is that the mounts in our cars were not designed to take suspension loads, they were designed support the shocks that only dampened the movement of the suspension. This meant that the mounts are not thick enough to tolerate the demands that some people put on them. Under duress, they will sometimes deform or come loose from the frame.
The proper fix for sagging springs is to replace the springs. You can have leaf springs made to handle additional load capability.
Cheers and good luck.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yes you can lower it. If you lower it all the way down, you will damage the shocks. Check how much you have now with a tire gauge and go from there.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I have a tire gauge so I'll check the pressure out. What do you think the bandwith in PSI is? So I can get an estimate of how low I might go in lowering the car by releasing air from the shocks.

Sorry if I'm ging too much into detail.. I'm new to the world of classics and mopars in particular. Trying hard to learn though.
 
Kern Dog said:
No offense meant for the following:
I love these threads. They make me smile when someone asks a question that has them confused and it is a situation that others have seen and dealt with many years ago.

Yeah that valve is similar to what you see on your wheels. They are Schrader valves that control the air in the system. Just like with a car tire, you press the center pin and the air comes out. You press an air hose to it, the pressurized air goes in.
"Air shocks" were popular many years ago as a means to raise the rear of a vehicle for a few different reasons. One was for style. Some people loved the look of a raised up rear end of a vehicle. Some people wanted to put wider tires on the car and when they wouldn't fit, the car had to be raised for clearance. Some people used them to allow them to tow a boat or to carry more people or cargo when the stock leaf springs sagged too much under load. They were popular but lost their appeal sometime in the early 80s.
I've used air shocks before. One drawback is that the mounts in our cars were not designed to take suspension loads, they were designed support the shocks that only dampened the movement of the suspension. This meant that the mounts are not thick enough to tolerate the demands that some people put on them. Under duress, they will sometimes deform or come loose from the frame.
The proper fix for sagging springs is to replace the springs. You can have leaf springs made to handle additional load capability.
Cheers and good luck.
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time for such a long response. I appreciate it.
The amount of stress on the springs will be minimal; mostly people and possibly some light luggage. No towing boats or carrying heavy cargo.
Any suggestions on the optimal PSI in air shocks? So I can get an estimate of how high or low I could go?
 
JozefJ said:
Thanks for taking the time for such a long response. I appreciate it.
The amount of stress on the springs will be minimal; mostly people and possibly some light luggage. No towing boats or carrying heavy cargo.
Any suggestions on the optimal PSI in air shocks? So I can get an estimate of how high or low I could go?
Click to expand...
Most new air shocks can handle air pressure up to 100 psi. Never run them empty. Set the pressure at 34 psi and go from there.
 
JozefJ said:
Thanks! I have a tire gauge so I'll check the pressure out. What do you think the bandwith in PSI is? So I can get an estimate of how low I might go in lowering the car by releasing air from the shocks.

Sorry if I'm ging too much into detail.. I'm new to the world of classics and mopars in particular. Trying hard to learn though.
Click to expand...
I have no idea. You're going to have to experiment around with it and see.
 
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