lifted 2wd

[gregfull]

Hi all,

A couple of years ago I bought a 68 swb 2wd. My son, who is 14 now has shown an interest in it, so I thought he and I could start building it. I like lowered or bagged, but of course my son likes lifted or as he calls it "jacked up". What options, other than a 4wd suspension swap, do I have? Can I lift it 3 or 4 inches with bags, springs, a-arms....Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jimmydean]

I know there is at least on 2wd that is lifted on this board (do a search in this forum). If I recall, it was a matter of new springs and long shocks. It looked great!

I like high 4x's and low 2x's. I guess the phrase "anything but stock" is my motto.

[77 burb]

sound like my oldest son i told him he getting the mini van for a first car so he said can we bag it and flame it

[redz 1970 K5]

You can get a 2-3" body lift kit from Performance Accessories. This is a pretty standard kit that you and your son could install within a day. They are showing a 2" or 3" body lift for a 2wd 69-72 chevy, but I am quite certain that it would work on the 68- I can't imagine why it wouldn't. Call them and see-

http://www.performanceaccessories.com/

That will get your son riding on 32" tires on an 8" wide rim. You would have to modify the front/rear bumper mounts to raise the bumpers up, but it isn't too difficult- I have done it before a few times.

The suspension lift was a little trickier. I couldn't find any spindles, a-arms, etc. All I could find was a set of 1.5" front lift coil springs from Rancho. That would give him at least 1.5" of front lift, maybe more if they are the original springs and sagging after all those years.

Here is a link to the springs on Summitracing; It shows they will fit 2wd Chevys from 68-86.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...8+4294907048+0

So, with 1.5" suspension and 2-3" body lift, he is at 3.5-4.5" of lift. That will comfortably fit 33x12.50" tires and probably look pretty good. That is not going to set your pocketbook back too far.

I like that option, so he can have it lifted, but it remains a 2wd so you can always return it back down easily if he changes his mind.

[1969k10stepside]

As much as I HATE body lifts that is probably the best and easiest option.

[gringoloco]

Bag it front and rear. Run a tall cup in the front and flip the axle under the arms in the back. This way, when he sees the error of his ways, you can slam it easily... -Chris

[PBFAB.COM]

I picked up a 69 C10 about a year ago... it's finally going to get built. It currently has a Fabtech 4" lift up front (73-87 style front crossmember) and has lifted leaf springs in the rear. The reason I bring this up is that it will be getting a tube chassis with all C4 Corvette suspension. That means the old frame with suspension components are no longer needed... 4-Sale. If you are interested, let me know.

[gregfull]

redz 1970 K5: Thanks for all the research, sounds like you've done this before, maybe I can get the choppers to work on me a photochop.

gringoloco: interesting plan, do you think I'd have a hard time aligning the front end?, if not then we could remove the cups, flip the axle back, and we'd be back where I like it.

porterbuilt: Hmmm, this is very interesting too, I'll let you know.

Thanks for all the replies.
Greg

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by gregfull

do you think I'd have a hard time aligning the front end?,

Never done one this way personally. You might run into some trouble with camber, but there is a 3-4" lift spring on the market, so as long as you don't go any higher than that, you should be OK. The great thing about doing it with bags is if you run into any problems aligning it, you can always drop it down a little and try again and bring the back down to match.

Hopefully he just wants to do it to look cool, 'cause there would be very little functionality unless he is desert racing.

-Chris

[pooz911]

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pooz911/...803871210003/0


You can get the fabtech 3 inch lift kit which includes the spring and balljoint spacer. You shouldn't have any problems with alignment with it.

I have also seen a write up where someone used a newer lifted spindle and mated it w/ older "A" arms for additional lift.


I don't know what your budget looks like, but with the right amount of money, anything can happen.

[IvelDesigns]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Bag it front and rear. Run a tall cup in the front and flip the axle under the arms in the back. This way, when he sees the error of his ways, you can slam it easily... -Chris

2wd go down, 4wd go up. time to give your son a life lesson in truck buildin'

however, you could bag the front, giving it one hell of a raked stance. maybe then your son will see the light and want to do the same in the rear.

good luck on the project!!!

[KSCHEVYUP]

To pooz911: Nice looking truck! Is the fabtech 3" lift just for the front? Do you have coil or leaf springs on the rear?; and what did you use for lift back there? Thanks Ron

[pooz911]

I actually have rancho springs in the front with ball joint spacers. Fabtech is the only company that I know of that includes ball joint spacers with the springs. I had to have mine made by a buddy.

My truck is 3/4 ton. The rear end is equiped with leaf springs and a overload spring. Rear suspension is completely stock, including the original shocks.

[jimmydean]

Pooz, that looks real nice for a 2wd! Had I not looked at the pics, I would never guessed.

[Kevin45]

I don't know about the '68's but couldn't you block the back, 2" longer springs in the front, and run taller 75 series tires to give it height? The reason I say this is that my '93 sat real high and it is a 2wd. I would have to look at the tire size for sure but I picked up the tallest 75 series that I could get because on my '89 (what they were going on) needed the wheelwells filled up. And I am kinda old school (or was until I get to looking at the fine rides on here) and like the looks of more rubber than rim (that is slowly changing...well maybe rapidly changing) My '93 looked like a pre-runner. It sat way high. Moreso than most that I have seen. And if you don't want to add blocks to the back, you could always get rear springs with more of an arch to them (maybe a 4wd rear spring) then add the longer springs to the front. You would be surprised as to how far a 2" longer spring will raise it. But if he wants it high like a 4wd then you may have to trade it off. I think my garage might have room for a '68 somewhere
Show him this one and maybe he will change his mind. The wife and I spotted this at a car show last year and I have to say this truck is absolutely georgeous. If I can remember right, it used to be a longbox that was shortened down. Everything on this truck was absolutely flawless and looked way better than a showroom floor truck. I wish I had gotten more pictures of it and the owners name. He's from here in Ohio. The bed and under the hood had to have many, many, hours in paint and polish. The bed inside was perfection I had the pic so I thought I'd post it. If anyone recognizes the truck as a members truck, I'd like to drop him a PM.
That's my $.02 worth this morning.
Happy New Years All!!! And may this year be better than the past years

Kevin