The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk air quality, air bags...

After almost a year of working on her, the '57 chevy in the signature link below has been my daily driver for the past month. I can't describe how much satisfaction I've gotten out of driving this old truck- and I look forward to driving it every day! The longer I drive her, the less I want to change her- I really enjoy driving this truck in it's current state- the lack of power steering and brakes- I don't even want to paint anything anymore. The way she is is the way I want her, with 2 key exceptions:

First, is there any way to improve the air quality in the cab? I know I need to get the vent cables lubed up and moving again, since they're not right now- But I do get quite a bit of exhaust when idling.

Second- Any suggestions on rear suspension?- I'm riding low in back with a steel plate on worn springs- and am considering everything from airbags to air shocks or coilovers, whatever will work so I can haul some heavy stuff.

Thanks-

If you're getting exhaust in the cab, you may have a manifold leak that needs addressed. The only other thing I can suggest, beyond getting the vents to work, is to consider adding a sliding rear window. I have one installed in mine, makes a huge difference. I can open the vents, open the slider, and get plenty of fresh air without rolling the windows down or getting a bad draft through the cab.
On the suspension, if the springs are worn, the only real fix is going to either be new springs, or you might be able to have them re-arched if you have a good spring shop nearby. I don't know of anyone currently making overload shocks or a TF specific airbag setup, but you might be able to adapt an airbag system for a later 1/2 ton to work.

Traeg,
That's a fine looking truck and fine looking family. You should be real proud...
Suggest new set of springs from these guys. http://benzspring.com/
Brand new springs expertly made with new shackles and all the components, shipped to your door is more reasonable than you might think. If you rebuild the front and rear with new king pins and new shocks from your local NAPA, you don't really need bags unless you want to lower it or air helpers if you plan to carry heavy loads. (For that, you would need to adapt off the shelf components and fabricate a setup.)
Really like the patina on that truck. Like me. I'm not getting old. It's just patina...Don

Thanks Bill and Don-
I like the idea of a rear slider- I do get some gas fumes too, especially when its hot, (should I be? the whole fuel system from tank to lines is new) That rear window would help-
I e-mailed Benzspring- we'll see what they say- As far as load goes- I cut a lot of oak firewood and would like to be able to load her up- I also haul gravel yearly for our dirt road/ drive. I know she's a 1/2 ton- but I'd like to be able to get the most out of her- which will probably also mean getting some better tires.

I like that patina too- the gold over green- you should see it when it rains, beautiful!

Traeger

If you really want to break axles, you can get the heavy duty 3/4 ton option leaf springs for the rear. My truck came to me with them, and when I replaced all of my leaf springs I had Benz make a new set. They have 10 leafs. They really perk up the rear end too.

I don't know if I want to break axels- but I am intrigued by a perky rear. Let me be honest and say that hauling isn't my only concern, sometimes I feel like I'm driving around town with my tail between my legs- So looks factor in here.
New rear springs from benzspring are $233 each, $60 for shipping- which seems... reasonable? (What do I know?)

But isn't there a cheaper way to do this? I often find discussion of the cheap-[censored] way usually keeps me on the straight and narrow, makes me do the RIGHT thing. But what about something like air shocks, like the pair of Gabriel Hi Jackers like Bruce K put on his '59? Or what about helper springs?

Ideally I like the idea of airbags, but probably don't understand what would be involved in retrofitting something like that- since it doesn't seem anyone's making them for '57s. Now that I'm thinking about it, I might as well ask: what would be involved?

We have a local spring shop here in So Cal but the owner's son took over and he's one of the angriest, meanest, nastiest guys I ever did meet. Expensive and thinks he's all that and a bag o chips. Come to find out, he gets most of his stuff from Benz Springs. The old timer I spoke with at Benz was nice as can be and really knew my truck. He gave me a better price than my local guy. He added a couple of leaves to really beef them up. Shipped to my door strapped to an oak pallet, I thought they were a thing of beauty. They are an old school blacksmith shop and probably won't be around in a few years. You'll be lucky if you can even get springs even ones made in Asia.
The air bags I just put on my truck take the place of your shocks. They are an assistant to the leaf springs. I keep about 10 lbs of air in them and when I want to load up, I can go up to 100 lbs of air. The bags are rated at 5000 lbs! I bought them from Airlift and once again I thought they were "reasonably" priced. A lot of the guys here McGiver their trucks in such a way that they don't spend big dollars on stuff. You could for example, rebuild your own springs and buy some new shackles. Probably get on down the road for under $100. There's more than one way to skin a squirrel... BTW, I tried to sell my old springs. They were perfectly serviceable for someone who wanted to take time to use all the best pieces from their old ones and beef up a nice new set. There we no takers and I sold the steel for scrap. I got peanuts for them...probably ended up in China. A real shame.