Hey Folks! I am considering an SOA on the 78 axle assemblies I purchased. I called a couple shops here in Reno that I found through Google, but none of them can or will do it. Does anyone in the club know of a shop or a guy who can do this?
SOA in NWNV? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Tony_Farson
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rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
You could try Eric AKA Dr.Smash, he is good but also usually booked far out. Samco Fab can do it, not sure how far out they are booked these days. Folebecks is still around, can't say I would recommend them they never got back to me with a quote for a SOA when I was shopping. If you don't mind going out of state Valley Hybrids has a good reputation.
Doing an SOA isn't terribly difficult but it requires a lot of work to do right.
1 - You will need a Hysteer kit. I used Procomp but there are a lot of other options.
2 - You will want to cut and turn the knuckles, at the end of the day this will give you the correct castor angle and will result in better road manners.
3 - You will need to have your drive shafts rebuilt or get new ones.
4 - Don't forget to extend the brake lines, such a simple thing it often gets overlooked.
5 - A shackle reversal on the front springs will help in many ways
Other than welding the cut and turn and welding the spring perches on the top of the axle you can do most of the work with standard tools a floor jack and a good set of jack stands. There is a wealth of information on this forum. I would suggest reading as much as you can no matter if you do the work yourself or have a shop do it. It always helps to be an informed consumer.
Doing an SOA isn't terribly difficult but it requires a lot of work to do right.
1 - You will need a Hysteer kit. I used Procomp but there are a lot of other options.
2 - You will want to cut and turn the knuckles, at the end of the day this will give you the correct castor angle and will result in better road manners.
3 - You will need to have your drive shafts rebuilt or get new ones.
4 - Don't forget to extend the brake lines, such a simple thing it often gets overlooked.
5 - A shackle reversal on the front springs will help in many ways
Other than welding the cut and turn and welding the spring perches on the top of the axle you can do most of the work with standard tools a floor jack and a good set of jack stands. There is a wealth of information on this forum. I would suggest reading as much as you can no matter if you do the work yourself or have a shop do it. It always helps to be an informed consumer.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks Rusty! I reached out to Folbeck too... still haven't heard back. I was really hoping to use Trent Fab, but they turned me down flat stating they only do tube chassis custom buggies and no manufactured vehicle fab... Lame. I'll check out the folks you recommended and I appreciate the extra info too. Did you ever get the SOA yourself? How much did it cost and who did you use?
Rusty,Good advice, makes good financial sense.
Tony,
You would like Dr. Smash aka Eric. I have never seen bad work come out of his shop. His availability seems to fluctuate. Sometimes he is busy other times he has the time. Last year he was tied up with a sbc swap into a cruiser. Turned out nice but as always a few bugs raised there ugly heads. You should check him out even if it is just for a quote.
Tony,
You would like Dr. Smash aka Eric. I have never seen bad work come out of his shop. His availability seems to fluctuate. Sometimes he is busy other times he has the time. Last year he was tied up with a sbc swap into a cruiser. Turned out nice but as always a few bugs raised there ugly heads. You should check him out even if it is just for a quote.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks! I will check him out. I did a member search for Dr. Smash but didn't get any hits...
Did he change his username?
Google him Dr. Smash in Carson City. Or same on Facebook.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thank you!
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
I did the SOA myself with help from guys in the club and a lot of questions on the hardcore forum. Very difficult to put a number on how much it cost since I did a bunch of other stuff like a Marlin Crawl box and Orion transfer case. For parts count on a Hysteer kit (tough choice picking which one I used Procomp), spring perches about $30 when I got mine, and rebuilding both axles IIRC this was about $330 per axle when I did my SOA. You will also want to cut and turn your knuckles no cost if you do the work yourself. Then you will need brake line extensions. I recommend the front shackle reversal no idea what the brackets cost these day I got mine from Ruff stuff. Once you do the SOA you will want bigger tires so you should consider converting the steering from manual to power. I got a kit from PSC to do mine, it includes a ported Saginaw power steering gear box and high flow pump.
It adds up fast even if you do the work yourself.
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
Please see edit I should have said drive lines not axles.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks everyone! I think I'll hold off on this one for a bit. It seems entailed and expensive and I have enough on my plate with the 2F rebuild, EFI conversion, new harness and gauge install, as well as power steering... Bonus checks are fun!
I would say plan for at least $2-3000 to do it right. Tires, drive lines, shocks, high steer, axle rebuilds etc. Then, it seems there will always be something else you will need or want to do while your at it. Mine has snowballed into dual batteries, on board air, power steering upgrade, 5 speed, transfer case gears 
hahaha
hahaha
- Thread starter
- #12
I would say plan for at least $2-3000 to do it right. Tires, drive lines, shocks, high steer, axle rebuilds etc. Then, it seems there will always be something else you will need or want to do while your at it. Mine has snowballed into dual batteries, on board air, power steering upgrade, 5 speed, transfer case gears
haha! That's what is happening with my current tasks... New EFI on a new engine? Well.... I don't want to supply fuel to said engine with old nasty lines going to an old nasty fuel tank. I'll replace that too. Oh, look an aux fuel tank that fits between the framrails! I can do that too. Oh yeah, my fuel gauges doesn't work. I'll add that $1300 Dakota Digital cluster... it just keeps going!
I think I will stick with my 33's for now and just replace bushings, springs, and shocks for now. I DO have a set of 78 axle assemblies (and a 4-speed... and a transfer case) I want to rebuild soonish, so that may end up being the beginning of a custom suspension/steering adventure in the fall.
Check around before you do a SOA lift. They have some drawbacks as well and then you still have the old worn out springs to deal with.
If you want to go for a ride, I'll take you around the block in the 62 with a springover and no sway bars. Be warned though, you might need dramamine...
If you want to go for a ride, I'll take you around the block in the 62 with a springover and no sway bars. Be warned though, you might need dramamine...