# Mr. Jones Basic Air Build - MK4 Jetta



## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Hey guys, this is my introduction and build thread.

To start off my name is Ryan Jones, I'm 21 and I live in Saginaw, Michigan. 

My car is a MK4 1999.5 VW Jetta. I have had the car for a little over 4 years. I kept the car stock for quite a while. When I had to have my cat replaced they also had to replace my muffler and I had them put on a cheap straight through can muffler. 
From there it was just over a year ago when I needed new tires and I wanted to pick up some aftermarket rims and tires. It was almost winter and I found a set of 16" Sport wheels w/ snow/ice tires on them. They use the stock ball seat bolts so they were perfect. They only had 2 winters on them and were $275 so I picked them up. A couple weeks later I found a pair of 17"x7.5" Mille Miglia Cello's w/ Kuhmo Ecsta tires locally. I decided they would make nice summer wheels so I picked them up. Over the winter I sanded them down to remove any rock chips they had. Only one wheel had a small amount curb rash but it was only paint deep so it was easily removed. I painted them with automotive primer (rattle can) and then with a satin black (rattle can as well). I drove on them this past summer and loved them. My winter wheels are back on right now. 
Only other mods I have is a big cam. It's a Cat 272* cam and I installed dual valve springs when installing the cam. 

The car: (extra dirty)


Now onto the air setup. I got this setup in a trade. I had collected all the parts to do a turbo build but once the summer and fall was gone I realized that I wouldn't have the time to turbo my car. So I was offered an air ride setup for the turbo parts and took the trade. 
Here is what I received:
Air Ride setup:
Four asco valves
Water trap
Viar 400 compressor
Five gallon slim and skiny tank
All airline and fitting
Leader lines
Dual needle gauge for front and rear bags
Single needle for tank
110-145 pressure switch
Two momentary paddle switches
Aeroaport front bags
Air house II rear bags and brackets
+$110 via Paypal

The setup is obviously a bag-over-coil setup but didn't include coilovers. The $100 cash was to buy a pair of Raceland coilover fronts. They are brand new but didn't come with the locking collars. I won't have the coilover fronts till next week. 

*Pictures:*
_Valves_


_Compressor_


_Bags, mounts and air line_


_Tank inputs - Compressor/water trap -- Line out -- Line out -- Pressure switch(110/145)_


_Gauges and switches_


_Tank in spare tire well_



_Potential setup_


Where my water trap will go


*Trunk*
The plan right now is to have everything tucked nicely into my spare tire well. The tank will sit diagonally with the compressor and valves sitting on one side. I plan on having everything hidden. I will add a piece of particle board under the trunk liner to support my sub box and give the floor a slight raise. I will use this same board to make a level floor in the wheel well to mount the valves and compressor to. I plan on securing the tank but not sure how much room I will have to do this. I plan on buying a couple rolls of the Dynamat alternative and will cover my entire trunk with it. Spare wheel well, floor, sides, top and trunk lid.

*Wiring*
I already have the power wire ran because I have a system in my car. It's a 2 gauge power wire ran to the trunk. The 2 gauge wire will be ran into a distribution block that's fused and splits it into 2 8-gauge wires. 1 will run my compressor, 1 will run my amp.
Today I ran the 2 gauge wire to where the stock CD changer would go. I'm thinking about removing the CD changer metal frame and mounting my amp hidden in this compartment. Then I would only have the 2 small speaker wires running out to my sub box which would sit in front of it. 
For the air ride I will have an 8 gauge power wire running to my relay. The compressor already has a wire attached so that will plug into the relay as well. Because I'm using rocker switches I will have to wire the valves directly to them so I will be running 14 gauge wire from the valves to the switches with the wires running along my power wire along the drivers side door sills all the way to the front of the car. The power for the switches/valves will be hooked up to switched power under the drivers side dash. 
Everything will be grounded in the trunk itself. I did find a way to ground everything. I have another distribution block that is one 2 gauge wire --> 6 10or12 gauge wires so I will wire the valve, the compressor and the pressure switch/relay into the block and run a 2 gauge wire that will be grounded. I want to ground my amp separately so I can use larger gauge wire. 

