So I understand things properly

[mylittleblackbird]

I've been digging through this section to see what I can do for my little ol' b2. I'm a cheap sob, so what I've come to the conclusion I should try to do is this.

A pair of 4 door 4x4 rear exploder leaf springs, and those chevy drop shackles from autozone flipped over(?) for the rear end. I'm not sure what that will net me in terms of lift as it seems to be a mixed batch of results.

The front, I'm uncertain of due to alignment issues with the TTB system. Drop brackets and taller coil springs would be ideal, but how to pull this off without a welder is a bit beyond me as I don't have it sitting in front of me to see what I can try.

Hammering, drilling, grinding or cutting are not beyond my abilities, but I'm certainly no machinist. I intend to acquire a welder in the not so distant future, although my welding skills will need some work.

So that said. Am I close to correct on how to handle the rear end, and how should I handle the front? Again, I'm cheap, but I won't put something together that I feel will be dangerous, or has been shown to be such.

I have it in my head that I'd like to get about 3 inches of lift currently.
I'll keep reading other posts, but tips, tricks and advice are appreciated.

 

[88_Eddie]

you can go up 2 inches on the front and still be able to align it with factory radius arms and drop brackets. there's several ways to do this. washers, leveling coils, coil spacers (check out the tech library, "lifting on a budget" section).

other than that, you'll need lift coils and drop brackets. the classifieds section is a good place to look. i got my coils and brackets for $110 shipped to my door from other members here.

for the back, you should get anywhere from 2-4" of lift with that setup. and no, you dont need to flip the shackle (unless you flipped the hanger, but that'd be hard work on a b2 unless you took the body off). depends on how old the EX leaf springs are.

 

[mylittleblackbird]

Is it possible to use longer bolts and space the factory drop brackets downward to help maintain alignment(ignoring the radius arms for now)? Thanks for the reply!

 

[88_Eddie]

i've often wondered that myself. could work for a lifted street truck that saw minimal off road use. i wouldnt trust it on something i planned to wheel very hard. the driver side drop bracket would be hard to do that with though. it bolts to a cross member and i dont really see how you could drop it down. in fact, some lift kits (the cheapo kits) use a drop plate for the driver side.

 

[mylittleblackbird]

Well, I don't know what is considered "hard wheeling". All I want to do is drive back and forth to work, and on the rare occasion, play in the sticky brown stuff and maybe some water.

Probably subject to change, but I would like to fit 31" or 33" tires on it. My understanding is this will involve some fender trimming(and probably a broken D28). Not an issue on that part.

The other cheap seat option is the body lift. I can't seem to get a feeling on that, one way or the other. Good, bad, or okay?

 

[88_Eddie]

i'm not a fan of body lifts myself. i dont like the gaps between the bumpers and how you can see the frame rails. but that's just me. you could easily clear 31's with a 3 inch body lift though.

if it's just light wheeling, it may be fine for you. you may be able to make the D28 last as well. i beat the crap out of mine back in high school and it held up.