JR's 51 Oldsmobile

Next up I worked on mocking up the front air bags. Since it has a GM G-body clip, I bought a G-body "kit" for the front from Air Ride Technologies. In addition to shocks and brackets here's what you get in the kit.

Here's what it looks like assembled.

Buying the kit saved me from having to fabricate the brackets that go above and below the bags. The instructions say to cut and arc 2" high and 5" long on the side of the spring pocket area of the frame.

That still looked a little close on the front and rear edges so I marked it for some more cutting.

With more cut out it was a much better fit.

With the lower control arm on and the air bag compressed it still had plenty of clearance.

With the front suspension all mocked up the top shock mount was a bit close to the upper A-arm so I moved that back about 3/4". Then everything cleared all the way through suspension travel.

It has about 8" of travel.