Lifting an Olds Starfire
In this Tech Tip, John offers some options for a customer looking to bring the ride height of his Olds Starfire up with some air suspension.
“Hi.......I am looking into using air suspension to “lift” my car, a 1966 Oldsmobile Starfire. I have owned this car since 1968 and in the early 1970's it was fashionable to raise cars up gasser style. I did that using a set of 1964 Lincoln Continental springs in the front but there was no “give” in the front end other than the side walls of the tires. As a young man I was OK with that but now I am thinking of at least doing the front end of the Olds with air suspension. My question is: Can you recommend the proper suspension products to raise a big Olds? This is NOT a Cutlass/442, it is actually a 1966 “B” body. Will I need ball joint spacers? Do the air bags replace the front coil springs? Any and all info with pricing will be greatly appreciated.”
- Dave
Hi Dave, You inquired about air ride on your 66 Olds and there are many options we can suggest. However, to raise a large vehicle such as yours over stock will take some figuring. We offer components from Viair such as the Dual Air Suspension Compressor kit (P/N 91044442), various air tanks such as the AccuAir 3-Gallon Aluminum tank (P/N 9109913), bags from Slam Specialties (P/N 9109020), or even air-actuated shocks such as the Ridetech 8000 Series (P/N 9108411). With the RideTech shocks they offer their control systems in either 2- or 4-wheel control format, P/N 9101004 and P/N 91040002 respectively. It depends on the system you choose but these numbers can be looked up on our website and you can also visit Viair and Ride tech sites for more info and costs. Feel free to visit us on the web at www.speedwaymotors.com or call 1-800-979-0122 with questions or to place an order.
- John W.