thinking of doing soa

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Joined
Jul 18, 2003
Threads
56
Messages
107
Location
South Hadley mass
can anyone on this site area know how to do this.I did everything on the cruiser except painless wiring so pretty mechanicaly enclined,except for doing this.Been reading on whether to cut and turn or leave pinion angle were it's at now and cut and turn is the way to go but others have had no problems. I can do sao without cutand turn but not the other one.looking for some 37"r 38" tha'ts why.
 
Welcome to Mud. I assume that if you are thinking about SOA and running 37 you are not from MA or RI or this is a trail truck. Make sure you check the local lift laws in you area.

If you were to go SOA I would do the cut and turn, you can purchase the kit from a company like Proffitts Cruisers and they are located here on Mud. http://www.proffittscruisers.com/suspension/soa.html. These come with a housing that is already cut and turned. Also you could go with our very own Mike Fox/Fox Fab as he does this type of work http://www.foxfab4x4.com/ . You will also want to run an anti-wrap bar on the rear axle.
 
North Country Land Cruisers does SOA also.
 
Thanks Lane..... Sorry I left you out Kina. On a side note I will be sending the 45 to Kina for a cage and tube fenders with in the next year.
 
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Welcome to Mud. I assume that if you are thinking about SOA and running 37 you are not from MA or RI or this is a trail truck. Make sure you check the local lift laws in you area.

I've seen Jeeps around set up this way. My buddy has a Wrangler with narrowed Dana 60's and 38's. He drives it almost every day in MA. I also see a white CJ on 495 on my ride to work every day that's SOA and running 35-37" tires. One of my best friends has a Rubicon with 5.5" springs and 36x14.5 Swampers, and it's his only vehicle.

Is this rig a daily driver? I'm selling a front axle housing that a cut and turn was started on, and I can show you how to finish it if you're not sure.
 
soa in mass

I't's my daily driver in the non winter months I've seen plenty of heeps bigger than mine and not have a cop even look at them. As long as your not driving like an idiot and have all safety working mirros,etc you should be allright.I know all the cops in my town and I;m not traveling hundreds of miles to wheel.thanks for the info
 
Just trying to give you a heads up because I would hate to put a lot of money into doing something like this and have trouble getting it inspected as SOA is not legal in MA. I personally would like to go SOA with my truck but won't chance it. Based on the wheel base of a 40 you are only supposed to legally go like 2"-3" and another 2-3 in tire. I will probably do a 3" lift, tube fenders and clearance the bed to run 35"s. Will it be legal? Not quite but there is less of a chance of getting yanked. Also if you get ticketed I believe that it goes on your driving record and against your insurance in MA similar to not having a valid inspection.

6.05 Maximum Combined Mechanical and Tire Lift
(1) The maximum mechanical lift for four wheel drive motor vehicles
shall be calculated by multiplying the wheel base times the wheel track,
and dividing the product by a safety factor of 2200:
i.e., 92" w/b x 58" w/t = 5336/2200 = 2" (maximum mechanical lift).
The outside diameter of the largest tire size available from the original
manufacturer as standard or optional equipment for the particular motor
vehicle may also be increased up to an amount equal to the maximum
mechanical lift calculated.
(2) The maximum combined mechanical and tire lift shall be no greater
than the sum of the maximum mechanical lift and increased tire size
calculated for the particular vehicle.

Not trying to keep you from doing it. Just want you to make an informed decision and all. Are there people that do it and don't get harrassed? Yes. Are you sure you can be on of those people? Are you willing to convert it back incase you run into issues?
 
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I actually looked into the whole SOA legality thing at one point. There is nothing on the books that specifically says that an SOA conversion is illegal, but it obviously will exceed the legal height of an FJ40 based on stock dimensions.

Leaping Deer is absolutely right. It's all a matter of whether or not you want to run the risk. My buddy with the 1-ton Heep on 38's has been pulled over once. The cop just asked that he put flares on it as the tires were sticking out probably 4-5" on either side. This was also local PD, not state.
 
What gov't monkey came up with that formula?
 
Last time I looked into this, which was awhile ago, the lift is also measured to the bottom of the door, not the bumper by the way....:( It was done to account for body lifts as well...ahh welcome to Massachusetts....where we are free as long as they tell us we are :mad:
 
My friend used to do inspections up around Boston somewhere. He told me one time that they couldn't figure out the equations, so they made sure the rear bumper was 3 ft. or less off the ground.
 

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