*Air lines*
I will be running the airlines hidden as well. The front lines will be ran inside the door sills just like my wiring. Driver and passenger sides for each front corner. The rear lines will be ran from the spare wheel well to the rear wheels through the ABS sensor grommet that is just behind the rear seat.

*Switches and Gauges*
My setup is very basic and with 4 valves I only need 4 switches. It will be setup with the 2 switches, 1 for fronts, 1 for rears. It will simply be front up/front down and rear up/rear down. I only got 2 gauges, 1 in a dual needle gauge and 1 in a single needle gauge. The dual needle gauge will tell my the pressure in the front and the rear. The single will be my tank pressure. I want to mount these two gauges in my ash tray. I have seen one setup where they fit below the lid and it could still be closed. 
If these is room I think it would look super clean to have both gauges and the two small switches mounted within the ash tray and be able to simply close the cover. 


Having everything hidden has no real reason other than that what I think will look good and it's a challenge. This is my first air ride setup but I have a lot of experience with wiring and air fittings. I play paintball and the fitting/hose I use for paintball hold 850+psi so I should be able to get this system to seal. I don't have experience with suspension parts but I learn by doing and taught myself my to remove my engine head, replace the head gasket, remove and replace the valve springs, change a cam, set the timing etc. So hopefully it's not too tough.

Post up what you think, opinions, suggestions and comments in general. I will keep this thing updated, I have sketches of my wiring and if I have time I will draw something up on the computer for everything.


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## Vdubed13 (Jun 6, 2008)

:thumbup: just got done my setup 2 weeks ago...


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## _Dirty_ (Sep 30, 2009)

welcome and good luck :thumbup:

If you need anything or have any questions Will from Bagriders will be bale to help you


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks guys. I don't have any question right now. I just need to take the time to build all the wood parts and make sure everything fits. I will spend a lot of my time on wiring to make everything very solid and last. 

I should be getting a jig saw for christmas which will help me with the wood work. I plan on using wood and parts I already have but still doing it right.

:wave:


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## najob08 (Apr 28, 2008)

Looks like you have it pretty well planned out! Good luck, can't wait to see it done! :beer:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks!

I'm slightly OCD and I hate doing anything half ass so I want everything planned out and done properly even though it's on a budget. I like to put more time into things than just throw money around.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

*Parts Still needed:*
Fittings for rear bags
Bolts to attach rear bags to brackets
Plates for front bags
New front bushings
New rear shocks

*Future Plans:*
Remove fender liners
Flatten pinch welds
Notch frame
Spacers up front if needed (rear has 10mm spacers for summer tires)


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I worked more on my wiring and got quite a bit done. 
I took the grounds from the valves, soldered them together then soldered that to some 10 gauge wire. I shrink wrapped that connection. The 10 gauge wire then runs into the grounding block. I also connected the compressor ground to the grounding block. 
A 4 gauge wire will run out of the grounding block and be bolted down somewhere. 

Pics:
14 gauge meet 10 gauge


10 gauge meet 4 gauge


Pressure sensor, running out of the 85 on the relay. 85 relay --> Pressure sensor --> Grounding block


That's about it for right now. I can't wire the valve power until in the car because I have to run those wires to the front of the car where the switches will be. The compressor power plugs into the relay. I just need to figure out where I'll be mounting my power block before installing the battery --> relay wire.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

ooh shiny!!


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## jimothy cricket (Jul 9, 2008)

i like


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

:thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks guys!! :beer:

I'm still figuring out the details but hopefully I am selling my current summer wheels and picking up a set of New Porsche twists 17"x7" front 17"x8.5"rear with tires. I would have to wait and buy adapters just before spring but I think it would be a nice upgrade. :laugh:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm waiting on fittings for the rear bags. I also have to figure out mounts for the front. I don't want to spend $40 x 2 = $80 just for the front brackets. I might just make top plates since I believe that's all I need.


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## NickBroderick (Dec 28, 2009)

Looking good. 

The more I read through these threads, the more I feel like I'm getting in over my head.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Just make sure to do your homework. There is a ton of information just on this site. There are also a lot of great people and companies that are more than willing to help you out with any questions you may have. :biggrinsanta:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Since it's been a while, here is a little update.
I just bought a set of front bag brackets. They're NIB but from a guy on here that never used them. They're $40 new each and I got a pair for $65 shipped. 

