1966-1979 Front Air Ride Kit

SKU: ARK-005

Price per Unit (Kit):

$475.00

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*Beams as of 7/10 can take up to 6-10 weeks to build* To follow the build of your beam, click here.

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1966-1968 Air Ride Beetle Build Sheets
1969-1979 Air Ride Beetle Build Sheets
Bolt on Install Center

For all applications, the standard air ride kit will do what you need. If you want to get as close to the ground as possible, get the drop spindles. If you are going to use stock wheels, you want to go with 135sr15 tires up front and a 2" narrowed beam. If you plan on going with a 5.5" wide wheel similar to a EMPI five spoke, BRM or Sprint star, a 4" beam would be ideal. Porsche 4.5's in the front, I would go with a 3" beam and the air ride. If you plan on powder coating all your suspension components, order it in a raw finish so everything matches. If you have already restored the car and you want the parts to look nice, satin or gloss black is the way to go. We also recommend doing the install with the body off, with a 220 amp welder and some one who has experience welding

Specs

Front Kit includes the following: 2x Air Sleeve Shocks, 2x Through rods (cut to length), 1 set of lowered ball joints, 4x delrin bushings, Hardware and Fittings

Dim lights

Kit Explained

The late model type 1's have a ball joint front suspension. They have a suspension travel of 4". With the addition of our air ride kit the suspension travel increases to up to 8". This is due to the addition of the fore mentioned through rods and the Lowered ball joints that come in the kit. These ball joints will need to be pressed in. a local mechanic can do this job with ease.

The Front Air Ride kit, uses what we call through rods. What does that mean? It means that the suspension can travel up and down more to smooth out the ride. For instance, if you fall into a pothole that is 4" deep with stock suspension, you car will drop on that side 1/2" meaning the whole car will move. With the addition of our through rods, it means that this particular wheel will fall into the pot hole and rebound without the entire car feeling it. Just like a brand new car. Due to the availability of Narrowed beams these days, these inserts can be shortened to any configuration needed. If you shorten them, you will need to take equal increments on each side. They utilize a thrust bearing on the outer portion of the assembly to allow for fluid motions up and down. There is no longer a need for the factory grub screws when installing these through rods. They can also be ordered separately if needed.

Why an Air Shock?

Ease and availability. It is easier than fabricating bag mounts to put an air bag on the front end for one, for two, it a bolt on as possible making it easy to install. Although Air shocks were never designed to lift the front of a car up, they do a quality job of it. These particular air sleeve shocks have a bag on the outer portion of the shock allowing for expansion during bumps and rough roads allowing the ride to still be nice.

Do I need to run Drop Spindles

to get it as close to the ground as possible? Yes. One other note, all drop spindles take the track out at least 3/8" on each side.

Why would i need to run a narrowed beam?

A narrowed beam helps many places, let me tell you of a few. If you look at your ride right now and your tires are inside the fender wells, there is no need for a narrowed beam. But, if they are close, narrowing the front end allows you to lay the car down and does not allow the tires to come in contact with the fenders. So if you are not using drop spindles now and the wheels and tires are flush to the fender edge, you will need to think about a 3-4" narrowed beam to allow for clearance. Also, if you decide to go with a custom wheel, knowing the offset will help you in purchasing the right beam for your ride. Here is a document to help you determine what offset of wheels you have, to better help you in how narrow you need to go on the beam. The new beam has most of the features as the standard air ride kit but it has a brand new narrowed beam with extended shock towers already made into it. It also will come a minimum of 2" narrower and up to 5" narrower depending on the application. We came out with this for several reasons. First, some people do not have a welder, so having an application that does not need welding is a plus. No welding to the chassis at all.Front ends can take an additional time due to fabrication.