hi, i am buying airshocks for my 78 monte this week. there made by "gabriel". aby1 ever here of these before? i am buying them to get a little lift in the back. is this taking a risk if i dont replace the springs?

 

The biggest problem with air shocks are those that have a single fill valve. When you corner the air from one shock is forced into the other shock. This causes the car to lean and seriously affects handling. If you do go with air shocks make sure each shock has its own filler valve. Personally I don't care for air shocks. If you are installing them to aid weak springs I would replace the strut assemblies.

 

Gabriel Air shocks worked Great for me...
They were called HighJackers...
I used separate fill valves for each shock.
Thus eliminating any cornering issues of air transfer from one to the other.
I say go for it... I believe they could hold up to 120 PSI in combination.
So I would probably fill them just enough to give you the tire clearance..
That way you don't compromise the ride from over filling.

Mike: (03SSLE)
in 1978.. The Monte Carlo didn't have struts... lol

 

Gabriel is a good air shock they have been around for a long time I ran them on Chevelles I owned, back in the 70's. Helps with tire clearance, in the Rear. The down side of the Air shock is it gives a little bounce when you go over a bump. I ran Traction bars and air shocks on the Chevelles I had, the Traction bar I used replaced the lower rear control arm and had a U clamp the went over the rear axel. It would raise the car up also. If the Tire is the reason you are doing Air shocks you may want to make sure the tire has clearance to the sidewall. I had a friend who put on a Wide rear tire and it caught the sidewall and pealed a thin rubber strip off the outside tire wall. I think the underside of the rear fender was real sharp so he had to grind it down. I believe there is also an Air bag that can be used for this type of application as well.
Good luck with the application.
They install just like regular shocks use a separate valve, I think we mounted the filler behind the license plate. Also make sure you secure the airlines to the framing under the car so they don't catch on debris on the road and rip loose.