i finished the body first. i painted the frame with por-15 after taking a grinder to it. mostly because it sucks sanding on a step ladder. a good looking truck only looks better with a lift and some tires. take your time and do it right.

 

so if i were to only do a 6 inch lift ( now that i have come to grips with reality) for the steering would all i have to do is get a drop pitman arm for the steering? what about an 8? dont think im going to do the axel swap, called a lot of places and if they had dana 60 they wanted like 700 dollars so for now i think im going to keep the ttb.

 

A good 6" lift kit will include front lift springs, TTB drop brackets, extended brake lines, a drop pitman arm(or adjustable drag link), and your choice of rear lift(block and add a leaf, or full spring, or you could do a shackle flip and add a leaf).
Depending on the planned tire size, I'd decide my lift from there.

 

I wouldn't even do 6". My old boss's truck had a 6", and the engine crossmember had 8 cracks in it running out from the drop bracket bolts.

With ttb, the smaller lift the better.

 

Ok i realize you guys are right and it will probably snap when i go mudding with it if i lift it but i figure it has the leafs already in the front so lift it run it till it breaks and do the Axel swap and by then maybe have some more cash. But i was thinking about it and was wondering how much lift i can do before i have to get new drive shafts?and would an 85 ford F350 front and rear glass fit in my 88 F250?

 

i lowered my rear spring hangers 3"..used 5x2x1/4 box tubing bolted ( grade 8 ) and welded to the frame ( 3 passes ) and added braceing, i also made new drop front hangers for the front ( 2" drop ) used 3/8 x 5" angle iron cut to size and welded down the center and braced with a piece of 2x2x1/4 angle iron. i also made longer shakles useing 3/8 steele with a piece welded in the center. have pics in my gallery.

 

Those brackets looked nice, thats the type of thing im looking to do. how much lift can you do before you need new drive shafts? thanks

 

Some trucks are different, but if you go 6" or more there could be a problem with driveshafts, but a longer slip yoke might fix the problem.

A 4" won't have any problems.

 

This is probably a dumb question but can you swap a Dana 50 third member with a Dana 60? both fords. Found a dana 60 for cheap but it has 3.54 gears and i have 4.1 (i think)

 

I don't know about the dana 50 third member, but I can pass a long a bit of info on driveshafts. The dana 60 housings are about 2 inches longer so at stock height with dana 60 if you hit a bump you will bust your transfer case because the stock shaft is actually too long. With a 4" lift, it is the perfect lenght. With a dana 50, you can go up around 6" inches and have no problems driveshaft wise. If you choose to lift the dana 50, I would find a buddy that is a good welder and take those brackets that come with the kit and have them gusseted before you call the install job done. Problem is not so much the side to side forces as the front to rear forces and sideways twisting that cracks them. I would say bolt them up then find a way to add reinforcement between them. I did my DIY lift for around $500.00 front and rear, plus $800 for the dana 60 when I did mine. Keep in mind, that in addition to haveing a longer tailshaft, dana 60 spring perches are about 2 inches taller as well. Little did I know that my planned 4" lift would bring my truck up 7 inches with just a set of 4" springs! You have LOTS of options to lift your rig, me personally, I would say it is well worth it to save and do the solid axle swap.