Project Smuggler's Blues - Triple Blue 1964 Convertible

[bd94s10]

Thanks, fellas. More to come soon when I get a chance to drive and work on the car more!

[action]

There are two four letter words that get in the way of many car restorations ...

Work and Life!

Good luck on moving forward

Action

[bd94s10]

Thanks much! So the latest purchase is from James at Detroit Deviant. The paint on the heads just hasn't held up (I didn't think it would) so I ordered a set of his stainless covers: https://detroitdeviant.com/detroit-devi ... -cover-set

He makes some pretty cool items: https://detroitdeviant.com/detroit-devi ... s/products

I will do a video for the unboxing and installation on these.

More to come!

I'm also working to complete the video for the speaker and amp power wire I ran in the car.

[bd94s10]

Kick panel and wiring video part 1 I actually recorded on 5.1.21 and realized last week I never edited and published the content. Posting in the event it helps others out: https://bit.ly/3ksnmOr

Kick panels by Jason Ballard, on Flickr

[bd94s10]

Not many updates on Project Smuggler's Blues. I've driven it a big and love the car! Waiting on my buddy Jimmy to install the suspension (I'm very patient). After I do the A/C upgrade on Project Rita Hayworth I'll end up doing the same upgrade on Smuggler's Blues.

I now have a lift at my house and my S-10 sits above the car. Don't worry there are no leaks in the truck but I'll be getting the big plastic pans to go under the truck and sit on each side of the left as a precaution.

4 post Lift by Jason Ballard, on Flickr

I have 2 super bright LEDs in the shop but I may add 2 more. It took from April to Aug working on the shop electric to finally finish (worked on it 4-7 hours on Saturdays every few Saturdays.. glad to finally have electric.

Oh and this 4 post lift had a 70s Lincoln on it for 20 years. The old guys was in his 80s when he told it to my buddy Tony not too long ago. Tony said he only had 2 bolts per post which is scary. When we installed it we installed of course 4 per post. Your can watch the videos here:

https://youtu.be/gzFB6_vxoFY

[bd94s10]

MORE UPDATES COMING!!!

I've been on my friend Jimmy Graham's list at Jimmy's Rod & Customs since Sept 2019 to have my Devious Customs suspension (airbag) kit installed along with AccuAir air management plus ViAir compressors and more. I'm taking the car to his shop in Edgewater, FL this weekend after about a 39 month wait. He's done a lot for me in the past including building my truck Bada Bing so I owed it to him to wait for my turn to have him do the suspension on my car. He does some of the nicest work in the county and has a wait list for years. Tehcnailly my time came up in early 2021 but I took my S-10 to him to have him do a big punch list to get it running after I had the engine rebuilt. Anyways, more to come!

Drove the car last night to add fuel and just get some drive time on it.

Devious Customs suspension kit powdercoated black w/ front control arms

Universal Air air bags

Universal Air air tank with mounts for compressors & AccuAir VU4 including water traps

Dual ViAir 485c compressors

AccuAir eLevel w/ ECU+ which allows you to control the system from your smartphone

17 inch Diamondback whitewall tires

Driving 12.7.2022 (yesterday afternoon) in what feels like summer weather here in Florida. Really love the kick panels (pods) my buddy Paul built for me. They sound so good with the Bluetooth JL Audio receiver that plugs directly into the amp.

Universal Air tank (note this one has Air Lift in the image and mine will have the AccuAir VU4) - https://www.universalair.com/Billet-Air ... 03-btb.htm

It is worth noting that with this tank you can change the configuration based upon the mounting system. I plan to have the compressors on the backside and the VU4 (air suspension manifold) installed on the front and the ECU+ on top

03-BTB-2T.png (347.67 KiB) Viewed 1212 times

Wheels which mine are the extended versions: https://coloradocustom.com/premium#ed7f ... 7f54f768ba

Standard

Extended which I have in a 17 inch wheel so I can have a bit more "meat" on my tires

AccuAir ECU+

Height sensors which are installed at each corner of the car

Diamondback Tires are 225/60/R17s which will allow me to have a nice wide white all (widest avail) for a 17 inch low pro tires. Basically I was going after the look of Ruben's old '63.

Hashtag #extendedlincolncccyclewheels - https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ ... clewheels/

More to come!

[1Bad55Chevy]

I am in the process of trying to figure out which air management system to use on the Mark iii. I am brand new to air suspension so I am trying to learn!

I have been looking at the Ridetech, Accuair, and the Air Lift H3 all of which are ride height controlled systems. Any particular reason you are going with Accuair system over the other options?

I was starting to lean towards the Air Lift system through Devious Customs since it was about a $1,000 cheaper than the other kits but I would like to hear what others thought.

[bd94s10]

1Bad, I would say just research it and make your best decision. I try not to sway opinion but since you asked a specific question I'll gladly respond.

