Hello everyone, wanted to get a bit of feedback/opinions on the subject. I currently replaced the rear shocks for my 67 cougar with the help of my father in law with Air Shocks.
In law stated it’s alright for what I want to do(more details on this below), he has 40 years of mechanic experience working on classics. Though I’ve had a FB group tell me that they may not be a good choice. I’ve also gone through various forums that kind of swing back and forth between yay and nay. Much like the one linked below.
Not racing, not stripping, avoiding daily driving (have work vehicle) Not raising it above 1inch (needed it for tire scuffing clearance) Current PSI is 40-45
Mainly taking it to conventions, have clean roads in areas, don’t plan on pulling any loads, maaaybe increase PSI a bit if heavier set folks ride with but otherwise keeping it low set and would be reset after said people out vehicle.
I believe I included all the info I have at the moment. So again just trying to get feedback and or experiences. After reading some horror stories I’m a bit nervous and worried and if it needs to be addressed would like to do it now while the car is up and being worked on.
Even with air shocks if the tires are too wide, which you say they are, they are going to scrape the wheel wells when entering steep driveways, or backing out of them. The floor will crack where the shocks attach. This area was never designed for additional load imposed by air shocks.
You should do whatever needs to be done to make the wheel / tire combination fit without suspension modifications. If you want the rear of the car higher like Bill said it needs to be done by changing or re - arching the rear springs. What you have done so far is not going to end well.
I would try to stay away from air shocks if possible - you will get a better ride with a good set of Koni or KYB.
A new set of leaf spring (if the ones you have are older) and I think I’ve seen shackles that are 1" longer than stock should be a better solution. Hopefully you don’t need more than that to clear…
My first Cougar was a 68. I bought it in high school in 1984. I soon found out the kid who had it before me had run air shocks. Completely tore the shock towers loose from under the rear seat. Cost me $250 bucks to have someone weld them back up. That was a full months pay for me back then (they did re arc my leaf springs and added a leaf, so the money was well spent).
My car had air shocks on it for a while and fortunately didn’t cause some of the cracking others have experienced. I wouldn’t suggest going the air shock route, though. As others have said, that area isn’t designed to carry the increased loading associated with air shocks. Also, they don’t make one specifically designed for a Cougar, so people typically get ones designed for a Mustang. Mustang rear shocks are shorter than Cougar rear shocks, so if you start pushing the back of the car up, the shocks will end up fully extended and start trying to pull through the top mount when you hit pot holes and such. You can put extensions on them, but that would be a band-aid on a band-aid. The other reason not to use them is that air shocks are typically not that great as dampers, either.