For many years, classic pickup builders were left with little to choose from when it came to suspension enhancements, other than building custom one-off suspensions.

Lowering a truck usually involved cutting coils and shaving bump stops. Out back, the rear end was treated to lowering blocks, a few pulled leaf springs or heated coil springs. Over the years, manufacturers began to address these demands, as lowering coils, spring leaf blocks, dropped spindles and flip kits were offered. Times changed with the introduction of airbags, as owners were able to slam their pickups with full ride height adjustability.

Air Ride Technologies (ART) is one of those companies offering quality suspension solutions for truck owners, with kits that fit specific applications. The owner of this ’86 Chevrolet pickup previously lowered the truck, but was unhappy with the results of the ride quality, not to mention its stance. After searching all the available kits on the market, he was disappointed that his original plan, which called for the truck to be lowered with handling improvements and a ground-scraping stance, would be difficult to achieve. After speaking with the tech guys at ART, he decided that to accomplish his goals, his classic Chevy would have to receive a total suspension transformation. He took the pickup to the ART headquarters, where they installed the new C10 StrongArm, AirBar and MUSCLEbar, which was an ideal solution to his problem. These upgrades would improve upon the overall handling and ride quality, yet still offer the ground-scraping stance he was after.

The ART StrongArm kit is designed for the front of the C10 pickup, and features new powder coated tubular control arms complete with ball joints and control arm shafts, for either conventional air springs or ShockWaves. Shock brackets and new shocks, along with all the mounting hardware is included. The front kit, as well as the rear kit, is designed as a true bolt-in, and requires only a few holes to be drilled.

The rear AirBar is a true four-link system with bolt-in C-notches designed to locate the suspension components properly, as well as providing additional axle travel. The rear AirBar also incorporates an adjustable Panhard bar to center the axle, while air springs raise and lower the rear of the truck. To correct excessive body roll during hard cornering, a MUSCLEbar sway bar will also be installed.

With the kit in hand and a simple set of tools including a 1/2-inch drive ratchet, sockets, breaker bar, drill, air compressor and cut-off wheel, the entire assembly took eight hours to complete. Thanks to all the research and development work performed by ART, the bolt-in parts in the kits went together rather quickly. The installation will require extra hands to remove the bed for the installation of the rear AirBar.

The ART kits are designed to lower the truck 5-1/8 inches and 8-1/8 inches at full deflation, and they can be installed together or individually, as budgets permit. The StrongArm/AirBar combination proved worth the effort, as the truck was lowered significantly, without adversely affecting the ride and handling.