Cesar's 1950 Oldsmobile Fastback Air Ride Build
Cesar's 1950 Olds Fastback was a real treat to work on, there's something about a pre 60s coupe that screams badass. We had our work cut out with this project, getting it as close to the ground as possible would be no easy feat and require a number of chassis & body modifications to get it there.
Jay started by getting the front clip pulled and everything lined up for the drop member & bag brackets. From there he began making the modifications and designing the upper and lower control arms so the front end could lay out as much as possible.
Once the front end was sorted out it was time to move on to the rear end, and that was going to be a lot more work. Once the factory leaf springs and shocks were removed (and about 25lbs of ancient undercoating), we pulled the body and Jay got to work designing the notch, cross brace, 4-link & bag brackets.
Once Jay had everything cut and welded into place for the 4-link, the bags were fitted up for some articulation testing, and it was then time to move onto running fresh brake lines and getting the chassis ready for the body to go back on.
It was clear that with the height of the notch and upward travel of the 4-link bars and driveshaft, that we would have to make some major adjustments to the rear floor/trunk pan. After some careful measures and cutting, Jay removed the section of pan needed to set the body back on the chassis and from there began to mock up the new sheet metal that would replace the sections of cut pan to accommodate the new rear end. While we worked on this, or good pal Sam @ RESpeed powder coated all of the bolt in 4-link & front end components. We decided to use black Steel-it for finishing off the new bits of exposed chassis under the car that were welded, including the drop member and rear notch/cross brace. We are super impressed with the application and strength of this coating as it was rock solid after only a few coats.
Cesar wanted to ensure a really minimal and tucked tank/compressor setup, as to not eat up too much trunk space. With that in mind Jay designed the new rear hump with a flat top to allow for optimal tucking of the air ride components, acting as a sort of shelf at the back of the trunk. From there it was a matter of designing and fitting up the remaining sheet metal bits to cap off the trunk and rear seat areas that had been removed, including a small hump for travel of the driveshaft when fully aired out.
Once everything was in place and welded, we spent some time cleaning up the welds and preparing for a coat of POR15 to seal up the floor pan work. From there, it was a matter of routing airline and completing the trunk shelf layout.
