Okay first here are some pics of what I did last friday night after a little smack talk about if my truck could go up a hill called "half shaft hill". Long story short I made it up, and the guy talking crap about my IFS at camp did not( Pretty stock F-250). But here is what happened....







Hit up the the drivers side lower control arm pretty good. damn rock sliders did not even touch. anyway I banged most of it out with a hammer and pry'd it back. I just hope it doesnt throw my rear suspension out of whack...


Also I am going to start building a internal roll cage pretty soon. Mostly so I can run two seats with 5 point belts. Has anyone done it on the 3rd gens? I know this place http://4xinnovations.com/pages/cages...hotos.htm#6RIC sells a kit for the 2nd gen, which would basically be the same deal with different dimensions.

 

ouch id be happy with that than the stump and tree i got to meet with

 

Yeah this was only a 3 foot rock ledge, haha no big deal...

 

yea got to get use to that those links hang down way too low in my opinion the way i got around it is 35s

 

Upgrade time?

 

Heh, that'l happen when going through rocky trails at night.. ;P

Seems like there would be an easier way to run 5 points without an entire internal cage. Why not do external? Would protect more stuff while going through all the work?

 

Possible, I am thinkin about cutting them off, and having my buddy cut me out new ones on his plasma cam. But I not sure if I could do that, and keep everything in alighment.

35's are on my mind, but I just need to decide if I want to do a body lift...

 

IMHO body lifts are for posers and mall crawlers.
Ok...commence operation "Hate Mail"

 

no hate mail lol but we have to due to the IFS. you can only get 3 inches of lift out of it or so. if you need more clearance you have to lift the body or cut weld alot.

i think youll see more body lifts in the future with the trend towards lower CG and using tires as a main component for lift.

 

you guys all think 4crawler body lifts are the way to go?

 

i think they are the only one offering the 1.5" lift. i did the 1" and it works fine but i do still rub sometimes with 285 MTs. all the lifts are the same, just the price and height vary. your '96 will be missing a body mount in the middle. you can buy the body mount to weld in or go without like i have without issue

 

alright good to know

 

Why not just armour the lca mount? Weld a piece of 3/16 bar stock to the leading edge.

 

I have thought about doing something like this, but with higher sides that can be welded to the frame.

 

I would like to see more of a trend toward alternitive body parts to gain tire clearance, i.e., high clearance, flared fiberglass fenders and box sides.
This is where Im starting with my 88 p/u.

 

...Sawzall?? When I buy my beater PU, its going to be all upgraded axles, 37's and lots of cutting hehe.

 

If you do a BL keep it small 1", you don't need it to run 35's though, you just need to tub your firewall and trim.

Oh and while your gas tank is in one piece, I'd upgrade it.

This:


To This:


Also you're going to end up bending your tiny winy links, so I'd upgrade those too

Bent:


Beef:

 

I am def going to plate my gas tank skid plate like that! what do you mean tub my firewall? Maybe some pics of this?

 

I like the gas tank skid plate fix! Last time out I beat the crap out of mine What gauge steel did you use? I would almost put some holes in there so it doesn't become a trap for water, or worse, fuel vapor in case of any small leak.

 

here you go, you basically just cut out part of your firewall by the tire and weld in new sheet metal for clearance. I'll be doing it to mine when I hit 35's

http://www.trailslesstraveled.com/ar...y-lift-height/

http://www.trailslesstraveled.com/news.php?id=48



It's 3/16ths now, It's not fully welded around it and there is a small gap where the tank changes slope. Water drains out of it. I'm not worried about rust, i should bash this one in or have moved the gas tank way before it rusts through.