i have a 1978 f150 im converting to 4x4 and wanna 44" tires at a minimum and would like to know any body that makes a lift in the range of 12 inches. i can run the 44" with a 9" and 3" body lift. However i would really like to run a 49" irok. any help would be awesome.

 

I would recommend to got with a susp 8" lift first of all to stabalize your steering and ride comfort...then i would got with body lift of 3" for some more clearance....just my opinion.

 

could always cut the fenders a little, like this guy did. LOL!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/lc/lc.ph...384386346.html

Really now, in all seriousness. Nobody makes a tower of a coil spring that big because it would be too difficult to keep it straight. The centers would bow out in the middle and the spring would fail. Coilovers are used for high travel vehilces or a modified coil bucket will have to be used.
Could lower the bucket 2 inches or more. That would allow you to use the 9" springs.
Gonna leave those little axles under it to turn 49 inch iroks? Interested to see the driveline working angles at that heigth. Don't think the suspension could extend very far without breaking a joint. The pinion angle would be to great at full driver side extension.

By the way, welcome to the site. We do have an off road forum here. I think you would recieve a wide variety of responses there. It is located lower on your screen.

 

well the spring bow makes ense but couldnt a set of 2 wheel drive spring buckets be used on the 4 wheel frame they set lower. As far as the axles i think theyd be ok. The truck is being used for show is all. Ive owned it for 11 years and put 9'000 miles on. i already cured the pinion angle problem. The spindle were cut off the axle and rotated 4 degrees. thanks for the info.

 

so you are going to use coils and a D44, yes?
Even steering gets to be a fun issue, even for a show-n-shiner.
I would expect that the 2wd bucket would be used. If in fact it does sit lower then you are almost there. No reason why you could not drop that, although I do not remember any 2wd's having dual shocks like the 4wd's do. I would think even for a show truck this might be important to you.
Did you just rotate the outer "C's" or did you have the tube pulled from the diff to re-adjust the pinion angle? Caster is designed into the "wedge" where the "c" bushing is used to attach the radius arm, and if the knuckles were rotated, you may still have a caster issue.
Got your hands full with the conversion, and especially have them really full trying to clear those tires.
Have you considered going to a big old "banana" leaf spring instead? Much easier to do if ride and drive is not important?????

 

youre right the 2 wd didnt have dual shocks in fornt but thats noy an issue because i already have cage performance long travel hoops and dual bilstien 7100 remote shocks. The outer c was removed and rewelded. the logic was if the new angle is not enough then I can get c bushings in a variety af angles to fine tune it. Even though its a show and shiner the ride and drive is very important to me. the sole purpose of it is the best quality possible without morgaging the house, lol.
Just weighing my odds before i get back to the states for now.

 

Sounds like you have about everything covered. I have a question you might be able to answer for me. Is the cage arm long enough to reach the frame without a drop bracket? The cage system I believed was designed around a 4 to 6 inch system and allows for mad articulation, but by extending the spring out to almost double the static heigth, won't that mean that you will be limiting extension?
Since you are going for the whole show thing, why not a coilover? Dual rate and a three tube bypass shock would be crazy cool.

 

Yes there is a kit from cage that mounts in stock location and im sure you would need a bracket for that but i think they also produce a long travel kit. yes they would both have insane articulation due to the head unit and rod ends. And youre also right about how cool the coil would epecially with a custom fab 4 link set up. But honestly I have no experience at all with coil overs. If you have any info on coilovers that would help that would be a cool option.

 

You can use the radius arm and the coilover. You do not necessarily need a 4 link, The 4 link is just anither option for axle control and location. The radius arm can do the same thing and how you hold the truck up is really up to you. Nothing would keep you from sticking a coil, coilover or air bag in there. Simply making the mounts would be the limiting factor. Heak now that 2.0" nitrogen shocks are being made. They can accomodate up to 500 psi and hold about 1000 lbs per shock, ,you can even go that route. They use no coil at all, and offer crazy mad flex. Awful soft for the street though and body roll has to be addressed, but a good aftermarket link style sway bar would be really nice, and score the super cool points at the shows.
Big high end shock manufacturers have what you need.
King shocks, Fox shocks, Sway-Away shocks, Bilstein, (though I am not a fan of these) are all players in the off-road aftermarket world. Take a look into thier web sites, you may find something that may point you in a different direction. They at least have enough information about the shocks / springs.
I enjoy coilovers, especially dual rate (tow stacked springs) for the articulation and soft ride they offer. The top spring is a softer spring than the lower spring and is designed to take up the smaller bumps found on the street. Once completly compressed the larger spring than takes over the heavier duties. Triple rate springs are also available.
Anyway, enjoy some reading. Wait till you get deep into shocks, and learn about bypass shocks with multi tubes. Amazing how well you ca make a truck ride, both on and off road. fun stuff!