new guy with lots of questions.

[wormgod]

Just wanted to say hi before I flood you with a ton of questions on my 1984 ex military Chevy Blazer.


now what I am planning is a 6" rough country lift with rear springs. along with that I am going to fab a new bumper with a winch and I bought a roll cage to install.

here is what it looks like now:

this is my first time with a lift kit and all the other fun stuff. my friend has done it before on other vehicles, so between us both, maybe we can figure it out.

now, some questions. do I need a new driveshaft and a slip yoke eliminator with a 6" lift? I am thinking of getting a set of tires from Trail worthy Fab, are they good to go? do I need to drop the transfer case? I also plan on adding a swaybar correction/disconnect kit and a steering box brace from Offroad Design.


what else do I need? what should I maybe have? I am trying to build a basic capable trail rig, not a rock crawler. one of these days I really want to upgrade to a Dana 60 and a 14 bolt....but i am having a hard time finding them for a reasonable price.


thanks for reading and I can't wait to get this build going.

 

[76zimmer]

Welcome to the CK5 forum, how long have you had it, is it your first 4x4?

Reason I ask is, drive it for a while as is, get to know it some before making changes to it.

Start with safety in mind, then go performance minded on your build.

 

[wormgod]

I've had it for about 2 years now. it's my second 4x4, I have a F150 4x4 as my daily driver. I've gotten a lot of experience over the past couple years driving this thing all over southern Colorado on the easy trails (Medano pass, Stony pass and a bunch of trails around temple canyon, outside of canon city). I was thinking it was time to beef it up a little so I can try my skills on some of the more moderate and difficult trails. and just to have a capable offroader for when I want to play in the mud here in Missouri or the sand when I go fishing down on the gulf coast.

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Welcome and nice looking rig, nice start.

 

[shady]

You'll be happier if you go with a different lift manufacturer. 6" will beat you to up as it is but rough country will live up to its name. I'd get a hold of offroad design. Their add shows on the top of here every now and then.

 

[shaun89]

i would reccomend a shackle flip to get about 4" and a smaller lift spring or lift block with that, its about equal or a little more money but almost any wheeler that doesnt 4 link they're truck, has one or regrets not getting one,myself included. and u can use ur stock driveshaft for up to a 6" lift but u will burn through u-joints like it is ur job. so i highly reccomend a rear CV shaft. and a SYE is optional. but remember if u do decide to get a SYE,then ull need to change ur driveshaft. so if u plan an SYE,id hold off on the rear CV shaft. and i would take ur sway bar off. i did and could not tell any difference at all, with 6" superlift springs. but good plan with the ORD brace! thats definitely needed. goodluck with ur build!

 

[kdoske]

i would reccomend a shackle flip to get about 4" and a smaller lift spring or lift block with that, its about equal or a little more money but almost any wheeler that doesnt 4 link they're truck, has one or regrets not getting one,myself included. and u can use ur stock driveshaft for up to a 6" lift but u will burn through u-joints like it is ur job. so i highly reccomend a rear CV shaft. and a SYE is optional. but remember if u do decide to get a SYE,then ull need to change ur driveshaft. so if u plan an SYE,id hold off on the rear CV shaft. and i would take ur sway bar off. i did and could not tell any difference at all, with 6" superlift springs. but good plan with the ORD brace! thats definitely needed. goodluck with ur build!

I agree 3 or 4 inches shackle flip.

 

[63chevyll]

Welcome. And cool blazer. A great starting point.

Like others have said, if you want 100% functionality go with ORD for lift and shackle flip. You will be happy. Lifting these trucks isn't hard and they don't need much to be great off road. Have fun

 

[wormgod]

thanks for all the info. looks like ORD is the way to go, that way I can get everything in one set.

I was looking at driveshaftsuperstore.com, they have a SYE/driveshaft set for 375 bucks. anyone dealt with them before? is that a decent price?

my roll cage should be here this week. I can't wait to try my hand at getting it installed.

when I first bought this thing, I had thoughts of restoring it to original condition, making it look like it was still in the Army. but there is so much body rust that I gave up on that idea and decided to build a trail rig that i wont mind rubbing a few rocks with. good thing about that paint job is that I just need a can of krylon for touch up jobs. It came from the Indiana National Guard.....so it had plenty of years of playing on salt covered roads. I had to replace almost the entire exhaust system because it was completely rusted out. but it sure sounds nice now.

who needs rockers anyway

anyone know of someone that makes good rock rails?

 

[riz]

Welcome to CK5....you're gonna love it here. Nice looking rig.

RIZ

 

[496truck]

Welcome to CK5! This place will make you want to spend money like it aint no thang.

I just took my K5 from stock to 4" lift with 35s on 8 lug axles. My advice to you: if you are not concerned with the overall body condition then you won't mind trimming the wheel openings for larger tires. Go with a 4" lift to keep the center of gravity lower and overall price of mods down too. And you can just trim the fenders to fit 35" or larger tires. It's not like you can run much larger than 35s on those stock axles anyways. And x2 on ditching the sway bar, you won't miss it. Don't do the t-case drop, get a drive shaft with a CV and slip yoke at the t-case end and shim the rear axle so the pinion points up to the t-case. This will give you good working u-joint angles and keep the t-case in the stock location, it's already low and doesn't need to be any lower.