I've also been working on refinishing my summer wheels. I'd like to move up to 18s but I have to sell my wheels first. I had a solid cash offer locally but the guy never got back to me. If I can sell them sometime this winter I'll buy a new set of 18s and put new tires on them.

Hopefully I'll have more time to work on everything now that I'm done with college for a month.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I bought the brackets at the beginning of the week and they showed up today. Being new they came with the top and bottom plates, all 4 screws, a tube piece and a bearing.

Only thing I really need now is new rear shocks and front bushings.


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## RichieMK4Rich (Dec 16, 2006)

where did you buy the brackets?


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## ACEdubs (Apr 18, 2002)

RichieMK4Rich said:


> where did you buy the brackets?


those are the ones I just PM'd you about, you retard.


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## RichieMK4Rich (Dec 16, 2006)

ACEdubs said:


> those are the ones I just PM'd you about, you retard.


This was before you told me about them lol


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## ACEdubs (Apr 18, 2002)

RichieMK4Rich said:


> This was before you told me about them lol


oh. sorry lol


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I haven't been doing much lately but had tonight off so I thought I might as well dig into my air ride stuff a little. I decided to bolt up my front brackets to my bags and put them over the raceland struts. The brackets came with bearings as well so the only things I need for my fronts are new bushings and a set of locking collars for the struts. 

I only used the top brackets because I don't need the bottom plates but since it's only about 1cm or so i might throw them on when I get the coilover collars. 









By rjones1214 at 2011-01-03 








By rjones1214 at 2011-01-03


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I forgot to add, I contacted Raceland about buying a set of front locking rings/collars and they said it would be $15 shipped for a full front set which is good news so I will be ordering those as soon as I hear back from them with a checkout link.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

Bump for a good guy... The turbo kits still sitting in my garage haha. My buddys slacking on the chip. Just lmk if the fittings for the rear bags need to be 3/8 or 1/2 inch thread. I believe i ordered the rear bags 3/8 but its been so long. Ill order them asoon as i get home in the morning, i just been so busy with the holiday. If you need any help lmk dude.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks Meaty! By the time it's warm outside I'll have all the parts and be ready to roll. 

I'm considering using different front bushings, a friend suggested to use Audi 90 front strut bushings for more of a drop. He's been using them for 7k and hasn't had any problems.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

Thats the way to go on mk4s


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> I haven't been doing much lately but had tonight off so I thought I might as well dig into my air ride stuff a little. I decided to bolt up my front brackets to my bags and put them over the raceland struts. The brackets came with bearings as well so the only things I need for my fronts are new bushings and a set of locking collars for the struts.
> 
> I only used the top brackets because I don't need the bottom plates but since it's only about 1cm or so i might throw them on when I get the coilover collars.
> 
> ...


 i wouldnt have them spun all the way down like that. you will get no lift and its gonna rub on your tire


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

The bags are just sitting on their for now, I don't have the spring perches or locking collars so nothing is set up yet. I will be adjusting the bag height once on the car.


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## eastcoaststeeze (Jul 20, 2009)

saweet


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks man. 

I can't wait to have all of the parts in and ready to install. I'm still deciding on what to use for rear shocks. I want something that will hold up to riding low and not blow out quickly. We'll see how much money I want to drop on rear shocks. 

I know what parts I need to finish my fronts and only need to order front bushings. Might to that soon. 

Also I'll have to keep everybody up to date on my quest for new wheels but for now here's a teaser...


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I got more work done tonight. I finished the two pieces of board that will be placed in my spare tire well to hold everything in place. 

Large board 
 

I cut out a smaller board that will sit on the angled section of the spare tire well. After cutting the square piece out I marked out where I wanted the compressor and valves. Drilled a few pilot holes for the valves and screwed them down. I found 4 perfect length self tapping screws to bolt down the compressor. 

Compressor and valves all mounted 









Here you can see both boards, the large and small board. They will be connected with metal brackets that will be bent to the right angle to lay in the wheel well. 









I also figured out where to mount my grounding block. I also screwed that down. 









With tank in place 









Here it is with the tank fittings 








Another angle 









It feels great to finally have stuff bolted down! I don't have that much more to do on the trunk setup.


