Air Bagging a Bomb on a Budget - Part 3

Michael's Chevy is laid in the shade thanks to its new air suspension.

In the April 2006 issue, Eddie and Michael Tovar (owners of Tovar's Restorations) showed us the process of "step notching" and bagging the rear of Michael's '49 Chevrolet two-door sedan daily driver the old school way, on a budget of $200. Bagging the front was covered in the March 2006 issue. (Note: You can bag '49 through '54 Chevrolets in the same way.)

For this final installment, Michael first put his baby in the capable hands of "Ponch" at The Bag Man (in Anaheim, California), who has bagged countless bombas through the years, to do the plumbing and wiring of the air-ride. Then, Leonard Jr. at Lou's Mufflers (in Hawaiian Gardens, California), specialists in custom exhausts for classic cars, built a system that would clear when the rear of the car was dropped all of the way down.

Because Michael and Eddie had done all of the cutting and metalwork on the car themselves, and installed the Firestone airbags, Ponch's work was far less expansive, thus keeping the project within a budget. And, with the help of the experts at Mac's Springs (in Highland, California), we saved money on the bags and air-ride components-and got exactly what we needed.

So, follow the photos as we show you the final steps to convert the stock '49 into a cool cruiser with an air-ride that will literally lay frame. (Note: To allow the tires to tuck when the car is dropped all of the way, Michael put on a set of 5.60-15 Firestone Vintage tires with OG wide whitewalls from Coker Tire's West Coast location in Fresno, California.)

The Bag Man installed a 5-gallon tank, two Firestone air compressors, custom-made solenoid block and under-dash control switches with a dual-needle air pressure gauge.	Ponch began by wrapping the air tank fittings with plumber's tape to help prevent air leaks.	The fittings were then tightened by hand with a wrench, being careful not to over-tighten.
A pressure sensor was also fitted to the tank to signal the compressors to come on when air pressure is low.	One compressor was mounted on each rear fender hump and a steel-braided air line attached to each.	Next, a power wire was run from the battery to a terminal mounted near the driver's side compressor and the compressors and switch wires were connected. (Note: Be sure that you use a good body ground for the wiring.)
Ponch built and wired an "octopus" solenoid block with air line fittings to control each airbag.	He then mounted the block up under the rear package tray on the driver's side.	A handy kill switch was also wired in to keep the compressors from coming on and running the battery down if the car is parked for extended periods.
Then the tank was mounted to the trunk floor and the air lines were run and connected to the system. Everything but the tank will be hidden behind the trunk panels.		The air lines to rear bags are attached with special 90-degree fittings.