im going to be swapping my 94 xcab and bed onto an 84 or 85 lwb frame to use a solid axle. i am doing the frame swap instead of just swapping the axle for 2 reasons: i want the shorter wheelbase and i dont want to have to use a 5-6" lift. i intend to run a 3" body/drivetrain lift and 35x12.5 mtrs, probably on 3.75 bs 15x10 wheels. i want to keep the truck as low as possible and only trim the fenders enough for the tires to fit into the wheelwells. it should look like the gray truck with the black fender in this post when finished.

with all that in mind:

how much suspension lift am i going to need?

how far forward am i going to need to move the axle?

what springs will give the correct amount of lift and axle placement?

with that amount of lift, will i be able to run hysteer?

i will probably have more ?'s as these are answered. but thats all i can think of for now. thanks in advance.

That depends on how much you are willing to trim the fenders and more importantly, the crossover steering question that you asked below.



Once again, that will depend on how much sheetmetal you are willing to remove and if you are willing to "tub" the back of the front fenderwells. Most people move the axle forward for firewall clearance but run into problems with the tie rod contacting the drag link, so keep this in mind when you are mounting up your IFS steering box for crossover steering.



I would consider running 2" Old Man Emu springs or a combination of stock Wrangler or Wagoneer springs in front and longer Chevy or Madza leaves in the rear. Another option would be to run rear springs in front , since they will not provide much lift but move the axle forward.



Plan on at least 2 inches of spring lift (or combined spring/sping hanger lift if you used a dropped spring hanger and longer shackles) in order to fit crossover steering.

i want to keep as much of the fenders as possible. i would rather not tub the firewall, but its still an option. my body lift is not going to use pucks, the lift is going to be built into the frame. the body mount could probably be designed to allow the steering box to be moved farther forward and the lift would give it room to move up a little. im not sure how much room is necessary. or if i just ran normal crossover (not hysteer) would that get rid of the interference?

Yes, over/under crossover steering is fine and will eliminate any drag link / tie rod interference. You can get a heavy duty tie rod that won't bend if that is a worry.
Rear springs (up thru '88) up front will get you a 2" forward axle move, put a dropped spring hanger on and you can move even farther forward, I'm at 2.75"

Front suspension info

ok lets suppose i use a 2" dropped hanger and a rears pack with less than 1" of lift and 3" bl. would 35s clear the firewall?

I think you've got a good plan. Sometimes I wish I wish I had an older SA frame instead of my SAS, so I could run lower lift springs. The truck on the Pirate photo, looks to me like it has about 7" of lift, though, if you are comparing that picture for lift purposes.

I would go with Harry's idea of OME 2" or 2.5" springs and then add a 4Crawler 1" BL if needed. For the fenders, you could cut them, like I did mine, or you could go with fiberglass with a much wider opening.

If you're only talking about run 35s, you probably only need to relocate the axle forward about 1.5" or so and you should be able to clear the firewall pretty easily. To relocate the axle, you may need to go with a set of All Pro 3" springs. I don't think I would go with drop hangers or extended shackles on the front of an SA truck, especially if you want to keep the lift minimal. Also, you don't need a 3" BL. Only 1" maximum and only if you need it.

I have about 5" of total lift and 35s and I have more air in between my fenders and tires than a Goodyear blimp. The only thing keeping me from lowering my truck is the drop hangers would require me to run darn near inverted arched springs and the lower front IFS frame would hit my steering rods.

i was only using the picture for the bed and cab on short frame. im definitely going to have a 3" body/drivetrain lift though. with a fror style crossmember it will give me an almost flat belly. thats about how i would cut my fenders: just enough to clear the tire.