Body lifts. Who's done it and who would do it again?

[Rocknroll]

I currently have a no lift 40 with 1" shackles in the front and 1 1/2" shckles in the rear running 32x10.50s on 8s. No shims or anything and the thing drives very well. I'm thinking about a 1 or 2" body lift to clear 33x12.50s on 8s. Will this work? Good/bad body lifts? I need all the help I can get.

 

[Dieseler]

what kind of roof ya got on the 40 like it

 

[Rocknroll]

I'm running a hrd top now but will be running an esahn top this summer

 

[donny paradise]

The steering column is the biggest issue

 

[LC_Hamma]

Body Lifts Kickazz!

They're great when you need to weld on top of your frame for link mounts. Getting to your tcase linkage, installing longer rear shocks & it's visually more appealing I wouln't go over 2" though. Both my rigs have body lifts made from different O.D. UHMW soild rod.

 

[Downey]

Body lift kits are the most ridiculous thing you could do to your Toyota from an engineering, and safety standpoint, that's why we don't sell them. The problem is the shear factor, every time you panic-stop, you're trying to throw the body off the frame like a bow and arrow. On the other hand, where else on earth do you get an extra 2-3" of tire clearance for 100 bucks?

 

[FJ40-GARAGE]

I did a 2 inch lift when i had my 40 done in 1989.

I welded 2x2 steel on the body shell and did go trough them with the bolts when i did put the body back on the frame.

The body rear area was filled with a u shaped, bumper like, steel and covered with diamondplate, on the side below the doors is a 10x2 steel welded to the body and covered with diamondplate, the steps are welded to that 10x2 and do a good job as rocksliders
The FJ40 can be liftet with a Hi Lift or Forklift anywhere now.

If you compare with a non lifted 40 you will realize that my number plate fits between frame and body.

Below the doors its hard to tell that this area is a bit lower than usual.

Usually i would have just cut that back to the minimum but........we need a TÜV approval here in Germany and i had to keep it street legal.

From my point of view its very hard to tell that it has a 2" body lift but i might be still blinded by my own work.

 

[singletrackjunkie]

Other than cost is there any reason to do a body lift over a suspension lift? They both increase your center of gravity but at least the suspension lift will give you increased articulation. FJ40 Garage, you did a nice job "hiding" your body lift but is there a reason you didn't just do a 5 inch suspension lift instead of the 3 inch suspension + 2 inch body lift? I've seen others on this forum do similar and I guess I'm not sure why.

 

[WES1977]

My cruiser came with hockey pucks for higher body mounts and I clear 33x10.5 r15 not to bad. I'll rub some. Oh and my cruiser had 29" tires also when I got it. But I think you should run the 10.5 wides to help tuck in the wheel wells. 10.5's will be a little easier to turn also.

 

[camcruiser13]

you have mini shackles or are you saying those are 1" over stock?


body lift is fine but why dont you get some mild lift springs if you are going bigger tires?


stock suspension and a body lift might look funny. imho

 

[nuclearlemon]

i'm with downey on body lifts. shear factor is too much of an issue for me for anything over an inch or so. i've been in an accident in a rig that had a body lift and the cab came completely free of the frame when it shouldn't have.

 

[rsc71]

i am contiplateing doing a body lift on mine to fit my drivetrain under it.it is that or cutting sheetmetal beyond the tranny hump.what do they do for the fender mounts on the frame?

 

[FJ40-GARAGE]

Other than cost is there any reason to do a body lift over a suspension lift? They both increase your center of gravity but at least the suspension lift will give you increased articulation. FJ40 Garage, you did a nice job "hiding" your body lift but is there a reason you didn't just do a 5 inch suspension lift instead of the 3 inch suspension + 2 inch body lift? I've seen others on this forum do similar and I guess I'm not sure why.

The reasons are a few.

1. I had the body off and do some welding on it anyway so why dont gain 2" for free?
2. A spring over is a mayor problem if you like to keep it street legal in germany.
3. Driveline length and angles be kept in a normal situation. (Close to normal with a 2" supension lift)
4. Very easy cleaning and access of the frame, gear, transfer.
5. The center of gravity is less negative influenced like it would be with a 5 inch lift.

If i would live in the US or another country that doesnt have technical approval nazis like germany i would have simply done a SOA and would be done with just my labour and some $$ for iron, driveline extension and caster shims.........but that aint working that easy over here.
I had to find my *german* way to get a cool, legal, safe, capable rig that even gets postive attention from the tech approval engineers each second year again.

 

[pbgbottle]

i used a 3 inch body lift also to clear my sm465 ,didn't want to hack up the rig to much just incase i wanted to lower it back down and restore it . which probably will never happen . my rig is on the kinda tall side. . i don't seem to wheel it that much anymore . i did the body lift using box channel to try and avoid the shearing effect . it has two small bolts holding it together one bolt bolting the block to the body and another bolt bolting the block to the frame . the body lift does look like crap from behind. i will be making a new rear tirecarrier that will hide the space. , but no big deal you will get used to it .

rig is also SOA one day when i'm not so lazy the body lift will probably come out .

P.S. bodylifts are also a nightmare to install if you have stock steernig .

 

[BDSeff1fitty]

pbg, how much lift do you have? and what size tire? rear fender cut at all?

 

[Matty Awful]

I've had body lifts in several offroad going 4wds including my current 40 with out a problem. It's all about keeping the trucks centre of gravity as low as you can whilst running the tyres that you want due to frequent encounters with cross slopes. A body lift doesn't lift any of the drive-train hence the weight sits lower in the 40.

We tend to use a combination of bigger tyres, suspension lift, shackle lift & body lift. It works for us. The one 40 in our group that is SOA is by far the least stable of the bunch. Just make sure that you use good quality lift blocks & the correct length high tensile bolts. As for looks - I like they way look with a well done body lift
Cheers

 

[cruiserjunkie]

I also added a 1 inch body lift to make room for a tranny I have tube all around the rear corners so you cannt tell it there if your not looking for it. Im not worried about shearing it because of my roll bar mounted to frame but doubt 1" lift shear is that much different and you could upgrade hardware one size to offset it if your that worried about it. I enjoyed the extra room to tuck the rear tank and other stuff up higher. It also pushed the top of the wheelwell up so now there is more room for the tire. Took a leaf out of the springs to bring it down 1/2 inch{have 4" lift springs}. As stated earlier steerinng shaft wil have to be longer.I didn't want to do it at first (hated the way they looked) but cutting my "new" tub wasn't an opition either and I'm very happy with finished product and would do again in a heart beat. Its not for everyone but it actully makes mine cruiser work better

 

[pbgbottle]

not sure on lift. 38.5 tires rear fenders are just trimmed to fit the bushwacker flares on .

pbg, how much lift do you have? and what size tire? rear fender cut at all?

 

[fieldsken1]

heres mine with a 4 inch lift and 2 inch body lift. i did the body lift so i can install the drive train higher in the frame for clearance. and the bumper fits just fine