Hey this is my first post here just bought my second ford. I used to have a 79 bronco


Im trying to find information on lifting a 1997 e150 club wagon xlt prolly between 4-6 inches body lift+suspension

-can you use the 2wd f150 lift kits
-what body lift would be the best to use
-and how can i do this without buying one of those 2 grand lift kits






Ive done my fair share of fab work just looking for the easiest way and best way to do this

ive looked up information on this and really found nothing solid




thanks

 

Ive found 2" lift spacers but the front has that independent crap and id like to do it right with springs, shocks and blocks in the rear just dont know what else is neaded

and I cant find anything on a bodylift for any E series vans

 

> -what body lift would be the best to use

I would imagine it would be a custom job, I would not lift a van body if I could avoid it.
.

 

The only thing i hate is body roll. but if got poly mounts and say doubled em up that might work and be better than the blocks

id like to throw 33s under it with no tire rub at all, just having a hard time figuring out whats different on a F150 2wd lift VS one of those expensive ones that are made for the van

I just need to know what different so i dont start buying the wrong stuff

unless theirs some one that wants to send me pictures of a 2wd f150 lift so i can compare it to the van

 

Not cheap, but the right way to do it:

E-Series Van | Camburg Engineering

Action Van Suspension - We make driving a van fun again! Ford Van Lift Kits. Bolt on kits for your E-Series Ford Van.

Good luck,
George

edit...noted that you don't want to spend the big bucks, but you can use their concepts and fabricate your own pieces if you are really good.

 

Yeah those r the sites i found...

I was thinking that maybe i could buy the 2wd f150 lift kit and then what ever other parts i needed that were "van specific" I could either order from them or make em

cause like 2 grand for a lift that isnt even gona be used for anything but to make the van look cool is kinda crazy

it just seems like there is a cheaper/better way i just dont think alot of people have done the research or even recorded how they did it

I mean what would i need

F150 front springs
Rear blocks or bigger leafs
extended brake lines

the only thing Im not certain on its the independent stuff in the front on a van and why cant you use the F150 brackets for it?

 

The twin I-beams change camber bigtime when you lift, so you either need new twin I-beams, having the old ones bent, or engineering a way to put the opposite end at a lower pivot point (which doesn't give you extra ground clearance under the beams quite as well).

I had a '78 F100 2WD pickup a million years ago (bought it new in 1978, actually), and always wanted to do that truck in the "prerunner" kind of vibe--you may find some useful info or cheap parts in the historic F100/150 parts bins... Pickups had the twin I-beams through 1979 for sure, so look there. The van was designed in 1975, so the design is probably related a bit (I also had a '73 Ford van with twin I-beams, now an '02).

My gut feeling with the van is that it would get really tippy if you went up high--I've been driving big vans for 24 years now and have been in enough crosswinds with them that I really wouldn't want to go much higher. I used to run some mild trails in my old '86 GMC van with 255/70 tires with a very blocky tread and an Auburn posi and that was kind of fun. If I wanted to do something with my '02, I'd put 1-2" blocks on the rear (rear sits a bit lower) and maybe go with a 1-2" spring spacer or 1-2" longer springs on the front (and find a truck alignment shop who would bend the I-beams) and go with 31" tires. If you go with a larger tire, the wheel wells end up looking kind of stupid small and "wrong". I love the look of a van with 31" tires, sitting just a touch high. And you could probably still get it thru a car wash (in Michigan, I love to be able to flush out winter salt often).

I'm sure I could run 31x10.50's on the back and 30x9.5's on the front of mine with no lift, and I've got an Eaton posi in it, so if I wanted to do some really light off road stuff, I'd go that route.

Good luck,
George

 

cool thanks I was wondering about the I beams and how that would work.

I know what you mean about vans being tippy. I was thinking on rims with a offset that would make the wheelbase wider- did it to the YJ i had and it worked out really well plus it looked pretty cool

Im wondering if i could get all the parts for a f150 lift and call up Either one of those companys and see if they can send me the part to use for the I Beam problem. I think there is a bracket that drops down to make the pivot point lower. my friend has a 95 diesel witht the independent 4wd front end and thats what he had to get to make em work

That has to be cheaper than buying the whole lift from em

 

If you lift only an inch or two, you could probably make do with bent I-beams. If you move the pivot points down, you're looking at longer radius arms, revised steering linkage, longer shocks, probably changed bump stop points, etc.

I'd look into a really mild lift and stick with the stock pieces and 31's for tires. Or a mild lift like this and see about a body lift, but I don't think that will get you to 33's without cutting metal out of the front wheel wells at minimum. If you want a big lift, you can quickly see where you need just about everything in the kit to do it right...

Good luck,
George

 

I was actually just on a couple lift sites looking at the 96 and older lift kits for F150s. And when i was reading the description on them and they had the pivot brackets and the drop brackets for the radius arms I just dont know if its the same for the van

 

When ever i find out how you can do this Im gona post a thread on it so people know how to DIY

 

I wish i knew if the older ford F150s 2wd were the same as a E150 van cause i found this suspension

Rough Country Suspension Systems

comes in a 2.5'' lift and a 6'' lift

 

I don't know anything about van/pickup compatibility, but if the pickup parts fit the vans, I would think that the vans would be listed as one of the applications for the kit, and Internet searching would turn up a lot more stuff to lift the vans.

For something like the Rough Country kit, how's about E-Mailing or calling the company and asking if they know anything? Again, I don't think there will be much commonality without the need for fabrication.

Good luck with your project; I'll be interested in keeping an eye on any lift threads, if you eventually get there...
George

 

yeah ima be painting the Van and lining the floor with that hurculiner stuff this week. Its gona be prolly a winter project to lift it im just trying to find out as much as i can before then

Ill post pictures up after we paint it

 

Oh you think putting the E350 suspension would give me a little lift?