homemade lift

[Irish_Alley]

what state do you live in 77?

[77chev]

I have never heard of puting the back springs on the front but I guess it would work if you had a donor truck.
I live in Southern Indiana

[Chevalade]

if you are really interested in taking the shackle hangers off the frame and putting a lift on, then i would suggest looking into longer springs in the front/rear.   you can upgrade to 52" springs in the front, (http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=24&product_id=120)  and 56" springs in the rear using the diy flip and switch.  (http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?route=product/product&path=24&product_id=112)   i am not sure how much lift this gains you, and you might have to get some zero rates to recenter the axle afterwards.

With the Zero Rates, that would net you about 5" of lift and a much better ride/flex. Without the ZR's - 4".

[4x4orbust]

it's a lot more work than just putting back ones on the front,  but it seemed to me that you were interested in doing some fab work yourself, so i am throwing out options.  the way i have seen it done is people take the  rear springs off the truck they have, use them on the front, then buy new (or used) 56" springs for the back.     what kind of wheeling are you going to be doing?  (e.g. mud, rocks, woods trails, etc)

[77chev]

True i would like to do some fab work but mostly i would like to get 6'' or 8'' of lift for as less money as possible. This will be on a 77 k10 that is stock it's swb, how long are the springs in the back 52''? What would be the advantage of putting the 54'' springs on the back, would you use the same hangers to get a little lift?

[4x4orbust]

the longer springs flex better (more wheel travel off road) and give a smoother ride on road.   in order to do the 56" swap, you do the shackle flip, which can gain you anywhere from 2.5"-6" of lift. (depending on your shackle length)  the rears on your truck should currently be 52".  (measure from eye to eye on the spring)
  doing the swap to 52" in the front will give the same results. (better flex offroad, better on road ride, and lifts the front)   it is a night and day difference when offroad, if that is what you are setting the truck up for, while still being great on road.
for the money, this is a great way to go.   i don't think i would go over a 6" lift,  what size tire do you want to run?

[77chev]

As for what size tire i want to run is what ever fits under a 6'' lift or a 6'' lift with a 3'' body lift, any suggestions on what size tires would fit?

[4x4orbust]

well, the next wuestion is do you want to cut/ trim your fenders.   on a 6" lift, you could fit 35's and maybe 37's with no trimming.  if you want to trim some you could fit 38-39's maybe 40's.   i'm running 33's on a 2" lift, and if i wanted to trim i could run 35's (but they would still rub)  i know others on here have 6" lifts, and know  more specifically what tire you can run.

[Chevalade]

You can fit 44's on a 6" lift with lots of fender trimming.

[Irish_Alley]

with just a 6" you can run 35s and with 6+3" you can run 37s

[77chev]

I would like to stay away from trimming the fenders because I plan to restore it to way in the future. with a 6'' lift and a 3'' body lift do you think I could fit 38's without trimming

[Chevalade]

As long as you don't leave pavement....yup.

[77chev]

what if i made 6'' drop hangers for the springs? would the only other things be shocks and longer driveshafts?

[Chevalade]

No...rear shackles would have to be made too to correct driveline angles, and they would probably be too long to be structurally safe. (lateral movement)

To be perfectly honest with you, if you can't afford it, you shouldn't be attempting it. Please take your own personal well being into consideration.

Free way to get big tires = cut the fenders a lot. Fenders are cheap to replace. Save your money for gears, which you will need.

[77chev]

Its not that i don't have the money to buy a suspension lift i just want to do something different and it is not like i am putting it on a daliy driver this truck may not even be started every month