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

rjones1214 said:


> I got more work done tonight. I finished the two pieces of board that will be placed in my spare tire well to hold everything in place.
> 
> Large board
> 
> ...


 That tank is huge. Where are you fitting it?


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

In the spare tire wheel well :laugh:


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

rjones1214 said:


> In the spare tire wheel well :laugh:


 Dang! I could never fit that thing in mine.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I know I have a big spare wheel well. The tank is just a skinny 5 gallon tank.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Gloss black coil over locking rings showed up today!

I'll be putting them on the fronts and getting everything setup for the fronts. Just need bushing which will be ordered soon.


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

rjones1214 said:


> Gloss black coil over locking rings showed up today!
> 
> I'll be putting them on the fronts and getting everything setup for the fronts. Just need bushing which will be ordered soon.


:thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Time for another update. I was bored and didn't feel like sleeping yet so I decided to spend some quality time in my basement with my car parts. It started out just putting my coil rings down on my workbench...

So here is what I got done. I assembled my fronts with the locking rings assembled with anti-seize. I set the rings to 4 1/8" from the top of the strut. The Aero bags are 4" when fully compressed so that leaves room for the thin top plate while bottoming out the strut :laugh: I figure this is a good place to start and will verify fitment when I do the install. Any suggestions on this would also be helpful.

























Also you guys remember those rusty leader lines? I decided they needed some love too. I hit them with a wire brush to remove loose pieces. Washed them off real quick and dried them off. Masked off the threading, PTC fittings and braided line. I hit them with a flat black rustoleum paint that I happen to have laying around. They turned out decent, close enough for going under the car. 









That's it for now. The bags sit on the coilovers like they should. Only thing to do still is hack a slot in the locking rings for the leader line but I won't be able to that until final bag height is determined.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> Only thing to do still is hack a slot in the locking rings for the leader line but I won't be able to that until final bag height is determined.
> 
> Pictures to follow tomorrow.


i had to do the same thing. mine ended up being about an inch and a quarter from the bottom of the threads with the bag sitting directly on the perch. that is enough clearance for running non stretched winter tires and gets me at about 22.75 ftg aired out. in the spring im gonna spin em down a bit more because i will be running stretched tires on my summer wheels. build is lookin good so far :thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks man! I will have to measure the distance from the bottom and see where they're at compared to yours. 
My winter tires are not that wide, 205s I believe and my summer tires with be 215s stretched over an 8.5" wheel. So I should be fine plus I'll put the up in the winter if I need more lift. Fitting will need to be done on the car but shouldn't be a big issue.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Well I've been very motivated this week apparently with starting school and not having to work. 

I got more work done tonight. I went to get out my air line and noticed my rear mounts were looking a little rough. The tops were rusted and crusty, which is the part I will use. To go nice and low I will just use a long bolt on the bottom of the bags to secure them. 
Well anyways onto the crusty/rusted part. To clean them up quickly I threw a wire wheel on my angle grinder, put them in my vice and went to town.
Cleaned vs. Rusty

















After they were all cleaned up I painted them with the same flat black paint that I used on the leader lines. I almost ran out of paint but oh well now it's gone. They're still hanging up to dry so they'll be ready soon.









Since I'm not using the bottom plates on my front bags I have extra screws which are the perfect size for my rear bags. I just need to go buy long enough bolts for the bottom.











edit to martin13: I checked and my rings/bags are almost exactly 1 1/4" from the bottom of the threads. So that's all the lower the bags will so and sounds like they will clear most tires so that's good to hear.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> To go nice and low I will just use a long bolt on the bottom of the bags to secure them.


i would advise against that. the bags are going to rub against the spring seat on the control arm when you go up and down and eventually you will rub a hole in them. if you have the other half of the rear brackets cut them down a bit and run the bag upside down with the fitting on the bottom. if you want to go low cut the spring nipple off the car and run the top with no bracket.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I've seen a few other builds that have the bags mounted directly on top and bottom. I don't really want to cut the spring nipple off so using top brackets would let me still go low while not hacking everything up. 

Here is where I saw it.

Would a jetta rear be different?


