What up guys! So I’ve had my 80 for about 3 weeks now, it’s been great! I got all the base line maintenance out of the way and I came across a listing for a 2.5 OME/ARB nitroshock package with only 1k miles on it but it’s only the front and it includes the caster busings with a spare set of leads! Guy wants 440, is it worth buying them and just buying the rears separately? I did a quick search but only seem to come across front shocks not rear ones. Can I pair these with dobisons or is that a bad idea?? Since they only have 1k I want to get the rear springs and coils new! Thanks for any input!!!!
New 80 owner here! Quick question about a 2.5” lift
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What up guys! So I’ve had my 80 for about 3 weeks now, it’s been great! I got all the base line maintenance out of the way and I came across a listing for a 2.5 OME/ARB nitroshock package with only 1k miles on it but it’s only the front and it includes the caster busings with a spare set of leads! Guy wants 440, is it worth buying them and just buying the rears separately? I did a quick search but only seem to come across front shocks not rear ones. Can I pair these with dobisons or is that a bad idea?? Since they only have 1k I want to get the rear springs and coils new! Thanks for any input!!!!
Welcome and Nice looking cruiser! Let's see some more pics.
I'd say that's only an ok deal, not a steal. I'd recommend not using castor bushings as they simply do not last. There's several better options ranging from nearly free to $$$.
You could get the rears separately, lots of good vendors on this site (kurt at @cruiseroutfit comes to mind). I might get flack for saying this but I honestly can't remember the last time my cruiser had matching shocks from front to rear, and the car still hasn't blown up.
I'd say that's only an ok deal, not a steal. I'd recommend not using castor bushings as they simply do not last. There's several better options ranging from nearly free to $$$.
You could get the rears separately, lots of good vendors on this site (kurt at @cruiseroutfit comes to mind). I might get flack for saying this but I honestly can't remember the last time my cruiser had matching shocks from front to rear, and the car still hasn't blown up.
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Thanks for the warm welcome! Some info I didn’t share was it seems to have a leveling kit, not sure by who and the shocks were replaced. They are yellow but don’t have any branding so I’m guessing they are off brand but the cruiser rides smooth so it doesn’t really need an upgrade, I was just thinking of picking those up if they were a good deal, since I do eventually wanna go 2.5”, I was thinking 3 but it’s way more $$$ than 2.5. I do need a rear panhard as mine is pretty rusty! Frame is good though lol. What you recommend for the panhards? Stock or is their a go to upgrade?
Agree with 60 toy ota.....
Caster bushings are no Bueno! Over time they either rotate and mis-aligns ur casters or they rot and causes issues.
If you wheel your 80 I'd go with either caster plates or Delta, Trail Tailor radius arms.
Caster bushings are no Bueno! Over time they either rotate and mis-aligns ur casters or they rot and causes issues.
If you wheel your 80 I'd go with either caster plates or Delta, Trail Tailor radius arms.
Depends on your builds purpose....the higher the lift the more $$ you need to spend. At 2.5 and under most don't need casters and panhard bracket.
My stock 96 has dobs stock height kit that netted me 1" over stock height and I can stuff 315s on stock wheels.
My stock 96 has dobs stock height kit that netted me 1" over stock height and I can stuff 315s on stock wheels.
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Primarily daily usage with some light trails and camping on the holidays, not really into the rock crawling. So I want to keep road comfort
For reference:
1st pic White 1" (stock height) on 285s
2nd pic 2.5" on 315s
3rd pic moved to 3-3.5" on 315s
4th pic Campteq 3" on 255
1st pic White 1" (stock height) on 285s
2nd pic 2.5" on 315s
3rd pic moved to 3-3.5" on 315s
4th pic Campteq 3" on 255
Get a Delta bracket or similar to level the rear panhard rod and use a stock panhard rod.
