8. By early afternoon on Saturday,...
8. By early afternoon on Saturday, the majority of the work was finished on the rear of the truck. Joe Morrow, the owner and founder of Chassis Tech, was on hand to oversee the proceedings and give a play-by-play tutorial to the crowd.
9A. The crew installed the...
9A. The crew installed the Plug-'N'-Play system on the chassis. This system offers a 12-volt DC compressor that will quickly fill a reserve air tank and electric solenoid valves to distribute the air to the 'bags lightning fast, all in one neat package. Note that since the box was mounted to the center of the crossmember, a substantial portion of the bed floor needed to be removed before it could be reinstalled. But, since this unit is so small, you could install it off to the side of the bed if space is a concern. Once the box was mounted, all that was needed to make it work were 12-volt positive and negative battery connections, four air lines running to the 'bags, and a switch box, which, of course, plugged right in.
9B.
10. The rear-end is finished...
10. The rear-end is finished with the rear suspension wired and plumbed, and the air tank in place. The setup is impressive. It's gusseted in all of the right places, and the welds are clean and strong.
11. The front suspension installation...
11. The front suspension installation was much simpler. The factory U-bolts were used to hold new Extreme Drop Air tubular control arms in place, and the uppers also received new tubular units. The arms are designed to provide clearance and a mounting location for the double-bellow airbags. The 'bags bolted onto the lower arm mounting plate, and an adapter plate was employed to bolt the top of the 'bag into the stock coil spring perch. The arms were MIG-welded together and include new ball joints. Not pictured is a bolt-in tubular transmission crossmember.
12. The 2-1/2-inch drop spindles...
12. The 2-1/2-inch drop spindles were installed next, along with replacement front brake discs. The discs use the stock calipers. Also, new front shocks and air lines were installed at this time.
13. Once the front sway bar...
13. Once the front sway bar was connected to the control arms and all of the steering was reconnected, the new 22-inch Devino rims and 265/35R22 Nexen tires were torqued in place, and the job was done.
14. By late afternoon, the...
14. By late afternoon, the C10 was laying on the grass. The truck looked substantially better after the airbags and deuce-deuces were in place.
The installers, Jake Caler,...
The installers, Jake Caler, Didier "The French Guy," Jamez LeClaire, and Ryan Davies, busted their asses and looked like they fought the battle and lost. Fortunately, they won the battle, and this truck rolled all the way back to Phoenix after the show was over.
The Chassis Tech Time Machine
One of the toughest parts of any airbag installation is the wiring and the plumbing of the system, especially when you are mixing and matching parts from several different manufacturers. Once you take a compressor from Company X and try to wire it with a circuit breaker from Company Y, then toss in a switch box from Company Z, you've got yourself a potential mess of wires on your hands. Beyond the wiring, mounting electric solenoid valves to control the airflow and then plumbing them from the air tank to the 'bags can also be a chore. Many valves require you to fabricate mounting brackets so that you can mount them to your truck, which again increases the install time.
Chassis Tech's Plug-'N'-Play system fixes all of that nonsense and packages the valves, air compressor, and associated plumbing and wiring into one neat package. The housing measures 12x12x7 inches, so it will fit into tight spaces and protect the 3/4 horsepower compressor and eight valves from moisture and dirt. Once you've bolted the box in place, you can use the provided battery cables and ignition switch wiring to hook the unit up. Then, it's just a matter of running the four air lines to the corners of the truck for the airbags and another air line to the reserve air tank and you're done. The Plug-'N'-Play dramatically reduces install time and even offers adjustable valves to control the speed your truck raises and lowers. Just twist the two knobs to slam your ride to the ground with authority, or gently raise it up slow enough that the cops won't notice. For a video of this unit in action, visit www.airbagit.com.
Time's up!
Most people are good at just a few things in life. Unless your job is to build custom trucks every day, it's likely you aren't a real fabricator. So, what do you do if you want to 'bag your own sport truck without spending an arm and a leg for the tools to do it? Call Chassis Tech and order this bolt-on kit and Plug-'N'-Play system. After watching the guys at Chassis Tech lay out this C10 during our Havoc truck show in 100-plus degree heat, we are confident most of you can do it during a weekend in the garage.