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

U may still have to trim that upper bracket so it not just floating around on the nipple for lack of better words. I cut a bit off the caps for my mkv wen i was using them.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> I've seen a few other builds that have the bags mounted directly on top and bottom. I don't really want to cut the spring nipple off so using top brackets would let me still go low while not hacking everything up.
> 
> Here is where I saw it.
> 
> Would a jetta rear be different?


yeah that's an r32 in that build, i would love to do mine like that but the way the spring mounts on the control arm is different than it is on ours. you may still have to run the top one but cut down just so it doesnt shift around a bunch


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

how low can the tops be? It's not very tall right now.

I'll have to look at the bottoms more. 
Could I do a plate with a bolt attached to it?
That's something I could make. Or I'll cut down the ones I have so they're not so tall and have to chance the bolt position as they're not for a MKIV.

Thanks for the help guys.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Here are the top brackets painted and bolted to the bags. 









Here is what my bottom brackets look like. I was told they were S-10 mounts. Obviously since I need to use them there is some work to be done. I know I need to at least:
Cut down the body of them
Cut out the off-center bolt
Weld in proper size bolt centered










Edit: I checked out Dorbritz D-cups to see what mine should look like. Seems that my bottoms will be usable once I swap the bolt and cut them down. I just have to find a good way to cut them level. Also looks like my tops can come down a little but I want to see the actual spring seat on the car first and will cut them if needed.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

$5.18 @ Lowes gave me all of the hard ware I need for the rear mounts and a cut of disc for my angle grinder to cut them down. Got 2 long bolts, 2 locking nuts, 2 large washers and a 4-pack of short screws to attach the brackets.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

Meaty Ochre said:


> U may still have to trim that upper bracket so it not just floating around on the nipple for lack of better words. I cut a bit off the caps for my mkv wen i was using them.


 edit... I met to say trim ur nub down a little. And the bottom brackets will work. Thats why i bought them. Because i already had spare top mounts.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Don't the bottoms need center bolts though?
I'm about to go hack the old bolts off and weld on new ones. Also should I cut them down? They seem pretty tall and even the D-cups look kinda tall. 

For the tops, I will cut whatever is needed on the car or bracket upon install for it to be secure.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

Meaty Ochre said:


> U may still have to trim that upper bracket so it not just floating around on the nipple for lack of better words. I cut a bit off the caps for my mkv wen i was using them.


 edit... I met to say trim ur nub down a little. And the bottom brackets will work. Thats why i bought them. Because i already had spare top mounts.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

But the bottoms won't work as they are right?

I'm pretty sure they need center bolts and I'm thinking of cutting them down some.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

The bottoms will work. Like i said when we did the exchange tho... They would have to be modified. Also... I would trim them down as you would with the b2b cups. Btw. I got ur fittings today. Can u text me your address and ill get em out to ya asap? With the filter.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Yeah I'll hit you up.

Thanks for the info, just what I thought. I'm going to be changing out the bolts tonight, maybe work on cutting them down too.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Provided bolts vs. bolts purchased









Fixing









Tools used and finished. I just cut them down and ran a tap over them.

















And what happened to my rear mount. Only got 1 done before the cutting disc self destroyed.
Vs top mounts








All three


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

looking good man i put my rear ah2's in today with the baak2basics brackets and they definitely dont go low enough so ill be watching your thread haha. i dont really wanna cut the top mount on mine but ill definitely hack the bottom mounts down a ****load if necessary. they are like 1.5 inches tall right now :what:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Those rears are 1 1/8" tall, the lowest point on the spring seat is 1" so I figured that's about as low as I should go. I need to finish it still by leveling it with a large file and a level.
Once I get more cutting discs I will cut the other one, remove the bolts and weld in new, fully threaded bolts.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> Those rears are 1 1/8" tall


i might have exaggerated a bit haha 
im just worried about the bag rubbing through on the control arm from going up and down


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Yeah I'm really not sure but since the bracket plate is large than the bag it will sit on it when compressed and it angles inward so I'm hoping it will be ok. I guess I'll find out when I test fit them on the car. :screwy:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

martin13: How tall are the D-cup bottom mounts?
Do you have any pics of your rear bags installed?


