Rear Air Bag Salvage?

[dnsherrill]

Doing a coil convert, has anyone tried cutting the top off an old air bag and making a spring cup/perch out of it?

just thought I'd check before wasting time cutting it and making a mess in my garage

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Have you measured the top compared to the width of the spring yet? If it would cup it i'd say it could work, but you have to chop off the 2 raised portions on either side of the center nipple.

 

[chris2523]

but you have to chop off the 2 raised portions on either side of the center nipple.

not if you used it as a top though.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

not if you used it as a top though.

Durr Durr Durr.....Good point.

 

[dnsherrill]

i'll go cut it up, and see what's inside :shifty:
---if it works as a top for the air spring, it should work as a top for a coil spring?

 

[dnsherrill]

dia. mismatch @1''....coil >air spring top

that would have been WAY too simple

 

[Sapperfire]

Doing what I told you to do is pretty simple.. listening>you

 

[dnsherrill]

Doing what I told you to do is pretty simple..

yeah...no...bending the corners of 3/16'' sheet metal around the top isolator offers modest resistance to movement imo
----right now I'm trying to get a nut started on top of the bolt inside this pace above the coil top to maybe use the snowflake caps...I don't think that's gonna happen, need weld
Mark VIII Newtons > bent 3/16'' sheet metal potential

 

[dnsherrill]

scalped....all dressed up and ready for the dance

I cut off the two big buttons and used those as holes for fasteners, which will recess, so there will be full contact surface as original...no movey shakey...just need to clamp tight the retaining flanges from the snowflake around the isolator..

 

[My Great 8]

Nice job but I don't understand why you feel the need to constantly reinvent the wheel.

 

[dnsherrill]

reinvent? I studied fine arts back in the day....they ruined us! lol
f'n with my cars is a hobby, I learn something almost every time I take on a new task...I'd rather do it hands on and spend as little $ as possible- not a big fan of paying someone to do a job I can do myself... if I had a welder I may have made perches that didn't require a wrench, but I also like reusing/modifying orig stuff or modifying pre-made objects to suit my needs

 

[Sapperfire]

That there looks fine...now I gotta go chop 2 bags up

 

[dnsherrill]

Upper perch.....added (1) 1.25'' fender washer atop (2) regular washers- that will twist/lock into the oem mounting plate
Lower perch:
Penzoil Code D poly synthetic oil filter socket wrench o.d. is .25"< isolator i.d.....2'' fender washer for the underside of the LCA with 3/8"" bolt nutted on top to snug and stay

cost @: $5 snowflake center cap; $6 hardware; oil filter socket $6
---
when cutting the other side, i left a little 'meat' adjacent the bolt hole to compensate for the curved center cap

 

[97 Octane]

Foe Dollah. My temporary fix.

I used this for my lower but you can easily make one for the upper.

 

[dnsherrill]

I used this for my lower but you can easily make one for the upper.

what is that? it looks like it goes within the isolator? how would that stay attached to the body (rear 1/4) if used as an upper placed inside coil? DLF uses a cotter pin through a banjo bolt, I couldn't get a nut on the bolt inside there