If/when you are in a spending mood, check out these guys...
Off Road Design
DIY4X
2 of the biggest vendors here at CK5 and for good reason. Great products and even better customer service. They know these trucks inside and out.

 

[shady]

6" lift you'll be fine with out the sway bar either way, most are stiff enough. 4" the rates vary enough that you may need it.

If your doing Heavy duty springs or going with a stiff company you can do with out the sway bar. I went with custom Alcan springs and I could NOT do with out it. Keep the sway bar till you know what you got and have driven it with it disconnected. then hook it back up if you want with a set of disconnects or remove it completely if you think its fine

 

[wormgod]

If i do end up needing a new driveshaft, is there a good place online to order one, or should i try to find a local place?

 

[82355]

How set are you on a 6" lift? I would go with a 4". Definitely do a shackle flip in the rear instead of rear lift springs or lift blocks. You already said it has excessive body rust, so you should have no problem trimming the fenders a little for clearance. There are a lot of people running 35"-37" tires (you mentioned getting tires from Trailworthy Fab, which are 37x12.50x16.5" tires) with 4" lifts. Then you should be able to get away with out any driveshaft mods.

I ran 35x12.50x16.5" BFG Mud Terrains on my 1988 Suburban with just a 2" block in the rear and a set of 3/4 ton, 3 spring pack, front leaf springs with a set of zero rates. A little mild trimming is all it took, so 4" would be plenty for you.

Martin

 

[wormgod]

only reason I wanted to go with the 6" lift was to get those bigger tires under there. but I am not dead set against trimming the fenders. I would like to keep the center of gravity a little lower.

I would like to not have to mess with the driveshaft right now. I can do that when I upgrade to a D60 and a 14 bolt sometime later.

 

[Gunny65]

Just curious, is that chain and padlock attached to the drivers seat for locking the steering wheel?

IMO, I would do the 4" lift and trim. After months of reading and asking questions, I found, for me, the least expensive and best bang for the buck is a 4" lift using a shackle flip. I am putting 39.5" or 40" tires on it using H1 rims, and DRW axles. I also put the stock 4" lift rear springs up front and bought a set of 56" rear springs from a junkyard Burb to put in the rear (nice money saver right there as far as lifting the front goes). If I need to, I am using zero rates for evening out the stance, and if the stance is good, I may just add them in front and back for a 1" additional life. I did buy the 4" drop pitman arm but some say you don't have to. I haven't finished the install yet but so far everything looks good. The hardest part so far was getting the bushings out of the springs so I can put poly bushing in. Anyway, do some searches on 4" lift and read, read, read, then ask away.

Welcome to the site!

 

[wormgod]

Just curious, is that chain and padlock attached to the drivers seat for locking the steering wheel?

IMO, I would do the 4" lift and trim. After months of reading and asking questions, I found, for me, the least expensive and best bang for the buck is a 4" lift using a shackle flip. I am putting 39.5" or 40" tires on it using H1 rims, and DRW axles. I also put the stock 4" lift rear springs up front and bought a set of 56" rear springs from a junkyard Burb to put in the rear (nice money saver right there as far as lifting the front goes). If I need to, I am using zero rates for evening out the stance, and if the stance is good, I may just add them in front and back for a 1" additional life. I did buy the 4" drop pitman arm but some say you don't have to. I haven't finished the install yet but so far everything looks good. The hardest part so far was getting the bushings out of the springs so I can put poly bushing in. Anyway, do some searches on 4" lift and read, read, read, then ask away.

Welcome to the site!

yep. the military had those so you could chain the steering wheel to the seat so no one wandered off with your truck. I never got around to taking it off.

thanks for all the help so far. I have a basic list together for everything I need to order to get this project started. I am going to give it one hell of a break in. I am driving from MO to CO, doing the mods there over a week or so in my friend's shop, doing some trail testing, then driving the thing back to MO. I'll definitely discover any problems pretty quick



this is my friend's jeep that he is finishing up. we are going to cobble together a similar front bumper for the blazer.

 

[shady]

The 4" setup would be the flexiest option. I was under the belief that you didnt want to trim fenders or would have mentioned it sooner And you will notice a difference in steering without the drop pitman. I just put one on my burb with a 3" lift. Made a huge differnce in handling.

Your stock rear 52" springs used up front will get you 4" of lift automaticly. then a 4" shackle flip with a set of stock 56" ones (I dont know what years to look for) or a set of 64" stock rears from a newer (90's) burb. Flexy, able to stuff 37"s (with enough trimming), and pretty cheap to do

 

[DizturbedOne]

4" lift

Shackle flip instead of springs in the rear

Trim those fenders

Long springs in the future will add even MORE flex

Enjoy a much more capable truck

 

[Bent77]

Yea sawzall! Did the shackle flip on mine as well with no blocks but a 1" body lift and major trimming, mostly as a cancer removal but the tires clear.

Using stock spings in the rear, all lift off the flip and some HD shackles