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

rjones1214 said:


> martin13: How tall are the D-cup bottom mounts?
> Do you have any pics of your rear bags installed?


i dont have the dcup ones i have the baak2basics ones. im mad at myself for not buying the d-cups though. they are much cheaper and look quite a bit better. i was just out in my garage swapping wheel spacers and could have taken pics :banghead: but i didnt read this before lol. ill take some pics tomorrow. the ones i have are about 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 " tall though


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Ok thanks man. Sounds like I'm close to that height already so we'll see.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

the cut one in the pic looks a bit smaller than mine


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Ok. It's 1 1/8" tall, the plate it 1/8" tall the the sleeve part is 1" tall. Most of the other brackets I've seen have the plate inside the sleeve, unlike mine.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

plate is inside the sleeve on mine lol


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

martin13 said:


> im just worried about the bag rubbing through on the control arm from going up and down


 Me too  Good progress bud, glad to see this coming along. :thumbup:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

16v_HOR said:


> Me too  Good progress bud, glad to see this coming along. :thumbup:


might have to go to firestone sleeves if that happens. drove my car all day today and no problems so hopefully it will be alright. 

hopefully with the bracket mods done, yours will be good too.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks man, me too. I need to buy more cutting disc and get to work on the other mount. Probably this weekend some time I'll have both mounts cut, old bolts cut out, level the mounts and new bolts welded in place.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Well I finally got some work done! Been a long weekend working everyday except today and spending time with my woman. 

Rear bottom brackets now:



I got the second bracket cut down and cut the bolts out. I need to buy some fully threaded bolts to weld in, just haven't taken the time to go find some. 
I still need to finish them obviously. I will file them level before welding in the new bolts. After that it's just a coat of paint like everything else for rust protection.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Just sold my current summer wheels locally, being picked up Friday.

I have a deal lined up for my new wheels :laugh:

Edit: Forgot I picked up new bolts today too! Welding will take place later today.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

lmk when those fittings and the compressor filter arrive buddy:thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Will do!


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Got more work done today. Picked up the new bolts and welded them in place. 

















I then filed the mounts down to somewhat level. They're not perfect but should work just fine.

















Finally I painted them, they're still hanging up drying but they're the same satin black as the tops.


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

Making some good progress. :beer:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks man, hopefully nobody minds my really ****ty welds


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

rjones1214 said:


> Thanks man, hopefully nobody minds my really ****ty welds


 Function over form on these sort of things. Those welds holding up is a lot more important than how they look hidden under your car imo


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

16v_HOR said:


> Function over form on these sort of things. Those welds holding up is a lot more important than how they look hidden under your car imo


Truth.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Oh I know, exactly why I don't care.

Update from today
Painted









I had to move my compressor because after fitting it in my car the top of it was too high and poked out of the wheel well. I also installed the 4 fittings on the tank, they were just sitting on there before.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Got more parts in the mail today. The last 2 fittings I needed arrived, which are 90* fittings for the rear bags. Also got a new compressor filter because the original was damaged in shipping to me. The last parts that came in are new front bushing. I bought the early model Audi strut bushing to go lower. They ended up coming with bearings even though for $6 each I though they wouldn't. I have to see what bearings are smaller but for now I have 2 bearings to choose from.


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

rjones1214 said:


> Got more parts in the mail today. The last 2 fittings I needed arrived, which are 90* fittings for the rear bags. Also got a new compressor filter because the original was damaged in shipping to me. The last parts that came in are new front bushing. I bought the early model Audi strut bushing to go lower. They ended up coming with bearings even though for $6 each I though they wouldn't. I have to see what bearings are smaller but for now I have 2 bearings to choose from.


The Audi bushings will give you more drop than any other bushing out there that I know of. The biggest issue, which I'm sure you've heard of already, is that they don't last long. The only other thing to consider is that you'll have to use a few washers so that the srtut bearing can make contact with the top bracket. I have my Raceland/Aerosports set up this same exact way and they ride decent, even with the bad bushings and 40k old struts  .


