Cutting a 79 to fit 315/75 Cooper STTs

[axehead]

Hi,

I am posting these pics becuase a forum member asked me to.

I cut my 2008 79 series LC to fit 35/75 Cooper STTs (as per topic title).

I do not have access to offset rims like those in USA and AU, so I added a set of H&M spacers to alleviate rubbing issues (+1 3/4").

If anyone has questions I am more than happy to give my best response.

Cheers,

Mick

P.S. I am not an expert, but mine works. Please don't blame me if you listen to anything I say and it becomes FCUKED

Before:

Pretend After:

Here are the fenders after about 2" of cutting and shutting. The original metal with the creaseline was kept, cut out, and re welded in place. Obviously due to the larger perimeter, more metal was added to close the gap as the perimeter increased. You can see therough joins in this primer stage, later on when painter ever the dealer has no clue to the modifactions done. A tribute to the body shop guys (I only do mechanical works, body shop is for pros, not hacks like me ).

Here you can see the front bumper trimmed to try and align with the whel arches. It lasted a short time in this format before it requested removal.

Here's the other end:

Here you can really see the extra length added in to allow the existing sheetmetal to be closed up:

Sex on wheels: Coopers - the toughest tyres in the world:

(insert flame war here)

Testing full lock:

The harshest leaf springs in the world - 11 pack Toyota LC. They kick like a mule with hot iron on defunct testicles. Since this pic have been replaced with something more supple.

My friend checking to see if things work by applying the burnout principle. In a petrol station no less:

We got a local forkie to test the travel for us. It all seemed good, we even tested full lock with full travel. Only thing is that on a fork liuft, you only deal with body weight. In real life, you have body weight plus dynamic effects - that rubbed. The afore-mentioned spacers fixed this problem.

This is my yet-to-grow baby, but after wheel arch cutting, and new rubber:

 

[Gib009]

Thanks for the writeup. So the trick is to get a body shop to do it lol. How much extra clearance did you get

 

[hoser]

Nice, thanks for sharing. What are your next plans?

 

[gilghana]

Looks great - especially without the decals and front bumper! Would be great with a bit of lift, but maybe in the dunes you want to keep it as stable as pos?
Nice ride! We made up some really simple rear h/duty bumpers for our 79 work trucks, I will get a picture up for you - these tin can rear bumpers are not exactly strong!
Gil

 

[naghotch]

thanks for this thread
great looking truck
so you have spacers (45 mm) and the rims look with a lot of backspacing too
can you tell us the specs of the rims??

 

[axehead]

Thanks for the writeup. So the trick is to get a body shop to do it lol. How much extra clearance did you get

Yeah, the body shop had already done 3 or 4 70 series before mine, so I knew they would do a good job. I am more than happy to do the mechanical work, but I knew they would do a better job on the body than me. In total they got about 3" of extra clearance.

Nice, thanks for sharing. What are your next plans?

well, plan 1 is to get my front axle replaced. Having a few problems with the dealer on this one. Plan 2 is to fit the supercharger and MoTeC that I have sitting around.

Looks great - especially without the decals and front bumper! Would be great with a bit of lift, but maybe in the dunes you want to keep it as stable as pos?
Nice ride! We made up some really simple rear h/duty bumpers for our 79 work trucks, I will get a picture up for you - these tin can rear bumpers are not exactly strong!
Gil

I have bought some new softer springs with a 2" lift for the rear - rockcrawler is the brand (from Oz). I will install those, and then see where it sits with the softer springs. Then I will sort something to fit on the front (maybe ARB OME).

thanks for this thread
great looking truck
so you have spacers (45 mm) and the rims look with a lot of backspacing too
can you tell us the specs of the rims??

They are 16 x 10, but I don't know the offset. The rims are currently off the vehicle, so I can measure the offset and let you know. It won't be until the new year though, I am away on holidays.

 

[CruiserFreakSA]

Your truck looks amazing, I have decided to go for the same sort of look for my 2001 79. But instead of cutting my fenders, I am going to fit a lift for the big tyres to fit.

Why did you not just fit a suspension lift, would that not have been cheaper and easier to get the tyres to clear than cutting up the body.

I am new at this stuff so I'm just asking, but wow I love your trucks front end look with the lights fitted.

 

[axehead]

Thanks CruiserFreakSA.

The main reason for cutting the body is to get clearance to fit the bigger tyres, and at the same time trying to keep the COG of the vehicle low.

The 79 series is quite narrow, and can roll over relatively easily compared to some other 4x4s.

For the same reason I have added 12.5 inch wide tyres, as well as some wheel spacers.

The type of driving we do is different to other countries. Maybe this video from you tube can help to explain:

YouTube - Iftar Bowl Dubai

Cheers.