1" Lift

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Sep 28, 2004 | 08:12 AM

weymouth

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1" Lift

This may be a stupid idea, but I'll ask anyway. I would like to improve the stance/look of my 1989 F150, Reg. Cab, 4X4, AOD, Long Bed. I think a mild lift (1" to 2") along with a slightly set of larger tires will do the trick. I don't think a kit for only a 1" lift is even available, and if it were I wouldn't have the budget for it anyhow, I've got material and time, so this is my idea...

Make a pair of 1" thick plates, aluminum or steel, for spacers to raise the rear springs off the axel.
Make a pair of 1" high "donuts", most likely steel, that I can position either on top of, or under the front coils to add a bit of lift. I'm hoping that since I'm only pushing the supension an inch, it won't mess up steering, alignment or brake lines.

Also, the truck is currently in my workshop (in a state of disassembly, no doors or driver's fender) undergoing a bit of rust/rot repair. I know I can unbolt the bed and slip a set of 1/2" spacers for a little more lift, but can I simply unbolt the cab and push it up enough with a big floor jack to slip in 1/2" spacers? What nightmare of a repair project would I be creating?

Sep 28, 2004 | 12:15 PM

andym

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From: Bonita Springs FL

The blocks in the back are pretty common practice. With only 1", I don't know if you need longer u-bolts or not. In the front, I don't think a 1" spacer is going to work, because the lower bolt probably isn't long enough. If you look at it, it's impossible to put a spacer at the top, and there's a large nut and bolt at the bottom that hold it in place.

Even putting a 1" lift in the front is enough to throw the alignment off.

What you're talking about at the end is called a body lift, but you have to watch brake lines and cooling system hoses. The kits are only about $75 for a body lift - money well spent to do the job right.

Sep 29, 2004 | 04:32 AM

s1120

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Not a Ford, but I did the simmler to a ols Cherokee I had. I had a 4cyl standerd, and grabbed front and rear springs fron a newer loaded 6cyl truck. I also installed one of my old leaves in the new spring pack in the rear, and that with the heaver front springs gave me 3 over stock in the rear[granted the old ones were sacked] and 2 over in the front. Perfect lift for me, and cost me $75. So maybe try to find some front springs from a loaded extra cab, 5.8 with ac, and then add a life to the rear spring pack. If you have a frendly junk yard, you may be able to get this all for way under 100.

Sep 29, 2004 | 05:45 AM

F150newf

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go for at least 2" it's easy to do and dont' need loads of money to do it.

Sep 29, 2004 | 12:27 PM

weymouth

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2" would, I feel, be too much. It would be obvious the truck was lifted. My goal is to have the truck look as close to stock, but a bit better. I want a person who knows F150's to look at my finished product and not be able to tell why my truck stands better than other seemingly stock ones. I'm a design/mechanical engineer and for me it's all about the details. I prefer to make small & subtle modifications that most people wouldn't notice, but still improve the appearance of the car or truck.

I designed a '79 Malibu a while back. I had the roof chopped only 1 inch and sectioned the entire body another 1.25" to acheive the look and stance I wanted. Compared to other Malibu's at the car shows, mine looked better, but few people could say why.

I've abandoned the body lift idea for my truck, but I'm still not convinced I can't make a stepped plug to hold the spring in place and add an inch of lift.

I also like the idea of new coil springs from a heavier truck, the only draw back is it will take a bit of trial and error to bring the truck back down to the height I'm shooting for.

Sep 30, 2004 | 01:25 AM

fishmanndotcom

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From: Senoia, GA

go to a j-yard and get a set of coil buckets from a 2wd F150....they are like 1" taller or so than their 4x4 counterparts.

also you can buy coil spacers that fit in b/t the coils for the front for less than $20 or so.

and lifting the back that much is easy as pie!

-cutts-

Sep 30, 2004 | 05:20 AM

F150newf

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if you put the 2 inch daystar lift on the front and put some tires to fill the wells no one will notice. I have seen lots. that's what im getting for now.