Air Bag Suspension on 1958

[Michael]

Hi,
This may be a dumb question for those who know, but there are still people out there like me who are trying to find these things out. I have a 1958 Coupe that I am considering restoring/modifying. Nothing to drastic, but I did want to lower the car. I had sort of planned on just cutting the springs in order to lower it. I had seen a while back were someone on here was talking about putting air bags suspension in thier car, so I was wondering what the advantages of this was. I found a complete system for sale in my local paper for $ 1000, it says almost all the parts are brand new, never installed, is this a good price ? I just got to thinking that for $ 1000 if there were allot of advantages to going that route this would be the chance to try it, its just that I can cut the springs for free. So, whats better ? Any one done either of these before ?
Thanks for the input,
Michael

[John Binder, CLC#16715]

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE TO ALL 58/57 Cad owners....

Several 1958 Cadillac Owners Association Members have found rusted or "Frozen" Lower A-Arm pivot bushings,
that can cause flexing of the front crossmember and eventual metal fatigue and cracking near the spot where they mount.
 This can be solved by replacing the bushings, lubricating the attatchment bolts, and welding up, or gusseting any cracks.

If Nothing Else...
The Airbag System will allow you to raise the car when needed to avoid scrapping your expensive bumpers and vulnerable undercarriage.  

Do mount up the tires you plan to use FIRST, as most radial types will tend to make the car sit lower all on their own.

Try your likely driveway approaches with a full trunkload and six passengers and see if you have any
EXTRA margin to lower the suspension before you cut it.

I assume this is a MODERN conversion type as favored by customizers (?)rather than the original style that required differnt suspension arms etc. Also look closely at the rear coils and you will notice that they actually are designed with an "ARCHed" mounting, rather than straight up and down.

Also you may wish to retain the stock springs and hardware in your attic for any future owners who may wish to return it to stock suspension.

Check out the "1958 Cadillac Owners Association" website
http://www.1958cadillac.com TARGET=_blank>www.1958cadillac.com  
Still just $22 Bucks for a LIFETIME ! membership

[Yann Saunders, CLC #12588]

Cadillac air suspension was introduced on the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham in 1957 and was standard equipment on those models through 1960. You could have the system installed optionally at extra cost on regular Cadillac models.

From all the reports Ive seen, Cadillacs air suspension system was plagued with problems and many owners chose to have their air-sprung cars converted to conventional coils.

Its a brave man indeed (or a qualified mechanical engineer) who would want to go the opposite route and fit air domes on a car built origionally with coils.

$1000 sounds about right for a complete system.  There are purists out there who would spend that amount and more to convert their Eldorado Brougham back to original specs !

[Robt.Vonheck via a drenched SanDiego Calif.]

-just a note of caution, knew a guy who got under his air-suspension Caddie to repair an air-line,  ----soon as he pulled the line to fix the leaky-end, to his utter dismay the car lowered silently upon him and he couldnt even call-out for help as the car was upon his chest; --what a crappy way to go!  Dont understand why he didnt have suitable supporting-stands in place, but was in a big hurry no doubt, and thought, oh i can locate nd fix that leak quick with this soap & brush (found by his side)...   ~Bob vH

[Michael]

Thanks for the input and heads up. I didnt know this was a problem, but I will say that the first 58 coupe I bought must have had it happen. I had purchased the car, and was loading it on my trailer, an open flat bed style, when I got underneath the car to tie it down I noticed that the front cross member was "torn Upon closer inspection the front cross member was darn near ripped out of the car, right were the lower conrol arm bolted on ! I figured the car must have been driven pretty hard !!!, but I guess maybee it was some sort of common problem. Luckily the guy was nice enough to let me push it back off my trailer and gave me all my money back.
I do have a complete extra 58 frame with all the suspension, so I did figure that if I cut the springs and some one wanted to put it back to original I would have all the parts to do so.
Thanks Again, and Ill check out the 58 caddy club.
Michael

[Michael]

Thats terrible, but I could see it happening. Thanks for bringing that point up, I hadnt thought about that issue before. Seems like it was be easy enough to do !
Michael

[Steve Toth CLC 21939]

Mike,

I believe ATR does have a kit for the 50s Caddys.  But as usual I cant find it on there website.  Here is a link to a 57 from sweden that is using the ATR setup.

http://ridetech.com/projectview.asp?ID=12776&SUBSYS=CC# TARGET=_blank>http://ridetech.com/projectview.asp?ID=12776&SUBSYS=CC#

Also, I have a 56 6219.  To get it home I put a used set of 215 75 15s on her and she sits LOW....but it looks really good.  The car isnt road ready yet so I have no idea how the ride quality is but she does look good on the 215s

[alfredo barrenechea]

Hi michael,
I think thats a good price, but I would just go on ebay and buy the system piece by piece. I think you can get a better price and still get *exactly* the parts you need.
I bagged my 64 and its been awesome!
Bagging should be straight forward. Im assuming your 58 has the X-frame. This makes it really easy because all you have to do is basically swap out the springs for bags.
-alfredo

[Dirk Van Dorst 16894]

Thank you to make prospect for the 58 COA.....
Dirk , Belgium
58 Biarritz

[Dave Greenburg (3830)]

You folks with air suspension- NEVER, EVER go under your car without jackstands or other supports, especially if messing with the suspension.  Im not all that familiar with the old GM air suspension (my Cad doesnt have it), but I have quite a bit of experience with the air suspension on my 73 Mercedes, which is basically the same type of system, and the #1 rule, and first piece of advice on the Benz boards to new owners is ALWAYS use supports if youre going under the car.  Even if the suspension is working properly and has no leaks, I assume the GM system, like the MB system will make "adjustments" if someone gets in or out of the car, or even leans on a fender, even when the car is not running.  This could be disasterous if youre under it.  

Dave Greenburg
59 Fleetwood 60S
73 Mercedes 300SEL 4.5

[Bob]

Im throwing around the thought of re-installing Air Suspension into my 58 Fleetwood. I am not mechanical, who does this work correctly, any leads, thanks...  BOB