LUVTruck.com

Can someone please tell me how hard would it be to put a straight axel on my 1980 4X4 Luv? My plans are to drop in a nice 305-350 Chevy later on. but would love to be able to raise this sucker up.

Thanks in advance.... Chris

if u have some fabrication back ground its not to dificult if ur gonna go with leafs. the hardest part is extending the frame and getting your mounts in te right spot for the springs. a four link will be harder but in my opinion is worth it. i would recomend buying a steerin kit though. matt

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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 what axle you are going to use? what t-case do you have right now? drivers drop or pass. drop?

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"I'll take 'The Rapist' for $1200 Alex..."
"That's 'Therapist' Mr. Connery"

Boonie brings up important points. If you want to run the stock motor/trans you need a passenger side diff, Toyota axle or something like a Dana44 from a Jeep Wagoneer would work. D44 is a popular option with Isuzu Trooper/Rodeo folk because of the fairly close width and matching 6 lug to the rear. They are also reasonably strong. Any stock axle very much stronger will be much wider and not fit.

If you are thinking of later going to a V8 you'll want to plan ahead for that in the axle swap. You will probably want to consider swapping the rear axle too. If you don't get too wild with the V8 you could get an Isuzu 12 bolt out of a Trooper (88 and up) and it would be much stronger than the stock LUV rear. It should bolt up fairly easy and would hold up to quite a bit. You can also get gears up to 5.38 should you choose, and you get rear disc brakes out of the deal.

In all of this you need to look at the gearing of the front axle and match it with the rear. This would be another good reason for swapping the rear along with the front.

you should check out s10-4x4.org that is a site that i frequent alot. they have a bunch of stuff on doing SAS (solid axle swaps) i know it's not a luv frame but it'll give you a REALLY good idea of what you need to do to get the job done. GOOD LUCK BRO!!!!!

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"I'll take 'The Rapist' for $1200 Alex..."
"That's 'Therapist' Mr. Connery"

Well, for now I'd just like to raise this thing up a bit more. later on maybe a V-8 conversion. So now it will I will stick with the stock 4 banger and t-case. Yep a Toyota front assembly is what I was thinking of putting under it. Guess I will search for a few pictures of a completed straight axel swap on the net.


Thanks again Guys... Chris