Care to elaborate on that 3" body setup? I'm sure people here would want to know what ya did. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

yeah, as much info as you can possibly type, go for it......

Ok...
here's my take on lifting the kia...

body lift will give room for bigger tires but doesnt lift the belly of the kia off the ground...(except the extra little hieght from the tires....

suspension lift will give room for bigger tires and lift the belly off the ground....

why not find springs and such to do the full 3" in the suspension lift and not mess with the body???...

eibach only lifts 2-1/2 inches in front and 1-1/2 back...but then you can add spacers....or...why eibach?...I think I saw in here someplace dave was gonna make little taller ones??....

any other suggestions?...I want to thoroughly think this out before I buy the lift kit...
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The body lift started ouy as 3" kit for a 73-87 chevy suburban. After removing the nuts and lower body bushings, clearing any connections between the body and frame, removing carpet and interior trim over stud positions inside, and removing the headlights, its time to go to work. I then jacked up one side of the body(floor jack and 4'2x4 for support) to remove the upper body bushings. I then ground off the studs leaving the upper cup for the body bushing intact.Find the center of each stud and drill a 1/4" pilot hole from the bottom through the stud and inner sheet metal. Go inside and, using the pilot hole as a guide, drill a 1.250" (hole saw) hole in the inner sheet metal only for bolt head and washer clearence. From below, drill the pilot to 1/2" and deburr holes. Drop bolts from kit through from top and slide the spacers up the bolts. This is where my fabrication skills came into play, I made 3/16" thk washers(about 1/2" larger dia. than the spacers from the kit) to go between the spacers and the original upper body bushing and 1/2" ID sleeves for spacers between this washer and the original lower washer( about the same length as the unthreaded portion of the original stud. Assemble the kit on one side the proceed to the other. Dont lift the body too high and check constantly for any binding. The wires are long enough to compensate but I had to relocate brake line conections without unhooking the lines ( new line tabs tack welded to body as required)and the front brake lines bent down. I made an aluminum puck 1-1/2" thk. to replace the rubber joint in the steering column. The stock bumpers can be adapted to fit but I have built custom bumpers f&r.

Bumper note: winch bumpers require they be tied into the two front bolts for the steering box and idler, the wavy part of the frame ahead of the steering mounts is designed to colapse and will not support the weight of a winch or the winch pull.

youch, i was afraid you were going to say you did it that way. that was my original thought about 4-5 years ago, but i said no way, i am not going to do all that work, so i have been coming up with 2 designs for the last 6 months or so. one design is a 3x3x3x3/16" block that will bolt to the frame, then the body will bolt to it using all the original body bolts, bushings and nuts, plus a new 3/4" bolt and nut for the lower mount of the block. and just recently, a guy told me he could machine some 3/4" bolts to use as a female end for the existing male end of the bolts that are welded into the body so that one could use a regular body lift block and bushings were they should go, then bolt this female end from underneath to tighten everything up. nothing is finished yet, in fact, we haven't even started on the female bolts yet. man, i'm just glad i didn't go nuts and do what you did. not saying that it doesn't work just as well as anything else, just that it's a lot more work, in my opinion. thanks for the info though.

that body lift is way more work then I want to do...heh
I'll be doing most of this myself

reading through some of the older posts....Dennis has jeep TJ springs on his kia for a 4" lift...what year?

and Nukeiridium has mini van spring(not laughin...hehe..ok just a little)...off of what mini van and what year???

how well do they work/fit or what other springs will fit?
heck if I can get springs that fit from the dead car yard that'd be way cool!!...
and much cheaper...making it easier to convince my big guy jeeper that the kia should be lifted.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
and I dont mind rumaging good ole' pick-n-pull

humm...wonder if I can fit the springs in my purse <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />...hehe

If your purse is typical of most women I know then you should be able to fit the entire car. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> Cool!...they'll fit then!!!.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /><img src="/forums/images/graemlins/butwiggle.gif" alt="" />

Just tell you other half that his jeep needs a spring lift.

heh....if that would work I'd do that...lol...is how I'm getting the tires...but...his jeep is a 74 with leaf springs
he's lifting that thing just by putting the axles on top giving him an easy 4" lift....heh too bad it isnt that easy with the kia