I am about to embark on what is likely to be a huge pain in the a$$ and will probably cost me a fortune. I cannot find any threads of anyone having to do this, so I figured I would start with an explanation of what I want to do, seek any input from you guys, and document the project for anyone else who has what I have and wants to change it.
I purchased a '98 JDM 100-series, right hand drive about a year ago from an importer in Tampa. I admittedly did not do as much due diligence as I should have and neglected to get up under the rear part of the truck. The truck is outfitted with a 3" body lift, which I knew going into it, but I figured I would just pull that out some day if the AHC started giving me problems or when it became time to redo the front end. The time has come for new control arms, ball joints, etc, so I figured I would go ahead and do a suspension lift now.
What I did not realize when I bought it was that the rear frame horns had been modified to allow for the rear bumper clearance needed for the body lift. The rear section of the frame was cut off and reattached with some sort of offset bracket that raised it 3" so the bumper could attach and so that the frame wasn't hanging below it. Pictures are below.
The issue is that removing the body lift and dropping the body back on the frame means that the frame modification has to be undone and returned to its original position. So I have to cut off the offset bracket (which was not only bolted but also welded into place), then either fab a new rear frame section (either from scratch or just find a whole frame somewhere and use a section of that) or attempt to salvage the original section. If I can pull that off, the rest should be a fairly standard AHC removal and suspension lift replacement unless there were any other mods done along with the body lift.
Any thoughts, advice, or direction from you guys would be appreciated. This is my first time doing anything like this, and I am no expert on any aspect of this project, so assume I know almost nothing. It seems like frame modifications are very uncommon (though there are examples of this rear section modification being done for body lifts), and undoing them is even loss common. I'll document as much of this as I can along the way.
I live in North Florida and there are a few shops within a couple hours that can probably handle most of this job (unsure how much of the frame work any of them will be willing to do). CruiserMatt's Offroad in Winter Park, Roam Overland Outfitters in North Tampa, or Sunshine State Overland Outfitters just outside of Gainesville all seem highly reviewed - if anyone has any experience with any of these shops, please let me know what you think.
Thanks guys!
I purchased a '98 JDM 100-series, right hand drive about a year ago from an importer in Tampa. I admittedly did not do as much due diligence as I should have and neglected to get up under the rear part of the truck. The truck is outfitted with a 3" body lift, which I knew going into it, but I figured I would just pull that out some day if the AHC started giving me problems or when it became time to redo the front end. The time has come for new control arms, ball joints, etc, so I figured I would go ahead and do a suspension lift now.
What I did not realize when I bought it was that the rear frame horns had been modified to allow for the rear bumper clearance needed for the body lift. The rear section of the frame was cut off and reattached with some sort of offset bracket that raised it 3" so the bumper could attach and so that the frame wasn't hanging below it. Pictures are below.
The issue is that removing the body lift and dropping the body back on the frame means that the frame modification has to be undone and returned to its original position. So I have to cut off the offset bracket (which was not only bolted but also welded into place), then either fab a new rear frame section (either from scratch or just find a whole frame somewhere and use a section of that) or attempt to salvage the original section. If I can pull that off, the rest should be a fairly standard AHC removal and suspension lift replacement unless there were any other mods done along with the body lift.
Any thoughts, advice, or direction from you guys would be appreciated. This is my first time doing anything like this, and I am no expert on any aspect of this project, so assume I know almost nothing. It seems like frame modifications are very uncommon (though there are examples of this rear section modification being done for body lifts), and undoing them is even loss common. I'll document as much of this as I can along the way.
I live in North Florida and there are a few shops within a couple hours that can probably handle most of this job (unsure how much of the frame work any of them will be willing to do). CruiserMatt's Offroad in Winter Park, Roam Overland Outfitters in North Tampa, or Sunshine State Overland Outfitters just outside of Gainesville all seem highly reviewed - if anyone has any experience with any of these shops, please let me know what you think.
Thanks guys!