Where have all the air shocks gone..........?

[MoparMuscleMan440]

I recently decided to add more "rake" to the ride of my '87 Fifth Ave., since the Monroe air shocks, when fully inflated, would, at best, give me a "level" ride, especially when there was any kind of weight in the trunk at all. I think the fully extended length of these shocks is no more than a little over 18" or so, so their extended length is not that great to begin with. I located a product called a "shock extender" on the web, and sold also by Summit Racing. These handy dandy little gadgets screw onto the threaded end of the shock stud on these type of shocks, thereby lengthening the overall length, increasing the ride height by 2-3 inches. There are basically 2 types of these when it comes to thread size, 3/8 x 24 and 3/8 x 16. According to the research I've done, my mopar shocks for the M body are, as far as I can tell the 3/8 x 16 variety. If anyone here can verify this, please feel free to let me know. Also, while doing all this research, I came to find that manufacturers of air shocks, (ie; Monroe, Gabriel, etc.), have discontinued air shocks for the M body cars. Finding this out set me to thinking, "What will I do if I ever need to replace my air shocks with new? Where will I be able to find a new set"? The answer is simply, "I'm probably going to be SOL! Well, after further research, I have discovered, that there is also a little device that will enable you to convert the stud end of this type of shock to the more traditional "loop" end of shock, thus changing to a type that is still widely available. So, I guess, as time marches on, and more and more of parts for our old beloved vehicles gets discontinued, we have to make provisions to modify in order to adapt to the changing availability market. As you all well know by my postings in the past, I am an avid fan of air adjustable shock absorbers on the older rear wheel drive mopars, and I'm way too stubborn and set in my ways to change that. So, once again, I am having to "modify" to be able to enjoy the old girl, as I have become used to doing. Any thoughts on this topic? Love to hear from you. Drop me a post.

 

[Duke5A]

So the back end is sagging? Replace the springs or rearch them first.

I've got a set of air shocks too if you're interested.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Seems they were available not too long ago.
On these cars they were known for tearing up the mount if there was weight in the back put on them.
I agree, skip the shocks and deal with the worn out springs first.

 

[MoparMuscleMan440]

No,I don't need to replace the springs. Upper shock mounts are fine. I've been using air adjustable shocks for decades, on every b body and m body I've owned. Never had a problem with upper shock mounts as long as the car was in good to excellent condition underneath. The whole point of my post was simply that it's getting tougher and tougher to find items that we once considered easy to find. I've always ran air shocks on my cars, and I always will.

 

[Duke5A]

You're spraying Febreeze on a pile of shit and tossing a rug over it instead of cleaning the pile. Springs set ride height. Shocks control rebound. Your springs are worn if your car's backend is sagging.

But hey, you do you.

 

[MoparMuscleMan440]

I never once said that the back end of my Fifth was sagging. I said that it was riding at level height with a little weight in the trunk, and my choice was to lift it a little to get a little rake back in it. My leaf springs are just fine, I assure you. Car only has 60,000 miles on it. My interest in air adjustable shocks is just a personal preference. It's called "old school"!

 

[Duke5A]

I recently decided to add more "rake" to the ride of my '87 Fifth Ave., since the Monroe air shocks, when fully inflated, would, at best, give me a "level" ride, especially when there was any kind of weight in the trunk at all.

The way this was written I took it that your car currently has at least some sag in the back. If it's level with no weight in the trunk then yeah, air shocks aren't an issue. Not trying to knock old school way of doing things.

Dad ran air shocks on his Diplomat for a couple of years. The ride was harsh, but they did exactly what you're looking for. You'll need to convert to B body shock plates first in the rear though. The lower shock mount is weak and won't survive long even if you find a pair of shocks that will fit. If swapping out to B body mounts is something you want to do I can find some pictures somewhere. I've done the swap on a couple of cars.