Planning on fabricating a lift kit. Anyone done it?

[Goatlad]

I own a 4wd tercel SR5 that I picked up recently for 200 dollars and Ive been having an absolute blast with it, since central california is just getting into the rainy season. However, Im looking to get a little more ground clearence out of this rig. Has anyone here come up with a proper suspension lift? I got reccomended to check this board out by the guys over at http://www.pirate4x4.com, so I decided to check around and see what i can find. I plan on bringing the car up at least 3 inches and fitting 27x8x14 BF Goodrich all terrains on the car after some liberal cutting of the fenders.

I mainly just need to get the idea s to how its been done, if its been done at all. Thanks in advance. :

[Gasoline Fumes]

The easiest way to lift the front is with spacers between the body and struts. But I wouldn't try to get 3+" with that alone. Maybe combine that with longer springs? I don't know how high you can go before you have problems with the axles, anti-roll bar and tie rods.

The rear just needs longer springs and shocks. But where to find them I do not know.

[Goatlad]

Springs and shocks should not be too big of a hassle, given the fact that I have a bridgeport mill handy. I can always make brackets to do that.

I was hoping someone would have done something similar as the subarus of the same vintage, and had pictures .

I guess I will start with the spacers and retrofit some longer struts/springs to start. Swaybars can be put on longer mounts or simply removed. tie rods can be stretched with a little cut and weld.

The CV joints are my main concern.

[FH Bible]

The engine cradel can be lowered a little to compensate for the lift. And because you will probably want to put on larger tires as well you will not lose ground clearance.
j

[coltarms]

I just contacted SpringWorks in California and asked for a quote for 1.5" lift Tercel Wagon Springs. They said $288 per pair, plus S&H. No group rate. So about $600 for a 1.5" lift. That is simply unsat.

[Goatlad]

I am going to call my freinds over at H&R special springs and see if they can help me find something with a comparable diameter but a longer spring. theyve been helpful in the past with my VW projects dealing with this sort of thing.

[Goatlad]

which reminds me....

Has anyone ever tried stacking springs? As in one whole spring with two hats welded opposite of each other with another half or quarter of another spring on top of it? I think i may try this with some longer retrofitted shocks off of something like a rav 4 or a camry, and maybe lower the engine cradle/rear diff to keep the CV angles down. That way at least i could fit a proper off road tire.

IM already working on getting my machinist to lengthen my axles. If he wont do that, I would like to try some square slip-over style ones.

[Typrus]

Heh.. This new format is less dial-up friendly....
Dang, go away for a week or 2 and new members everywhere.
Welcome to those I have not met yet!

Ok. Lift options. Try Skiwagons.com They offer a 2 inch lift.
A 3 inch lift starts to interfere with the front end drive dynamics. Best suggestion is to space the engine X-Member down a bit. Problem with this is that beyond 2 inches of suspension lift, you are only looking at body lift. In other words, no increase in actual ground clearance from the suspensory componants to the ground.

What options are there?
Well, lets see. One is to attempt to retrofit a solid-axle design to the front end of the Tercel. If you can do this, I will send lots of Kudos and appreciation your way. Can't imagine it'd be MASSIVELY difficult, just severly time-consuming.
You could always look at bigger trucks with independant front suspensions for inspiration. Look at link point re-works. If you have a Gen 1 Humvee (the real thing, not the POS remakes) handy somewhere, take a peek at its suspension. Perhaps a later generation Toyota truck with a lift.
Best bet?
Try to find a way to retro-fit a Toyota truck drivetrain in. 22R, 5-speed transmission, 4wd transfer case, both axles, the works. The 3AC is not going to handle the bigger tires you'd be wanting. That and the 22R has a fairly established aftermarket following.
If you are really bold, you could fit a VW turbo-diesel in in place of the 22R and get some real torque.


I am not a fan of the spacer-style lift. Its just not as effective and sometimes not as safe as a spring lift. Especially if you are like me and peg your speedo every morning.

I'd love to see a real rally-setup in our cars, but I think thats thick dreaming.


If you explore the photo gallery, you'll find a 2 inch lifted Tercel with I believe 27's. It looks quite aggressive.

[Goatlad]

Hah i think if i was going to go so far as to swap a 22r drivetrain, i would simply put the cars body atop an 82 truck chassis, which would still be totally cool. Prehaps my best bet is to just do a 2 inch lift and bigger tires, and save up for an actual truck.

[AbusedJalopy]

I did a lift a while back with those same dimensions in mind and all for under 20 bucks. I simply went to the junkyard and found the two top strut mounts and two front spring perchs off of an identical chasis. I removed the front perchs from the my car and welded the new ones directly on top, therefore giving me a direct bolt on application without ever tampering with the spring rates. For the rears, I took the front spring perch (that looks like a dish) and welded it to the rear spring mount center guide block. That was a horrible idea but I was just messing around with the car anyway.

It turned out to be a great height for the front, about 3", but the rear was way too high at over 4". The back damping got messed up from having the springs over compressed and the shocks being overextended. The front was horrible because as you lift the front, the tires tuck in way too much, even correcting the camber nut to the extreme. Pretty soon the CV joints began making the dreaded rumble under acceleration and turns since their geometry was way off.

I'm sure there is a way to correct the camber by altering the mounting plate angle, but it was too much work and not enough time, so I went back to stock. If you decide to go this route, it should be fairly cheap but just remember to take the angles into acount and correct for them.

[Mattel]

Just looking at some Subie sites in OZ and came across this guys page, some of the mods sound prettyinteresting it you have a sec check out his modifications, Including lift packages on his Forester. Some of the places he has been are way off the beaten track!

his site is at

http://subaclub.com/MyCar/Shera.htm



This guy has both a lift kit and spacers that he puts in for offroading



Seems like all the aftermatket Subi sites recomend body lift kits where the whole body is lifted off the transmission/engine and drivetrain. Rather than just taller springs and shocks which seem to transfer the pressure onto the CV's etc.

Here's what a 2inch lift kit from scorpion australia looks like





as you can see looks like some specially machined alloy blocks and braided brake lines.

I think it would be perhaps easier to manufacture something like this for the the Tercel and get some extra lift from larger tyres and perhaps 1 inch spacers than through larger shocks... Although a combination of both woudl be ideal

anyway.. just a thought!.

[Typrus]

That was a discussed idea. longer links and the like would have to be made though, as the bracket is welded, not bolted. Thats speaking for the rear axle.
Why not get stronger CV's.. or maybe widen the track so that the angle is less steep and the footing more stable.. You could use stronger parts perhaps. Meh... I dunno.
I would go look at my car right now, but its at home and I'm stuck at school.