1985 CUCV m1008 lift ideas?

[Wartburg]

I have a 1985 CUCV that i just got up and running. It is a beast with stock 235 85 r16. I am really wanting to lift this truck.
I have looked at different listings about this topic and talked to a few off road shops about lifts. I was wanting to go with a 38" tire I would like to keep it thin because they do a better job for me around here in the woods. I do not mind cutting the finders some (light trimming) but did not want to cut them off.
I called one of the shops about buying a kit 4" lift suspenction and a 2" body lift. The suggested a 4" tough country hd. i then read on line that the weight of the 6.2 would make it sag 1" anyway. The shop i talked to said they did not make a body lift for the Diesel engine because it cause over heating.

one of my good friends suggested a cheep lift would be to add front springs and rear blocks. please give your suggestion on lifting a CUCV 85 M1008. any cheep short cuts are welcome.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

I have the Tuff Counrt front HD springs, trust me, they won't sag for a while. I'm running 39s with 5" of front lift and 3" in the rear. Do a search, quite a few of us have lifted ours.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

This has been pretty well covered on here. I'll also recommend joining www.ColoradoK5.com . This place is great for CUCV specific questions but CK5 is the bible of modifying 73-87(91) GM trucks.

 

[Wartburg]

Thank you for the info. I will check out the K5 sit

 

[gocmndo]

I love my Tuff Country lift. Believe it or not my truck rides and drives better then before the lift.

 

[kennyw]

First of all a body lift doesn't affect cooling... removing/modifying the fan shroud does. You can do the taurus electric fan modification to eliminate that problem though if you really like the ugly body lifts.

I run a 2" suspension lift with 37" tires and some trimming. I think it turned out pretty good. Your K30 will actually be a little taller than my K20 with the same springs too.

My pics:
http://www.crazyk5.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=525

 

[86M10086.2L]

I too am running 4inch Tuff Country HD springs up front, with 3 inch blocks in the rear. It came out great and the ride is still pretty good. I did the staggered lift to compensate for the fact that I will eventually be installing a winch up front and the srpings no matter how good the are will settle alittle over time. And I hate nose diving 4X4 pickups. I run a small tire becuase most of my driving is on the highway, and I'm was looking more for ground clearance and articulation (if a 1 ton really does that anyway) then room for huge tires. Eventually if I can ever find a set near me I'll get the Humvee rims and 36's. MY truck is being set up as a outdoor adventure turck not a hard core wheeling truck. But i do take it off road regualrly. As stated above deffinately talk to the guys over on CK5 if it's been done they know about it a dozen time over. I learned alot there.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

DO NOT SKIMP on the steering, do it right.

 

[Alex400]

Do a search through Peterson's 4 wheel and off road magazine's website, and look for their army truck build. They really did a nice job to it. Has enough lift for 37's if i recall correctly. http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/projectbuild/131_0609_1986_chevy_one_ton/index.html

 

[Croatan_Kid]

That truck has been the wall paper on my computer for a few years now!

They're running 37s with 4", I'm running 39s!

 

[Alex400]

That truck has been the wall paper on my computer for a few years now!

They're running 37s with 4", I'm running 39s!

well originally, they were going to use as a support rig, not a full on wheeler and I think editor David Kennedy was driving it for his DD. I have no doubt that you could get 39's under it.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

It's Fred's truck. David Kennedy has a K5.

 

[gocmndo]

I run a small tire becuase most of my driving is on the highway, and I'm was looking more for ground clearance and articulation (if a 1 ton really does that anyway) then room for huge tires. Eventually if I can ever find a set near me I'll get the Humvee rims and 36's.

After talking with Off Road Design I decided to not use the stock springs just so I could get some articulation. After lifting one of those rear leaf springs I know why I wasn't articulating very well.
Truck looks great, and when you go to the larger tires you will really enjoy driving the freeways!!

 

[Croatan_Kid]

True that!

I was driving home tonight and when my speedo says 55, I'm actually going about 67. I was cruising along very nicely, the motor was at a happy RPM with the 30% OD, and the tires hummed along nicely with no bounce or vibrations at all. My truck is very enjoyable to drive

 

[msoumas]

Thought I'd ask here rather than start another thread.... I've got an M1009, and may be grabbing some 36x12.5-16.5lt HMMWV tires in the near future. I'm running stock tire sizes and suspension right now, what sort of lift and what sort of $$$ will I need to make those tires fit under my truck?

 

[FM5332FF]

Lifted 12 inches, 12 inch springs in the front, 8 inch spring and 4 inch shackle flip in the rear. i still have to put the shocks on, and put a 2wd steering box on it for my cross over steering.

 

[Alex400]

It's Fred's truck. David Kennedy has a K5.

Sorry. Probably should have looked at the article again. I always get them mixed up.

 

[Dabba]

sorry, but 86M10086.2L, you do that lift yourself? Im planning on 4 inches and eventually putting in a winch, let us know how you mount it.

/unhijack.

Oh i wouldnt go with liftblocks but thats just me. I beleive i was looking at the tuff country 4 inch suspenson lift.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

I wouldn't have run block in the rear either, but for a mere 3", it wasn't worth the extra work and money to get new springs. Anything more than 3" and I would have opted for springs or a shackle flip and zero rate.


FM5332FF: How wide are your rims? Those are 11.00R-16 Michelin XLs right? I'm running the same basic thing, just XZLs, but with a lot less lift. (I'm short )

 

[akonitony]

Here is the lift I have come up with so far. I am still waiting for the rear 5/8" U-bolts to come in with the 4-degree wedges for the rear to give my pinion less of an angle than the 6-degree ones in now, but overall, it will give an idea of what it looks like. rather than start a new thrread, which is what i had originally planned, I decided to go with an extension of this old one, so i hope nobody minds if I hijack it.
Anyway, here is what I used for the front: Virginia 4x4 supplied the front perches which also moved the front axle forward about 2 inches. I also had to use a set of 6" shackles for the rear of the front leafs. The leaf springs themselves were made from the 52" opnes I got out of the rear of one of my M1009s, took them apart and cleaned them up, then added to small leafs I made from some larger leafs out of some extra leafs I had laying around. Drilling the holes through them was somewhat of a challenge. If you go with a cobalt drill bit, which is what I used, a moderate speed is needed. My airdrill burned up the bit faster than the cutting oil could keep up. I finally found I could use a rechargeable 1/2" drill and got the perfect speed on #2 for drilling these things. Also, on all the bare metal pieces, after removing heavy rust and grease with a wire wheel on my bench grinder, I treated them with a coat of Jasco rust reformer from Lowe's, then painted everything with Rustoleum bar-b-que black heat-resistant paint.