SOA vs. SUA
- Thread starter GLTHFJ60
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FJ-BeAsT said:
think in a complete bolt on SO kit .. ! I thought is imposble, in all case you must need to weld over axle housing. The right angle on knuckles rotation and bla bla bla .. a lots of things ..
- Thread starter
- #105
Yeah. Plus it varies with the condition of each truck. i would imagine that kits for old trucks are hard to design due to the possiblity of aftermarket crap that might be on there.
Well I've found a kit custom SOA kit made by proffitts cruisers out of Delta, Colorado. Think that'd be a better starting point then have to order and fabricate the parts necessary? Heres the site: http://www.proffittscruisers.com/suspension/soa.html
GLTH60 been reading through this and some of your other threads. I am from Westerchester/Putnam originally, went to college in Vermont, and have been out here in Utah for the last several years... I have been into cruisers since college... I run 35's and I consider them big, you'll probably never see me with anything larger than a 35, I just sold the last set of 36s I had because they were just too big. What I would recommend is go to a couple events, check out a couple rigs, see what works and what doesn't. I have done a few SOA conversions now on my own and it takes a lot of work to get them right, espeically on a heavy & top heavy wagon, so that it handles well on the road... B ut it can but it takes extra time, money, and patence. In the long run probably not as cheap as a SUA even with an expensive spring like an original OME. So my $.02. There is very little out east that will warrant a 38, even out here you can get over 99% of the stuff you need to with the magic combo, lockers, gearing, some lift, and tires. You are also plunging into a never ending money pit or something that will take a long time before you get it setup right. You are going to need huge gearing, more power, etc etc and sooner or later you are going to be $10 or $12K into your truck easily for something that rides like s*** and gets horrible mileage, even with the diesel... What I would do is see if you can find a used lift or even a new one, get some 4.10 gears, SUA, and 33's. As you upgrade, especially if you are doing your own work, you can always sell that stuff and come back later... Just my $.02... OME and 33's even work for a lot of s*** out here too, you would be surprized... One thing is the more wheeling you do with a stock or close to it rig, the better you get at driving. You might also decide to get a 40 or something else like that along the road and build that. You might even be into it less money than building your 60.. There are some good guys out there, look up Tyke Moses (farmboy "at" sover.net) in southern Vermont, Dan Burke in Burlington ("Rabid" on this board). They can all help you get setup cheaper and better than on your own. Go to the fall gathering, see if anyone is doinbg some wheeling trips this fall though its starting to get late, and check it out. I had all of these dreams too and was just like you, way too excited way too early... Ironically my rigb was a complete POS too and if I had actually done all of these wild ideas man I would have been such an idiot especially on such a beat up old car... So just my $.02... Andre
- Thread starter
- #109
Thank you for your advice. In my experience with my rig, I have regarded it as the "be all end all" of trucks that I could have ended up with. I had just gotten it running, and everything was awesome. That is why I wanted to go with an SOA to make it the king.
With current problems, I have begun to realize that my aspirations for this truck were waaaaay too high, no matter how much I had previously thought. For now, I will be fixing my truck, and keeping it running. When I get the money though, I will go SOA, even knowing what I do now. I still want that capability that comes with an SOA, but I want to gain more experience first. You are absolutely right dieselcruiserhead. Thank you for the enlightenment.
With current problems, I have begun to realize that my aspirations for this truck were waaaaay too high, no matter how much I had previously thought. For now, I will be fixing my truck, and keeping it running. When I get the money though, I will go SOA, even knowing what I do now. I still want that capability that comes with an SOA, but I want to gain more experience first. You are absolutely right dieselcruiserhead. Thank you for the enlightenment.
dieselcruiserhead said:
That is great advice, and I need to follow it as well. I was so excited about getting my 60 that the first thing I did was go out and buy OME lift, before the thing even ran right. Then I started dreaming about bumpers, lockers, yadda yadda... Bottom line, I still haven't really wheeled it because I'm too afraid of it breaking down on me.
Its really easy to get caught up in all the "bling", and have that mental plan of how you want your rig to be set up in no time at all. (of course this is all assuming $$$ isn't a factor) When in reality the vast majority of the people here have developed their cruisers over years not days or weeks.
the morale of the story is get it running properly, then wheel it stock, then start mods. That is the best way to learn and develop yourself and your cruiser. My $.01