I just recently picked up a 76 chevy 1/2 ton. It's got a 2" on it right now and 35's. A 454 with a 4 speed. I am wanting to put about or around a 10 to 12" lift. Maybe a 6" suspension and a 3" body. I am wondering if I do this will I have to do any modifications the drive shaft, brake lines,etc.??? I am wanting to put 37's or 38's. Will those axels hold up to that?? Let me know please. Thanks


Brandon

Yes, yes. No.

Great feedback.

You'll need 1ton axels if you're running 37"s,so yes,yes and no.:laughing:

Ha thank you a little better description. Hope to have it completed in the next month or so.

Whay a 10-12" lift? Kinda:rainbow: . Most guys that actually want to wheel their trucks run 4-6". The suspension will work better, lower cg, and a 3" body lift will be a huge mistake.

Read up :flipoff2:

So you're wanting to put on 2-3" bigger tires...and lift it anywhere from 7-10" higher?? Don't you think that will look really wierd?

Yes your axles will have to go, you'll need a new driveline, brakelines, and a lot of other stuff...including crossover-steering.

first off, you dont need that much lift for 37's. 6'' suspension lift is about all you need. First off, shackle flip the rear. Sky, ORD or DIY4x4 all make good kits, all are pretty even in quality. You're gonna wanna put longer springs on for better articulation. Usually, thats 56'' in the front, and which ever you choose in the rear. For that kind of lift, you NEED to reinforce the steering box.

For axles, you can pickup a 14bolt axle for pretty cheap. These are awesome, cheap, strong, and lots of aftermarket. For bout 1000, you can have a pretty stout axle: gear'd, lock't n disc'd. For the front, you can get away with a 10b/d44 but you really should go d60. As you should know, these are pricey but they are worth it.

You're also going to want to angle the shocks better, and extend the brake lines with steel braided ones that wont expand, and blah blah.


For steering, cross-over.

EDIT- dont forget to hack the fenders. search for dimensions/examples

Well thanks for the replies. I really didn't know that I could clear 37's with a 6". As for making the truck tall. I just wanted to have that little bit of gap between the fenders and tires. I guess you say a 6" will do it. Ya the lower center of gravity makes since. Thanks for the help guys sorry if I sound stupid with my ?'s just new to this. Have lots of friends that are truck gurus but they really could care less about trying to give me a few pointers.

Have lots of friends that are truck gurus but they really could care less about trying to give me a few pointers.Then why do you call them friends?
Travis

Agreed, doesn't sound like the merit the term "friend". Time for some new (real) friends I think...

And you've already been given good answers. I'll add one more thing thought; you can actually run 42s with only 4" lift too, but it takes quite a bit of work including moving the axles. If you want to do more than drive on dirt roads, I see a D60 front and C14 rear with 4.56 to 5.13 gears, but probably no need for much upgrade beyond stock (30 spline stubs and even neck down inners should be fine for moderate wheeling on 37s) for those axles and tires, unless you get some gear reduction (like a doubler or something) and get "serious" about off-road.

And one more thing, most of us hate body lifts. They are not nearly as "easy" as most think, and the potential for problems is significant. Since you are already going with more spring lift I would just pick it up there and avoid the body lift. 6" should be fine (I would do 4") with relatively minor mostly "bolt on" effort beyond just "install a lift" type stuff. Maybe some offset plates to move the front axle forward and some serious fender surgery. Also, get 2" springs for the rear and combine with a "shackle flip". Much more functional (6" rear springs have LOTs of arch and are stiff) and sets the pinion about right for a CV shaft (if you want to go that way, not required). Then shave the lip off the C14 and D60 and you'll have a reasonably capable wheeler. But the mods to make all that work right are going to set you back, at a guess, at least $2k if you can find the D60 for a very good deal, probably more like $3k…

Frankly, for the diff in 35s to 37/38s, I would just stick with some good 35s and lockers with alloy shafts. Much cheaper and, if you know how to drive it, and assuming it works well as it is, you can go just about anywhere you can go with the 37/38 tires…

Ya I am going to try and get a D60 and a 14 bolt from a buddy. He owns a junk yard and said he will let the two go for around 1600. And I just am going to run a 6" with 37's got a good deal on some TSL's. Thanks for the replies and help..

Brandon

Ya I am going to try and get a D60 and a 14 bolt from a buddy. He owns a junk yard and said he will let the two go for around 1600. And I just am going to run a 6" with 37's got a good deal on some TSL's. Thanks for the replies and help..

BrandonNot much of a buddy there. He isn't giving you much of a deal.

LMAO!!! damn, then i got some really good friends...i picked up my d60/14 bolt with 4.10s for $500 hey MOUNTAIN4X4, what's wrong with 10-12" of lift?? i was going to lift my Blazer 17" with 46s, but recently decided to build it into a trail rig b/c the body is kinda whacked already...lol...i got lots of friends that have 20"+ on their trucks, but i guess it's a Texas thing & everything's bigger in Texas so i guess you wouldn't understand...don't be a HATER, it's a wide sport, people like different stuff...:flipoff2:

hey Brandon sorry for ragging on your post...go with 6" of lift for those 37s with a 3/4 ton D44 & gm14 bolt...if you break the 44, then you know it's time to upgrade to a D60...no biggie...a friend of mine is running the 44/14 bolt combo with 39.5" boggers, 6" of lift and some fender trimming...everything's held up so far...good luck...& i agree on using a shackle flip on the rear...

Please dont let this guy be a representative for my home state.

Anyway. Do the ORD Shackle Flip in the rear, it'll get you more than enough lift without crazy tall springs.

If you wheel with the 10 bolt and 44 expect to break stuff.

Your friends suck. They won't share info with you, and the one with the junkyard isn't giving you a good deal at all. You can probably find a running 1 ton junker cheaper than $1,600, take what you need, and haul the rest over the scales to get a few hundred bucks back. Also, I've seen 44s on 4 inches of lift, with lots of fender cutting, and relocated axles, so a 10 or 12 inch lift is a bit extreme for 37s or 38s, like everyone said. Also, depending on your terrain, I've seen 44s hold up on 1/2 ton axles for years, but they're mainly used for weekend mudding, nothing extreme. It all depends on how deep your pockets are, and what you plan on doing with the truck. You can make a decent all around rig with 37s or 38s on 1 tons axles and 6 inches of lift. You may also want to check your "deal" on 37s. If it's coming from one of your "friends", you're probably getting screwed. You need new friends, seriously.

6 inches will be plenty of lift for 37's i have a k5 with 38.5 and i have 7 inches of lift only gets into the fenders when i flex it way out stock axles will hold unless your planing on doing serious off roading rockcrawleing. if your just going be a trail rider and mudder stick axles will work but you will need to change gears for some performance. Thats my 2 cents

If *all* you do is lumber around in a muddy field, then lift it 20" and run tractor tires if you like. But those high lift trucks don't even make a decent trail rig or ANYTHING other than a Mud runner. First off camber dirt road you hit and you're on your side. Nothing wrong with a single use truck, but just not what most people want, particularly if they are running 37" tires.

There is that, and this IS a *Rock Crawling* site...

There is that, and this IS a *Rock Crawling* site...

Top right hand corner if you think he made that up :rolleyes:

I had a 4" lift (rough country springs w/blocks) on my K5 with 33's. I then did 35's and went with 4" BDS springs and a shackle flip. Next was 37's with 56" rears/stock flip and the 4" BDS springs. Now it is the same 4" BDS springs and 56" rears with 40's. I really did like the look the 37's on a 4-6" lift have. If you can measure you lift in feet (without using fractions) than it is too tall.