God's Bounty Hunter

Hello guys and gals. So I have 2 trucks, an 86 f-250 with the 460 and of course my baby, the 83 Toyota pickup. so I want to lift my Toyota another 3-4 inches but it has a little over 260K miles and it takes a while to take off on a dead stop. My question is this: how much of the engine would I have to rebuild so it can have the power to push the extra weight? I also want to be able to pass this truck on to one of my kids when they get older

RobotMoose

iTrader: (1)

What's your price range on the lift?
- Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters is a great source for for Old Man Emu Dakkar kits. He's also a great guy, and you get amazing service and a great product for the price.
- The least expensive option is Ruff Country, but they ride hard.
- The next option up is SkyJacker. Buy the more expensive kit, it doesn't use lift blocks and add-a-leaves in the rear.
- Tuff Country is another one, about the same range as Skyjacker, but I haven't much feedback on them.

As far as the engine goes, I think it would be wisest to just get the whole thing rebuilt, it'll be more cost-effective in the long run. If you just rebuild the head and the bottom end lets go, you could eat a bunch of valves and require head work again; if you just rebuild the bottom end, and the head overheats and allows antifreeze into the oil, you could eat up your bearings or crank.

God's Bounty Hunter

Right now, the highest in price range I can take a hit in is somewhere around the $500-$550 mark. I actually was thinking of going with the rough country lift since it's like $400 plus shipping and handling I would think. I would need a smooth ride since the only off-roading I really do is mud terrain cause of all the snow during the winter

RobotMoose

iTrader: (1)

You won't be getting a smooth ride with rough country, they're very thick leaves.
They will ultimately work and get the job done, but the Skyjackers would be a step up in comfort and ride quality.

kawazx636

iTrader: (3)

Ruff Country = chiropractor bills

I had a Ruff Country 3" lift on my truck before I restored it and it beat the living crap out of my ON THE ROAD. Off road it was nearly unmanageable and bounced all over the place.

I went with the 2" Old Man Emu springs with Bilstein shocks for my restoration - LOVE IT!! No modifications needed and the ride is EXCELLENT both on and off road. The entire suspension (springs, bushings, shackles and shocks) ran me about $960 total.

For your engine, it really depends on the tires you are going to be turning. I completely rebuilt my 22R top and bottom end to factory tolerances and bored over 0.020." It is completely desmogged with a Weber 32/36 carb, Rock Ripper headers, 2.25" exhaust with a Thrush welded muffler. With stock 4:10 gears I can turn 31x10.5 tires with no problem at 70MPH (about 78mph adjusted for tired size). It is no speed demon off the line, but I have no problems with merging or passing and I don't have people honking behind me when the light turns green. Technically you should regear to 4.88 for 31" tires, but anything over 31" would definitely need to be regeared for the 22R to turn them at highway speeds. Simple rebuilding of an engine isn't necessarily going to give you the power that you need unless you build it for your specific power/torque needs. You really need to build the truck to suit your needs - are you going to be on the high way or in the mud more? I built my truck to daily drive with the capability to find myself wondering off the road from time to time.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

The ruff country lift is like riding in a tank on a field full of giant boulders. I regret buying that brand.

RobotMoose

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, if low-dollar high-value is the end-all-and-be-all, then rears up from (RUF) and Chevy 63" springs in the rear should cost right about 4-500 with shop time, ride a lot better and be much more capable.