I've used AccuAir on 3 prior vehicles and really like the products/brand. After closing they were repurchased by Arnott in FL. I knew one of the former employees who also joined the new team. I always kept in contact with him and was stoked when they finally launched the ECU+ phone app. Although I think its a novelty to some extent (I'll be using the controller myself for the most part) I do think its pretty cool. I like the ease of use and the self calibration for the system. I do like that they kept their original products but also released the ECU+. Their original ECU was super solid. I like that the VU4 has NPT ports so you can thread in airline fittings (they use to mainly offer a push to connect but they were prone to leak over time). I do like the e-Level but I'm not someone who would install it myself so my friend is installing it... which he has installed the kits many many times before. He has personally installed prob 20-40 AccuAir kits and swears by the VU4 valve. He prefers it over Air Lift personally. I like the controller itself a lot. I like that they changed the design to add a cable to the controller so you are not plugging it in at the bottom.. people would sit on the controller sometimes and bend the old port that was plugged into the bottom.

Note: I have friends that have used the competition and also like it. A buddy of mine I told to buy AirLift when AccuAir went out of business. I think their products are nice as well. I've had a few people tell me in the past the over the air (OTA) updates were sometimes a pain. I knew someone that tore his truck all apart looking for an issue and come to find out the system was not working due to a required OTA software update... which I don't think should ever happen.. Sure updates are great but don't force one for the system to work.... but I doubt that happens anymore (I would hope).

If you go with AirLift I would see if they offer a manifold with NPT. I do think push to connect (PTC) is convenient but you can always thread in a nice PTC fitting into the valve and then push your airline into it if you really want... this way if it did ever leak you just change the fitting... I just looked and it does look like they offer NPT for AirLift.

They are both really good and do have their challenges from time to time.. I would also recommend you look at the complaints on each product via Facebook Groups. See what people like or complain about. I'm a type of person if I have difficulties with something I may not give it a try a second time.... there is an AccuAir Owners Group on FB and I've seen challenges people have had there.. mostly with their older products no longer offered e.g. ENDO-CVT.

I hope this helps. I'm also working on a multi part video series on my YouTube Channel which will detail out (for the most part) on why I chose the products I did for my car.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46SrZ ... 2lGJBcvf1w

Jason B.

[bd94s10]

Well... I dropped it off today. 2.5 hours each way to Edgewater, FL. The trailer I borrowed (recently sold my 42 foot gooseneck) pulled like a dream and I didn't encounter any issues. I also met a guy by the name of Paul Rebmann who quickly walked over to the car when I pulled up at the shop. He let me know he worked for a tooling company that made the '61 Lincoln Continental grills (I think that is how he stated it). He said he has some NOS Lincoln parts still!!!

Anyway, it was a great day. Jimmy said more than likely the car will be ready for pickup next weekend!!!! See pics below.

30 mins out stopping for fuel - top was down yes. the upper back panel switch I got thru Cashman via Brewer a few years ago has been pesky. Generally I can get the final step of the decklid to go down (top up sequence) but it gave me problems late one night this week. I said F it and took the car over with the top down. I'll mess with the upper back panel switch when I get it back. I may even upgrade to the T-Bird ranch replacement for the upper back panel but I'm gonna have Blair look at my setup first

Meeting Paul - super nice guy

Jimmy's shop. He has bagged countless vehicles and builds full chassis for brand new trucks. The Escalade you can barely see has a complete one-off chassis and will sit on the ground with 30 inch wheels!!! NUTS!

About to leave as he was locking up the shop.

[bd94s10]

Well my buddy is holding everything close to the vest this week. I've only chatted with him once in text which was a question he had about what I wanted to do with the exhaust. I hadn't thought much about it (kind of slipped my mind) but I pulled the trigger on having him build a complete exhaust. The reason being is when you air bag these cars the factory exhaust has to be cut off.... but the other reason is he is super awesome at making the exhaust. In addition my car may actually have the original exhaust or something from the late 60s or early 70s. I recall seeing asbestos on the actual muffler!!! e.g. it says it on the muffler lol. The exhaust has a ton of leaks and I just smell like exhaust after driving it... so not sure if it will end up being ready this weekend like he hoped but its coming along he said!

1 photo he sent me.. which I have not shared on social media

What he did was make a plate for the compressors and ECU+ to mount onto. The Universal Air modular tank tehcnialy comes with mounts for this stuff but I have a feeling he was like F it... I have a better way. That is the way my buddy is... even if something is modular or is a kit.. if he can make the install better for the customer he does it. I actually like what he did here. The pressure switch is on the right of the AccuAir VU4 manifold and you can see the fittings he uses off the VU4. I did tell him I'd like hardlines in the trunk (aluminum for stainless) for the airline or steel braided airlines would be fine as well. The steel braided is actually a time saver as he wouldn't have as much time in bending the hard lines.