The ideal setup is:
-front and rear swaybar drop brackets
-rear panhard bracket
-adjustable panhard rods front and rear
-Custom front arms or brackets to the fix caster. Even if someone made an aftermarket bushing that lasted, there's not enough room to fully correct the caster with just an offset bushing. Buy once cry once and have a better handling rig. The weld-in brackets accomplish about the same thing for cheap if you don't mind welding.
-adjustable rear control arms
The value in doing all of those things is subjective. I would not skip the rear panhard bracket and potentially the swaybar drop brackets since they're cheap. Put on the lift kit with the panhard rod bracket and sway drops, get an alignment, and drive it for a bit to judge. With sufficiently stiff front springs the front swaybar can be removed almost without noticing.
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3rd would be the sweet spot for me! I would love 35’s but I’d probably wouldn’t do that unless I swapped out the 3fe
You definitely need to do it right. I throw $$ to make it the way I want it.
Terrain Tamer coils heavies
IMS Dobs 4"
DELTA: panhard bracket and 3L rad arms, trail arms, drop brackets, bumpstop pucks
Whiteline rear swaybar
LCP sway arm HD brackets
LCP front disconnect
Everything else brand new OEM:
Upper CA
Panhard
Front DS
Rear DS......probably left out other things
Aside from suspension....
4.88
105 steering g box
And still not done......oh just now installed 37s
Terrain Tamer coils heavies
IMS Dobs 4"
DELTA: panhard bracket and 3L rad arms, trail arms, drop brackets, bumpstop pucks
Whiteline rear swaybar
LCP sway arm HD brackets
LCP front disconnect
Everything else brand new OEM:
Upper CA
Panhard
Front DS
Rear DS......probably left out other things
Aside from suspension....
4.88
105 steering g box
And still not done......oh just now installed 37s
The used parts you found aren't a great deal - Don't let them rush your decision. Drive it for a while longer, do more research, figure out what you really want, and then build it once.
A 1-2" lift and 33" tires sound pretty ideal for what you described wanting to do and doesn't require much modification. It looks like that's probably similar to how it's currently setup, so start by figuring out what you currently have. The suspension thread at the top of the forum has a lot of good info including the stock hub to fender measurements so you can easily figure out how much lift you already have.
A 2.5" lift and 33's doesn't require much more, but you definitely should correct caster at that point.
A larger lift starts requiring quite a few more parts and 35" tires hurt driveability, especially w/o re-gearing ($$$.) It looks good, but no need to go there for what you descibed wanting to do.
And the panhard bar being rusty doesn't affect anything. It's worn out bushings that you need to look out for.
A 1-2" lift and 33" tires sound pretty ideal for what you described wanting to do and doesn't require much modification. It looks like that's probably similar to how it's currently setup, so start by figuring out what you currently have. The suspension thread at the top of the forum has a lot of good info including the stock hub to fender measurements so you can easily figure out how much lift you already have.
A 2.5" lift and 33's doesn't require much more, but you definitely should correct caster at that point.
A larger lift starts requiring quite a few more parts and 35" tires hurt driveability, especially w/o re-gearing ($$$.) It looks good, but no need to go there for what you descibed wanting to do.
And the panhard bar being rusty doesn't affect anything. It's worn out bushings that you need to look out for.
I forgot urs is the 4.0 3fe.....don't recommend anything above 285s then.
thats a good deal bushings are fine ppl are just soft nowadays
I would install the Delta bracket with your stock one and see how centered the rear tires look relative to the body. If it looks good just get another stock one. If adjustment is needed I have the Ironman one and it's been durable. I assume most brands are fine.
Are the coils the correct spring rate for your truck/build? Also, an entire basic OME kit with 4 coils, shocks, bushings and a steering dampener is under $1100, so not much savings to be had and an unknown coil set plus the bushings on the shocks look pretty flattened out. If they only had a 1000 miles on them, must have sat installed for a while. You could just get some oem Tokiko shocks and run them for a year. They are cheap, ride very nicely and you don’t need a lift for the tires you’re running or what you plan to do.
My white LX has dobs stock height coils with Tokiko shocks. Handled fire trails just fine
Then don't buy a lift kit.
