lift kit?

[love_my_gt]

What lift kits are you using? I may be getting a 620 4x4. It's a completely stock 78 620 kc factory conversion. I want to get it a little further in the air! What are my best options here? There a pics of the truck in the truck here..

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/35086-price-advice-please/

 

I wsa also wondering how low the transfer case on these sits. From what I've heard it sits a bit lower then the toyotas of the same era. This true? Any of you all do any serious off roading or crawling with your trucks? I'm trying to get a feel for ground clearance and likelihood that I could get the tc caught on something or bend the drive shafts tryin to get a little muddy. lol

[RedBanner]

i looks like it has big shackles already, if the leaf springs are on top of the axle blocks and longer u joints will do, if the springs are attatched below the axle you have to cutt the springpads off and weld them to the top of the axle and + blocks son on.

or swap springs for some huge arched ones

[RedBanner]

i beat on a 4x4 620 for a while and it had a 205 divorced tcase dont know what the dealer did, jeep axles i hear

[datzenmike]

A suspension lift then? Have the leaf springs re-arched.

 

I have a Toyota SAS in the front of my '78. I replaced the lower leaf springs with those from an F-150, kept the top spring with the mount holes and had it re-arched to match the ford leaves. Did the same on the back. Just remove the top Ford spring and put a re-arched 620 spring on top. Added about 9" over the stock spring but too stiff for proper articulation. Springs and re-arching was $100.

 

Larger diameter tires also add clearance. A 3" increase in tire size only adds 1 1/2" of lift though.

 

Have a skid plate made to protect the trans case.

[love_my_gt]

I don't know anything about the t-case for it, but I hear it has 78 jeep axles you are correct... which SHOULD be dana 44s.

[datsunaholic]

Each conversion was different, but the most common conversion was to use a Dana-30 front end with 4.10 gears (this creates a problem since most 620s used 4.38 rears and they did NOT change that), the stock rear axle with the spring perches changed to the top (which gives about a 4-5" lift all by itself) and using a Dana-20 transfer case. The T-case and front axle were Jeep stuff, Jeep CJ. LOW Engineering made conversion kits (NLA since about 1980) and most often that's what 3rd party conversion houses used.

 

I've seen conversions using both Jeep axles, using both Toyota axles, but almost always the T-case was a Dana-20.

 

The T-case on mine sits significantly higher than the axles, but its possible to high center it.

[justin 620]

4 link an straight axle in the front, and re-arched springs in rear? And I'd go with Yota axles, more options and easier to find...

[datzenmike]

4 link an straight axle in the front, and re-arched springs in rear? And I'd go with Yota axles, more options and easier to find...

 

Would that be a trailing 4 link???? Isn't that difficult to do or just plain.... wrong???

[justin 620]

I can't imagine it being any more difficult then a rear 4link, and wrong how?

[datzenmike]

Well on the rear the links are forward of the axle. On the front I would imagine they would have to be mounted to the rear of the front axle. Driving over or hitting anything tries to compress the links maybe even bending them. If in front of the axle they are just pulled in a straight line. Just seems to me that trailing links are a poorer design.???

[justin 620]

I can see what you're sayin, and it makes sense... But it has been done numerous times by people who really REALLY know what they're doing... Not to sound like an ass or anything. And the way I see it, if you want a lifted 4x4 truck, straight axle is the only way to go, and if you're gonna so the fab work, might a well do a 4link, right? And it gives you more options for axle choice.

[justin 620]

Plus, if you hit anything hard enough to bend a link, you have much more to worry about then a 100 dollar bar...