The other nice thing is I wasn't completely sure the ECU+ mount from Universal Air was going to work. I was the first person to order this setup so I have a feeling they will change up the ECU+ mount. Where its at here is perfect as the back is where your AccuAir wire harnesses plug in. This configuration will easily allow that to happen. The other thing that is nice is the ECU+ can change colors via the app. You can set the colors on the internal light. Where its at closer to the trunk (spare tire well) floor it should light up that are nicely. We shall see.

I'm excited to see the rest of the project come together!!!

[bd94s10]

FYI I'm doing a series of videos covering all the parts I'm using on the car. Please checkout the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... LckwNBIX59

In the second video, which posts tonight, I'll show a second sneak peek photo. I was supposed to pickup the car today however my buddy needs a bit more time. He has to finish the exhaust (custom from the headers back) and his part time employee has to finish a few things with the wiring. He's holding any photos close to the vest as he wants me to be surprised when I head out to pick it up which will be this coming Friday since I'm off.

[bd94s10]

Well I got the text yesterday that everything was finished up. I show photos of how the car looks in my lastest video that dropped a few hours ago!

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/wFguPAa-Nx4

I'm picking up the car tomorrow. Looking forward to cruising the car!!!

[1Bad55Chevy]

Well I got the text yesterday that everything was finished up. I show photos of how the car looks in my lastest video that dropped a few hours ago!

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/wFguPAa-Nx4

I'm picking up the car tomorrow. Looking forward to cruising the car!!!

That trunk set up is super clean with the hard lines. How did they attach the braded lines under the car? I have been looking at the Notch Head clips for when I do mine but I want to see more options before I commit to anything.

Please post more pictures of the air set up! It's super bad ass!

[bd94s10]

Thanks 1Bad55... will do!!!

Generally speaking. my buddy Jimmy usually uses something like this https://www.amazon.com/SUPERFASTRACING- ... 67980&th=1

I will take a look this weekend. I just dropped the car off to get aligned. Jimmy would have done it but he wasn't sure where I wanted my ride height out (you can set it of course on the AccuAir controller).

So when I re did my fuel lines I re-used all the factory clips of course to hold the aluminum fuel lines. From what I can see they basically just zip tied to those lines along the way. There really wasn't room to use the clips above. I know some would freak out with this but the lines are zip tied so many times (I can count 14 on the driver side from the back wheel to the front) that the lines are not going anywhere. They are also nicely tucked up so they will not hang down at all. I'll get more photos and videos here soon for sure. Thanks again for the good word!!! Its been a long time coming and I'm super stoked.

[bd94s10]

Here are the pics of the car my buddy sent me prior to me driving over to Edgewater, FL to pick it up a few weeks back. Keep in mind with AccuAir you can set your 3 presets to any height you want. You air the car up to say the drive height and long press the preset (for me that is preset 2) and it is then saved. Now I got the car back without it aligned and this was because he didn't know where I wanted the drive height. I took it to a nearby spot after I had set what I thought I wanted the drive height. I then measured each corner of the car to ensure it was perfectly level... upon going to the spot I always drive to I was able to step back a good bit and take some pics and see the car from afar. I was happy with where the car was at for my drive height (it rode ok and looked ok) so I long pressed preset 2 and it was saved. I then got the car aligned at preset 2 height. Note: the drive height is 2 inches lower than stock (front and rear). This is based on my '65 Lincoln Continental convertible red car which I measured first. Preset 1 is a lower setting so lets say I was cruising a local strip and I wanted to tap on 1 to lower the car down some for a quick short cruise. Preset 3 is a higher setting closer to the highest the car will go. This would be good for say cruising down a background and you see something in the road that you know you can clear such as small roadkill. I'd tap on 3 and the car would lift up some.

Dec 21st, 2022 pics by Jimmy Graham

Rear under the car showing the new exhaust he made, steel braided airlines, water traps (air filters), rear suspension and more. Note there are clips under the car that hold the steel braided airlines but there are also a lot of zip ties. Trust me the air line is not going anywhere and the zip ties are mainly there to keep the lines all together and looking neat.

Rear inside trunk showcasing the Universal Air air tank, stainless steel airlines, bulkhead fittings, AccuAir components & more. The convertible closes with no issues and was taking into consideration (of course) when they were doing the trunk setup

Closer image to the driver Side rear showing the new exhaust and steel braided air lines, etc.

Under the rear car again showing the Devious Customs parts, etc.

Passenger side rear

Jimmy moved the car outside to get this photo showing the car all the way down. Note the center caps were not on yet as he wanted to make sure he didn't have to pull the wheels off for anything.

Car inside the shop lifted up

I'm beyond thrilled. The car rides great and to see all the original suspension that came out of the car (I have it all) it is just mind blowing. I would have really needed all new bushing in the front and the parts just looked old an worm as they should on a 60 year old car. The car is a blast to drive. Now onto the next thing. More to come!