I haven't really had any time to touch the C10 until recently.
Out back, the rear axle was limited in up-travel by the frame. I bought a notch kit from Speedway Motors and went about hacking away... the biggest PITA was knocking out the rivets. I made some cuts, then went about bolting up the beefy notch plate.
The uptravel was still limited with the bags bottoming out, I realized I needed to lower the control arms and once again made an order from Speedway Motors with this handy drop block and new u-bolts. Install wasn't too bad.
It was time to setup the air compressor, tank and then wire and plumb the system. I decided to set the compressor and tank on the passenger side, under the bed at the front. I upgraded from the dinky single cyl Viair compressor to the
NAPA Dual Air Compressor, with some upgrades to make it last. The compressor upgrades include;
4 gauge jumper power wires, a
100 Amp Bussman circuit breaker,
Ford style relay switch and a copper hard tube to the air tank. The copper will dissipate heat and won't burst like the cheap rubber hose the compressor came with.
I also upgraded to
Moroso battery terminals, so I had several options to tie power and ground for the compressor to the battery.
The air bag kit came with a 2.3 gallon air tank, I have a drain valve, pressure switch, air supply fitting and a temp pressure gauge. I'll eventually add a air chuck, so I can air up tires too. I added a mount for the air tank, sitting upside down. I used a super handy Nutsert install tool from HF and it really made this a simple job. I need to add a switch for the compressor on the dash, at the moment it's wired direct and the compressor runs once you turn the key on.... and that's a hefty load for a truck that isn't running.
I mounted the gauges and switches on the dash, not the most convenient location but its what I had to work with. Then, I started running air lines, the supply from the compressor and then lines to the individual bags. I want to put the gauges in the dash and put the air bag switches where the gauges are eventually.
Once it was wired, I tested the wiring and it worked!! The compressor was cranking out tons of volume and pressure, but the compressor didn't want to push more than 130-135 PSI and my pressure switch is set to kill the power at 150 PSI (on at 120, off at 150). That's way more air pressure than I need, so I'll swap it it to a 90 to 120 pressure switch. The truck should only need 35-40 PSI out back and 50 PSI up front. I ran out of 1/4" air line to finish the front, I'll pick up more tomorrow.
Here's the result though, this was so exciting to see!!
