capt'nben,
That's an interesting observation you made about the activity level on this forum compared to others. I think there might be some correlation between the usage of the car for daily transportation and board activity. It seems where brands and models that have daily use and the owners have more rigid budget restraints, they talk more about 'em. It might be due to demographics also. Anyway, your project sounds very interesting and I hope you share your experiences with us on the forum. Have you spoken with Gil about the car a former CTCI President built? It's a '57 with a DOHC 4.6 out of a Lincoln and its' front suspension/steering is also modernized. I only got a quick look at it in Dallas in '98 at a CTCI National Meet. It was so ungodly hot that I didn't spend nearly as much time looking it over as I would have liked.
About your air shock installation; one of the neatest installations I've seen had the valve attached to an "L" bracket that was mounted with one of the trunk lock striker plate bolts. The line ran under the trunk mat to the fuel sending unit access cover. Another relief bend was put in the cover similar to the one for the sender lead, to accomodate the air line exiting the trunk. The line was then sandwiched between the tank top and the trunk floor as it ran towards the crossmember that serves as the upper shock mount. Very neat with no drilling.
Another method of stiffening the rear suspension is to install 6 leaf rear springs out of a '57 or '58 station wagon. The distance between bushing centers is the same as our 5 leaf springs.
Good Luck & keep us posted on your progress. Tom
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