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Yeah I've heard they don't last that long but a friend of mine has them installed with his coilovers and hasn't had any problems. I'm not too worried about it since they were $20.25 shipped to me for bushing w/ bearings.

edit: 40k on struts is nothing. my Jetta has 207k and the suspension is still stock as far as I know :what:


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

rjones1214 said:


> Yeah I've heard they don't last that long but a friend of mine has them installed with his coilovers and hasn't had any problems. I'm not too worried about it since they were $20.25 shipped to me for bushing w/ bearings.
> 
> edit: 40k on struts is nothing. my Jetta has 207k and the suspension is still stock as far as I know :what:


Some people have had the bushings last for a long time, while others get less than 2k miles. It obviously comes down to the individual setup and how it's driven. Worst comes to worst you can just keep a spare set on hand at a whopping $6 a piece. In regards to ride quality, they won't ride bad even after "wearing out", they'll just clunk a bit over bumps....nothing unmanageable. True that 40k on struts is nothing, but I'm on Racelands and I ride around dumped as **** (my fenders have a nice curve to them from hitting the wheels  ) on New England's sh!t roads. I honestly expected them to blow a long time ago, but they just won't die. +1 for Raceland. :thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks for the first hand info and glad to see someone else has a similar setup. My friend who has them is at 7k with them without any issues.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Another small update but I installed my rear fittings on the rear bags. 



I was going to mount the bottom brackets but when I put them on I noticed they didn't sit flat. I looked and when I welded the new bolts in the splatter from my ****ty flux core welder is all over the bottom of one of the plates. One sits fine but I'm going to clean them both up with a wire wheel and grinding wheel if needed then repaint them.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

There's nothing like getting a set of new wheels! :laugh:
It's even better when those new wheels come with brand new tires!
Even better yet when they come with free parts!
And to top it all off everything was delivered straight to my house 

A few close ups, hard to get a good picture in the dark, inside with my phone.

























The group









Fresh rubber









Mysterious box that will hold these to the car (see adapters)


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

rjones1214 said:


> There's nothing like getting a set of new wheels! :laugh:
> It's even better when those new wheels come with brand new tires!
> Even better yet when they come with free parts!
> And to top it all off everything was delivered straight to my house
> ...


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

The flash makes them look like crap but they're in good condition. I just need to clean them up and I'm going to buff/polish the faces. Then once I'm happy with their finish I will find a place I can trust enough to mount the tires without complaining about the tire size


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I spent some time last night looking through the adapters. I cleaned them up, removed all the grease, rust etc just by using a little WD40, soap and hot water and a scotch bright pad. They cleaned up very nice. 
Everything









I found out the adapters use a stud conversion for the hub, 14x1.5 to 1/2-20 studs. I have a 1/2-20 die so I cleaned up all of those threads with the die. One of the lug nuts that hold the spacers on, 1/2-20 lug nut, didn't want to thread so I ran a tap through it to clean it up, threads perfectly now. The adapters came with 10 lug nuts that have an extended bottom and 9 short lug nuts.









The bolts that are pressed into the adapters are 12x1.5 studs and the kit came with 19 lug nuts. I'm not sure why 1 is missing but I probably won't be using them. When I test fit them on the wheels, half of the lug nuts stuck out and doesn't look very good. I plan on using short lug nuts to attach the wheels. 
Tall lugs 









Only problems I have are these:
1. One of the studs is stripped on the 14x1.5 side that goes into the hub. I can only find full 20pc kits of these so I'm trying to find a place where I can buy just a few. 
Stripped 









2. Missing 1 short 1/2-20 lug nut



And another picture I took last night


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Forgot to add: I bought the adapters are 2-20mm and 2-25mm adapters. I thought the 25mm ones looked a little too big so I measured them. Turns out the bigger adapters are 27mms so hopefully they fit 

Otherwise I'll have to try and trade those 2 for 2-20mm adapters to match the other ones.


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

rjones1214 said:


> Forgot to add: I bought the adapters are 2-20mm and 2-25mm adapters. I thought the 25mm ones looked a little too big so I measured them. Turns out the bigger adapters are 27mms so hopefully they fit
> 
> Otherwise I'll have to try and trade those 2 for 2-20mm adapters to match the other ones.


U have 4 20mm adapters and may want to space the fronts a bit more so let me know. :thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I would like to test fit them first but would be open to trading the 27mm adapters for 20mm ones. I didn't plan on having a staggered setup but I got a good deal on these adapters.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I haven't got too much done with my air ride, not much to do right now. 

