To lift or not to lift

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:54 am

I am starting my first Manx build and would like to here some thoughts on doing a body lift. The buggy will be sand/dirt style but I would also like to buzz around town from time to time. Thanx

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:08 am

The lift will probably allow for a heftier suspension, it`s just a matter of prefrence I guess. This buggy has a body lift.

This one does not.

CoKev · Post by **CoKev** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:31 am

Actually, I'm pretty sure the red buggy does NOT have a body lift. It has a custom tube frame with the lift built in. I've studied this buggy so long , I see it in my dreams

. Just my 0.02

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:52 am

I don't have a body lift on my Manx, but sometimes I wish I had. I have a stock suspension (ball joint front, IRS rear), and I like to run fairly tall front tires (P205/75R15). They rub on the front fenders on the hard bumps. I ended up having to extend the upper suspension stops to prevent the rubbing, but that limits the amount of travel. Here's an example of a front tire getting close to the fender when the road surface is uneven:

Another benefit of a body lift is added stiffness to the chassis. I was still able to address this issue by tack welding some 1" square tubing into the channels at the outer edges of the pans. The body mounting bolts go through the square tubing as well as the pans. With a body lift you don't need any additional tubing in those locations. The best reason I have for not installing a body lift is the side pods. They won't fit unless you do some extensive cutting of the bottoms of the pods, and even then they would look funny because they wouldn't cover the entire side of the buggy. If you don't plan on running side pods, disregard this comment.

CairoManx · Post by **CairoManx** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:21 am

This frame Dave Barrett builds in Fresno looks like it gives extra wheel travel clearance and lots of rigidity. He also makes Manx clone bodies. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=262570

tgodber · Post by **tgodber** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:37 am

Here is a previous thread about this subject. http://www.meyersmanx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3118

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:19 am

Thanx for the quick response, I really like the looks of the lifted buggies and will go that route. See you in the dunes!

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:00 am

Just so you know, none of the buggys pictured in this thread have a body lift. The lift on all the buggy pictured is done strictly with the suspension. A buggy with a body lift looks considerably different.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:36 am

There are more than one reason for a body lift. This is a picture of the one I am in the process of making right now. Reason 1. My body is a Manx 1 and I didn't want to cut the body to use IRS. 2. I really want to use IRS. 3. I'm fairly tall and am tired of holding my head sideways to see the traffic lites through the windshield. 4. I have 14" wheels on the front and not tall tires either. Everytime I would get the buggy in a bind it would take the wires off of the bottom of the turn singals. (I know there are other remedies for that) 5. I think it will look cool. However I have side pods that will hide the body lift. I also have and adjustable front beam and the engine and tranny is not in it in the picture. It will be lower once it is put back together. It's your buggy do whatever you like. If you don't you won't be happy. :2cents:

joemama · Post by **joemama** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:16 am

I do not have a body lift on my buggy, but have been helping 2 friends with their buggy projects, one has a home made lift out of 1 1/2" square tubing, enough I think to aliviate tire clearance issues, but still look like an original. My other friend is building a long body buggy and bought a 3" lift kit intended for a baja bug, it is a flimsy sheet metal deal, which I dont think would stiffen the pan much. Another issue I have not heard mentioned is that the body lift takes up some foot room around the clutch pedal, as it rises straight up even with the inside of the channel of the pan, while the body normally lies even with the outside of the chanel. If you have big feet, this could be a problem.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:01 pm

Here are a couple pictures that show a body lift from the inside of the car. The lift and roll bar are the handiwork of Rob (Speedee).

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:15 pm

Lee, what are those 2 black wide bars for that run up the side of the kick panels?

5150bossman · Post by **5150bossman** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:44 pm

Here is our buggy with a 3" lift. Even with the lift, I still get occassional tire rub under the front fenders on hard bumps in the road, but then again I am running some large tires up front. It's the less expensive 'C' channel lift that I beefed up using 3/4" square aluminium stock at each bolt hole, and ran longer bolts all the way through.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:02 pm

Reverb, The wide black bars are part of the original steering column mount. We will be changing the mount to make it part of the cage.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:38 pm

I used the 3" lift kit from UP YOUR BUG made with 3"x1" tubing not channel, the front piece is made from alum. and the back piece is 3x1 tubing,. great kit,all predrilled and ready to mount. I also used a bead of silicone between the pan and tubing and between tubing and body,great fit and ridged pan chevy56pu