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i might have come up with a way to lif the front of a luv without just using torsion bars. the fron axle is actually has only 2 bolts on each side holding it to the frame. so get some longer bolts and make some spacers to put between the frame and the mounts. and use some small coil overs and mound them in where the old shock towers go. and to stiffen the suspension and maybe lift it some more crank the torsion bars down. the coil overs should take some of the stress off the torsion bars allowing u to crank on them more. u must remember to move the rubber stoppers of course though. but by moving the actual axle down this will eliminate the angle of the drive shafts. tell me what u guys think.

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1980 4x4 header stock motor lifted 4 1/2 in. in the rear and 3 1/2 in the front

Have you thought about the steering aspect of this mod? Does the steering box mount to the frame? It sounds like it would work if you adjust/lengthen the steering rods. Will the forward drive shaft need to be lengthened to fit correctly also. What about the upper A-arm? will it need to be lowered also or does that matter?

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

ok the top a arm does not need to be lowered. the pitman arms might have to be modified/lengthened probably i believe the front drive shaft will extend i think it can move forward and back to some extent. think that would be all u would have to do. but the steering linkage might have to be modified to fit but nothing to dificult i would think. tell me what u guys think.

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1980 4x4 header stock motor lifted 4 1/2 in. in the rear and 3 1/2 in the front

it would work, but I still thing the top a arm need smoved down too, or you'll ahve tires leaning in like mine do, either that or you could replace the factory arms with adjustible tubed ones. Sterrign shouldnt be to much of a problem to fix.

the front driveline will extend out a good 2-3" from stock length. As for the steering aspect, there is a pitman arm (off the steering box) and then another arm on the other side that would have to be unbolted from the tierod and have spacers put in. I dont think the upper A-arm would have to be dropped but ill look at how a full sized chevy lift works and who knows maybe we can poll or resorces and send blueprints to a couple of companies and see if they will do a limited production run for us

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

im so glad i had that oil leak. other wise i would have never been under there just sitting to think of something like this. has n e body actually ever though of this or was i the first.

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1980 4x4 header stock motor lifted 4 1/2 in. in the rear and 3 1/2 in the front

I understand what you are saying but do you think this lift is just for looks or would it be able to whithstand rock crawling, mudding, and dune jumping. And I'm not familier whith the 80's luvs, is there much difference suspension wise between a new luv than a 79?

80s and 79s are close to being the same.....I think it might work, although i have lifted my 80 as far as i would like it to be! If i went any higher it would look like a monster truck with little tires. Just a little off balance!!! I run 33s with with skined fenderwells, and if i went any higher i still couldnt put biger tires on because they would hit the frame in the front.Your only limiting your steering radius.And possably tearing up your expensive tires! Not to mention,.. what you might do to your front end if you rub your frame hard.

I am gonna design a set of dropped down brackets for all the front suspension parts. Everywhere the front stuff bolts on, I am gonna make a bracket that hangs 3 inches or so down. Then I will bolt my suspension back in place. I am gonna try to make all of this stuff bolt on so no welding will be needed, or at least minor welding. If I get the bugs worked out, and it all seems to work, I will draw up plans for this stuff and post the plans here for anyone who wants to lift their luv.

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Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

well ill be picking up an 82 luv 2wd tomarow. It will be a perfect truck for tying crazy ideas on, becouse it will be converted over 1 ton axles anyway so when i get it home ill try to start playing whith that.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

The problem I see with this idea is that the upper A arm mount sits right above the frame. Short of dropping it all the way under the frame, there is no real way to bracket it lower. The geometry starts to get pretty complex if you got for a drop of that magnitude with that upper A arm mount like that. You can just about guarantee you'll never have proper alignment in the front ever again, but on a 4x4 close enough is usually fine unless you want a daily driver that doesn't eat tires up.

There is also the rear mount for the torsion bars to consider, those bars that hook to the frame in the front, sway bars, and etc. Once you get all that dropped you have a lot of stuff hanging down to get caught up on rocks or whatever and ripped off. I just don't think this is such a hot idea, and it would be far easier to go straight axle or mod IFS hardware from something else onto the LUV. The way the stock parts go together is practically designed to thwart any attempts at real lifting.

I got a new idea. I bought a luv with a bad frame and body. I am gonna cut the front of the frame off at the firewall. Then I am gonna weld it to my frame after I remove the suspension stuff. Then I can remount the suspension to the new frame and that should give me 3 inches of lift with the stock torsion bar settings. Then I can turn them up for more lift if need be. The rear will probably get lifted with a set of longer shackles and reloacating the spring perches.

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Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

I don't understand the part about how you're going to do the 3 inch lift in the front. Where will you remount the torsion bar cups? Maybe that will help me understand...

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Kuranosuke
Grampa's Driving:

1990 Luv 4X4 "Family Cab"
with the big 4 banger on 31" Dueller A/Ts

1989 Dodge Raider with some junk...

"Urban Fighter F.P.C" coming soon to a road near you...
got BOOBIES?

Not gonna use them crappy torsion bars anymore. I am converting to coil springs. Or coilover shock with stabilizer bars.

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

Ok, I understand. I guess the part that confused me is where you said that you could get three inches lift with the torsion bars at stock height and can crank them if you need more lift. This lead me to believe that the torsion bars will still be there? I'll definietly be interested in how this turns out, or I may go with a toyota solid axle. I don't know yet...

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Kuranosuke
Grampa's Driving:

1990 Luv 4X4 "Family Cab"
with the big 4 banger on 31" Dueller A/Ts

1989 Dodge Raider with some junk...

"Urban Fighter F.P.C" coming soon to a road near you...
got BOOBIES?

I was not thinking clearly. I am gonna retain the stock torsion bar mounts in the front, cut the torsion bar and make a bracket to maintain the integrity of the lower a-arm. Then I will fab in the coil springs. Hope I didn't confuse too many people

_________________
Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

Sounds cool. It'll be another option... Keep us posted please.

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Kuranosuke
Grampa's Driving:

1990 Luv 4X4 "Family Cab"
with the big 4 banger on 31" Dueller A/Ts

1989 Dodge Raider with some junk...

"Urban Fighter F.P.C" coming soon to a road near you...
got BOOBIES?

Sounds cool. It'll be another option... Keep us posted please.

_________________
Kuranosuke
Grampa's Driving:

1990 Luv 4X4 "Family Cab"
with the big 4 banger on 31" Dueller A/Ts

1989 Dodge Raider with some junk...

"Urban Fighter F.P.C" coming soon to a road near you...
got BOOBIES?

Sounds cool. It'll be another option... Keep us posted please.

_________________
Kuranosuke
Grampa's Driving:

1990 Luv 4X4 "Family Cab"
with the big 4 banger on 31" Dueller A/Ts

1989 Dodge Raider with some junk...

"Urban Fighter F.P.C" coming soon to a road near you...
got BOOBIES?