how much lift for 38's

[customcamper72]

i read through the sticky for lift& tire sizes, but i am wondering if anyone
has run 38-12.50-16.5 tsl,s with appox. 6-8" of lift. I am not against,
doing some fender trimming. i currently have a 4" lift, but i would
like to runs 38's and do some wheeling this summer. thanks for any info.

[jeffspower]

Here ya go- 9" of lift. 6" suspension & 3" body. My rear sits a little low with 4" suspension. No trimming. Just touches the fenders turning in hard 'wheeling with stiff front springs. 38 12.50 16's on 10" rims. 8" should clear with minor trimming.

[skchevota]

I have abou 6" springs as well, with a 3" body and run 37s, I have never had any trouble. I am sure 38s would fit.

[customcamper72]

thanks for the replies! Jeffspower, love the stance your truck has, looks
awesome! you only have 4" in the rear? what are you using, blocks?
any ideas for centering the rear tires in the wheel wells?

[jeffspower]

Yep, 4" blocks in the rear. I was going to add a little more & never got it done. I built the anti- wrap up bars myself with leaf spring bushings in the ends. It will rarely wheelhop- & when it does, they hop straight up & down. The axle can't wrap up on launch or hillclimbing with them.

If you have problems with wheels not being centered in the wheelwells- build your own blocks. Weld your bottom centerpin in centered. Then mock it all up before drilling the top spring centerpin hole, & mark where the hole needs to be. This way, the top hole can be offset if needed to get the wheels where you want them.

[jeffspower]

And thanks for the complements!

[GMC71k20]

jeffspower, do you have any pics of your wrap up bars? i got horrible axle wrap with my springs

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

I got about 9" of lift: 6" suspension and 3" body lift on my '79 and I am running 39.5x15x16.5 swampers with no trimming and no problems.

[Mudder]

I want 38's.............

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by customcamper72

i read through the sticky for lift& tire sizes, but i am wondering if anyone
has run 38-12.50-16.5 tsl,s with appox. 6-8" of lift. I am not against,
doing some fender trimming. i currently have a 4" lift, but i would
like to runs 38's and do some wheeling this summer. thanks for any info.

It depends ALOT on the type of wheeling your looking at doing.
As well as the type of suspension your running. (amount of available flex)

The wheel wells on our trucks are small and no matter what you read, with enough flex you WILL contact the fenders.

If your going to run 38's with a 6" lift, major trimming will be needed if you intend on wheeling hard enough to max out your suspension.

Go 8" lift minimum IMO and you'll be happier for it.

[customcamper72]

vtblazer the wheeling we do does max out the suspension flexability,
some mud holes & some crawling through old creek beds.
I thought about getting a second set of front fenders & opening them
up like you did on yours. Is there any concerns with front driveshaft
angles with a 8" suspension lift? or should I go with a 6" suspension,
and a 2" body?

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by customcamper72

vtblazer the wheeling we do does max out the suspension flexability,
some mud holes & some crawling through old creek beds.
I thought about getting a second set of front fenders & opening them
up like you did on yours. Is there any concerns with front driveshaft
angles with a 8" suspension lift? or should I go with a 6" suspension,
and a 2" body?

I run CV joints both front rear myself without any issues to date so I guess that's the 'safe' answer.

It's my rear that has the deeper angle due to the doubler, it's way short but even so, doesn't seen to bother.

I hear ya on the creek beds...big flex coming out the backside.

First pic shows the front shaft before going to one ton stuff.
Second pic isn't so great, it shows the rear CV joint but doesn't show the angle.



Have any pics of your truck? Post em up and let us see what were dealing with here.

[customcamper72]

sorry no pics of it yet, iwill have to try and post some, the truck is a ,
72 k20, currently has a 4" suspension & 35's.

[jeffspower]

Originally Posted by GMC71k20

jeffspower, do you have any pics of your wrap up bars? i got horrible axle wrap with my springs

Here ya go...

The bushings are just typical Chevy pickup rear spring eye bushings. Round tubing with the correct ID was used for a press fit, which I found easily. I think it was bushing stock & not just heavywall tube.

[1tonswb]

8 inch springs and 13/38/16 swampers.

[customcamper72]

1tonswb, how wide of rim are your tires on? thats a good lookin
truck you have.

[GMC71k20]

jeffspower, thanks for the pics. I'm going to try and make similar ones this summer when my truck is out of storage. I want to start doing burnouts again

[1tonswb]

customcamper72, Thanks for the compliment. The wheels ore 16x8's. I had 10inch wheels on the truck with 37 iroks before but I changed to the current setup because I didnt like the wide tire look and I didnt want any rubbing.

GMC71k20, Ive enclosed a pic of the traction bar setup that Im running. I ran mine on top of the diff because ive found that if you run it on the top of the axle or on the bottom it totally eliminates axle wrap as opposed to mounting it to the middle of the axle where the axle can still rotate. Im sure that jeffspower traction bars work just fine but Ive always ran them on the top or bottom.

[GMC71k20]

1tonswb, i do see how your set up would have more holding power. how do you go about welding the truss onto the axle? and do yo uhave a picture of the cross member at the other end? thanks for any help

[jeffspower]

There are many ways to control an axle. You need to think about what your trucks primary usage will be while considering what the worst punishment is it will encounter & build a setup proven to work in your application. My setup does create a stiffer ride and also limits articulation some. A soft spring pack on blocks will need more control to prevent wrap-up. When I built this setup, my truck was doing serious duty as a sled puller. Pulling a drag race sled that lets you get up & roll with it and then slams the grousers down around 275 ft. out really tests what your truck can handle. Back when the farm pulls didn't have much for rules & I ran a "high" hitch, a sled with grousers & a short chain would shut me down with so much force that on a biting track it would almost yank my front wheels off the ground. Occasionally, trucks that were set up for mud drags or climbing would give it a try- a lot of those guys ended up being drug off the track with their rear pinion yoke pointing at the sky

I'm considering pulling most of the lift off when I restore my truck & put it on 33's. If I do, I might be going to a shackle flip & no blocks- possibly eliminating the bars altogether.

[1969k10stepside]

Y'all are making me feel like ditching my 35s and going 38s or higher...lol.
BTW Jeff,I think you need a new driver side rocker panel for that chevy

[GMC71k20]

jeffspower, i would kill to see a pic of that truck pulling
what kind of powertrain set up do oyu have?

[jeffspower]

[QUOTE BTW Jeff,I think you need a new driver side rocker panel for that chevy[/QUOTE]

No way, then I wouldn't be able to brag that the body is 100% original

GMC71k20, I don't know if I have any photos of it pulling or not. Quite a bit of video. Someday I'll get smart enough to figure out how to get it off VCR tape onto the puter & put it on youtube or something. As far as drivetrain goes, it's in my sig. Stock '71 500 Cad, TH400/205 Eaton 4:10 locker with a trac-lock in the front 44. It's probably been 5 years since I pulled with it. Didn't have as much lift & ran on 255/85/16" mud T/A's or 9.50 16.5" COOP bias mud tires most of the time pulling. The stock 500 ran right with the warmed up 454's & 460's- then money took over. Can't compete with alky burning 8000 rpm aluminum head motors. It sure was a kick though when I was competitive with my $100 motor