But I have been hard at work on another project. I worked on this for 2 days, that is between work, school and hw. Enjoy 
So this spare trunk I acquired had this hole in it I didn't like. So my welder and I decided to fix that. 









And I figured I should make it look pretty with some makeup. 

































Then it was time to make it look like a car, wet primer. 









I will be sanding down the primer today and adding a few more coats of primer, sanding between. 
The trunk is a test piece as it came to me in not so great condition and have 5 small holes in the top from a spoiler that need to be fixed as well. I will also be using this trunk as a test piece for painting car parts. 

Post up what you think. Eventually I plan on shaving my trunk and hood notch once I get the paint situation figured out.


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

:thumbup:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Waiting for more primer to dry. 3rd coat on it now but most of it has been sanded off. 400 wet sanding before this coat. I'll see how it turns out. 

I have more work to do to the trunk and will be painting the entire thing so the primer in this one spot doesn't have to be perfect.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

*Bastard spoiler and more pics*

More pics with more primer on it, wet sanded to 400 grit 


































And the stupid spoiler holes, such a pain even though this trunk is for practice. 
I used a small piece of sheet metal from the underside, I'm hoping this makes it easier to smooth everything out. 

























After the welding and grinding I filled what was left with JB Weld. Once it dries I'll sand it down. Then body filler to smooth everything out.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

I have the whole front of the trunk in primer. It is still very rough from removing the paint but I'm using the primer as a level and gauge as how much I need to sand. I'll be spending the rest of my life sanding the trunk. 
Crappy pics with wet paint: 

























It looks better now that it's dry but I didn't take more pics.


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## Meaty Ochre (Jul 26, 2007)

What kind of welder you using buddy?


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## LOW36 (Jan 18, 2008)

Looks alot better bud.


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Worlds cheapest welder, Harbor Freight 110v gas-less MIG. 

Thanks Panda, it looks a lot better fully dry. I still need to sand the entire thing down a ways. :banghead:


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Just got done wet sanding the front of the trunk with 150 grit. Smoothed a lot of things out. I will probably wet sand with 220 grit as well, then another layer of primer and more sanding. I have a 320 grit sponge sanding block that will be used between coats once I have everything completely smooth. 

opcorn:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

that looks damn good for using such a ****ty welder hahah :thumbup:

btw i built that pressuryte clone thing and it works so f*ckin good haha im thoroughly impressed


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks and I saw the thread on that. I will be jumping into that thread to check it out. :thumbup:


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## jdotlim (Jun 2, 2008)

goood job! gotta keep an eye on this. i want to see your wiring work. how you hide your wires and your switches.


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## ornithology (May 6, 2009)

Nice thread man! Watching.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

any updates on the build??


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## Dameon (Oct 6, 2008)

Pretty sure he was selling or sold his air ride.


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

Sold about a month ago


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

damn


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

I know, I love the home brewed budget builds. Reminds people how cheap air ride can be if you put a bit of elbow grease into it. Hopefully he'll be back soon.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

16v_HOR said:


> I know, I love the home brewed budget builds. Reminds people how cheap air ride can be if you put a bit of elbow grease into it. Hopefully he'll be back soon.


 i did my setup for like 1500 but im feeling that it wasnt worth it now and i should have saved up. i need some real air struts (bagyard, XL, masontech, etc), rear shocks that dont ride like **** and i hate manual management. i should have saved my money and just done it right in the first place.


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## 16v_HOR (Jul 21, 2005)

martin13 said:


> i did my setup for like 1500 but im feeling that it wasnt worth it now and i should have saved up. i need some real air struts (bagyard, XL, masontech, etc), rear shocks that dont ride like **** and i hate manual management. i should have saved my money and just done it right in the first place.


 I'm into mine for $1100, which isn't bad considering the $650 expense for the xl's. Oh, and everything with the exception of a few fittings and my rear bags were bought brand new


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## rjones1214 (Apr 24, 2009)

Sorry guys. I sold the wheels a while ago. I still actually have the air but it's being shipped out tomorrow as it's sold. 

I decided that since I never go to shows or anything there was no point in having so much money into wheels and air. Plus the roads here are complete ****.


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