Body Lift Kits

bobmanx · Post by **bobmanx** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:08 pm

Moved from Members Tech Section: Looking for recommendations or not on Body Lift Kits and why. Who makes the better of the many that are out there? Better as in Stronger, best fitting, steel or aluminum, least hassle to install, 3" height (or ?) and which to avoid? Also needs to be adaptable to have a rollcage mounted to it also in the future. There were some posts before about the "Up Yer Bug" lift kits not fitting correctly (what was wrong), anyone tried one lately? Thanks, Bob __________________

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:12 pm

[QUOTE="Bobmanx"]Moved from Members Tech Section: Looking for recommendations or not on Body Lift Kits and why. Who makes the better of the many that are out there? Better as in Stronger, best fitting, steel or aluminum, least hassle to install, 3" height (or ?) and which to avoid? Also needs to be adaptable to have a rollcage mounted to it also in the future. There were some posts before about the "Up Yer Bug" lift kits not fitting correctly (what was wrong), anyone tried one lately? Thanks, Bob __________________[/QUOTE] I would just cut the tub a few inches from were it bolts to the chassis, and glass in a 3" section, I did a bounty hunter this way,, 5" rear and a 4" front lift, worked well,, bit of grinding and shuttering to do before you gel n glass up, but this way you get to choose your own lift height :rock:

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:51 pm

i agree that if you have the skill to do it with fiber glass. It will look much better in the end. In the baja bug world body lifts are looked down upon a little just because it raises the center of gravity and it's a cheep way to get tire clearance. If you are looking to get more clearance I would suggest cutting and turning you beam and re-indexing your torsion bars. Or you could do both.

bobmanx · Post by **bobmanx** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 1:04 am

Not trying to lft it for tire clearance. The top of the transaxle is way to close to the underside of the rear shelf of my Manx2 (near the clutch area of the transaxle) and I wanted more gap for protection and F/G safety. Its about 3/16" and thats with the trans strap installed. It's also a swing and trying to keep the wheels flat on the road. Thanks, Bob

5150bossman · Post by **5150bossman** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 1:58 am

As far as raising the center of gravity, I don't think you can even compare a Baja to a buggy for low center of gravity (nothing against Baja's). Even with the 3" lift, the center of gravity is soooo low that you can still go places most other 4X4's dream of. I do have one of the cheep sheet metal 'C'-channel lifts. I beefed it up by cutting 3/4" square aluminium tubing to fit inside the channel at the bolt holes. I run the bolts through the square tubing so when I torque down on the bolt, it doesn't crush the tubing. After a good year of off-road running, no problems. I do re-torque the bolts from time to time. So far as attaching a roll cage with this one, I wouldn't. I would find a way to attach directly to the pan. If you are looking for rigidity, or crash strength, I would probably then go with one of the full steel ones. :2cents:

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:30 am

I have the same kit on mine. I welded it to the pan Not completely but enough to where it will not go anywhere and bolted it down.. also i have my roll cage attached to both the top of the channel and the pan. it is like a z shape flat steel bolted to the top of the lift and then bolted to the pan Strong and no problems at all... Also you will have to modify the steering hole in the dash as the hole will be higher off the pan but the steering box will be in the same place it was. if you don't the steering wheel will be high in the air. you could weld a u joint into it and make it work with out moving hole too.

tgodber · Post by **tgodber** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:11 pm

This is my 1 1/4" square body lift. Mechanic at work did the cutting with an angle grinder and zip disc. The tubing bends just like a snake. Many spot welds and much grinding later it was finished.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:45 pm

I am getting ready to re-build a chassis. It is a 74 beetle. I need to shorten it and am thinking about a 3" lift. Does this throw off everything like the steering colum ect.. Also why not use 1/4" aluminum for the floor pans instead of the thin steel replacement pans? Rocks bend the *#$% out if them. Is it just too much work?

5150bossman · Post by **5150bossman** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:25 pm

Like SeaBee said, with the lift, you will need to cut a new hole for the steering column to go through. With my 3" lift, I just cut a new hole 3" below the original hole with a hole saw. Then I took the piece that came out of the new hole and siliconed it back into the old hole. Now the angle of the steering column is the same as it was from before the lift with no binding or any other problems. You will also have to find a way to secure the steering wheel end shaft carrier some how, as the carrier attachment points are now 3" higher. I used a couple of small turnbuckles from the original attachment points in the dash down to the carrier. I also had to remount the fuse block as the wires would no longer reach it since it was also now 3" higher (used the opportunity to change to a Painless 12-curcuit ATO fuse panel).

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:16 pm

good work on explaining the body lift stuff. As for replacing the pans with aluminum I would suggest against it. If rocks are beating your stock pans they will destroy the aluminum pans. I would recommend replacing the pans with the proper replacements. And if you really want to do it right double stack 2 new pans. So you take the replacement pans and stack 2 on top of each other as you weld them in. I've heard of a few race teams doing this and working well. If you are really desperate for a cheap quick fix just put a few layers of really heavy fiberglass over the pans. This should work for a temporary fix.

Mvovr · Post by **Mvovr** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:02 am

My pans are Glassed on both sides. They hold up well to anything I throw at them.

bobmanx · Post by **bobmanx** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:52 am

Thanks all for the lift kit info. I think I'm making progress.

Manx2 body is off and the pan is at the frame shop being "adjusted", framehead relocated properly and the rest checked for proper alignment since it was "alignment challeneged" Hope to put them together again on Tues. 11/15. Like Maniac says never ending "FUN - FUN - FUN" Thanks, Bob