New Idea.. Baja Street Square Body?

[Tony_SS]

I think for my needs, I'd like to go this direction. My truck is no show truck, and is mainly used as a utility vehicle. I like it to be able to handle the street, nasty potholes, etc. So I had an idea of doing a rugged baja theme. Maybe some 32x12.50 tires on 15x10's, getting rid of the front bumper and mounting a tubular one with a couple lights. I'm open to feedback about this.. whats everyone think? I looked for some baja square's but couldn't find any.

[Benelli]

Someone in my town tried to do that, they failed miserably. They custom made the bumper, I was following it to the store and half the welds broke on it.

I think a Baja Square would simply be bad ass. Lights, roll bar, a mildish lift, a high-revving 327 would be pretty neat... My only thing is that almost all baja rides are either made to look like 4-doors or extended cabs, and therefore I think the square would have to be a 4-door or Extended cab.

[thirdstreettito]

Here is a baja type truck. 95% of baja trucks are 2wd btw.

[Prerunner1982]

Do you mean something like this?

[Prerunner1982]

Here's one more..


Here is my 82 Chevy with 32x11.50 ATs on 15x8 wheels.

[Tony_SS]

Thanks for those pics PreRunner - great ideas for sure!

[larrystone]

Street Baja is not a new concept.

In fact my truck have been commissioned as the new vehicle for the upcoming movie Transporter 4: Appalachian Adventure

For no German sports sedan could handle the bad roads I have to navigate on a daily basis.

[Prerunner1982]

Originally Posted by Tony_SS

Thanks for those pics PreRunner - great ideas for sure!

No problem.. I save all the ones I come across as you dont find them very often. Are you wanting to lift yours at all? There really isnt a good kit available to give you good suspension performance. You can fit 31"s with stock suspension components (HD/1ton front coils) with little or no rubbing. I ran 32"s with only minor rubbing. The upper fender lip was catching the front tires and cutting it so I had to roll the lip up. The tires also rubbed the inner fenders but since they are smooth I really didnt have a problem with that. I was contemplating cutting my fenders to run 35"s...

Let me know what you think.. your ideas.. and if you have any questions.

[Tony_SS]

Originally Posted by Prerunner1982

No problem.. I save all the ones I come across as you dont find them very often. Are you wanting to lift yours at all? There really isnt a good kit available to give you good suspension performance. You can fit 31"s with stock suspension components (HD/1ton front coils) with little or no rubbing. I ran 32"s with only minor rubbing. The upper fender lip was catching the front tires and cutting it so I had to roll the lip up. The tires also rubbed the inner fenders but since they are smooth I really didnt have a problem with that. I was contemplating cutting my fenders to run 35"s...

Let me know what you think.. your ideas.. and if you have any questions.

Not really sure. I've been looking at tires and trying to figure out what size to run. Maybe 32x11.50's or 33x12.50's if I can get them to fit. I would lift the front an inch tops and leave the back as is. I still have a factory stance. Here's how it looks now with 31x15.50's



I also thought about looking for tires to fit a 16x10 wheel too, so if you any thoughts there too.

I was going to start with the tire/wheel/stance setup then go from there.

[kevinr1970]

As for a lift, could you just do a body lift?

[Prerunner1982]

I dont think the 10" width is necessary and not sure if it will cause any further clearance problems. 8" will work fine. My tires actually barely cleared the upper fenderlip when compressed so depending on the backspacing you run they may actually contact the upper edge of the fender.
Put in 1ton coils up front and it will bring the front up and level out the stance of the truck and give you the extra inch or two you need. The back wont have any problem clearing 32"s or 33"s.
I had about 3/4" of clearance between the tire (32") and the lower fender at the closest point while turning.
Another option, depending on the money you want to put into this is to go with fiberglass fenders, which allow 35"s with no lifting.


Front Fenders:
http://glassworksunlimited.com/frontfenders.html
http://www.hannemannfiberglass.com/c...457567&page=15

Bedsides:
http://glassworksunlimited.com/bedsides.html

[Tony_SS]

I'm still having a hard time finding the right tires. I really don't want an aggressive tread looking like a 4wd wanna-be.

I like the BFG Radial T/A's in a 285/60-16. They are about 30" tall and I could fit a 16x10 rim. But still its not the exact tread I was looking for.

I love the Baja T/A's but the price on those is insane. I'd like to find something similar in a tire but no luck so far. Any idea's Prerunner?

[Tony_SS]

Update.. found my tires. Nitto Dura Grapplers. 305-70-16 (32x12.50)



They technically are a heavy duty highway/tow tire which will suit my needs perfect, since I do alot of highway driving.

Now I have to find a decent 16x10 lightweight wheel.

[thebrown83]

how much different are 88-98 control arms than 73-87? what would it take to put extended control arms from an 88-98 onto a 73-87 and keep the coil springs? is it possible? if it is possible to put on 88-98 extended control arms then you could even use stock spindles and only have about 3" lift but wider track width and more travel. does anyone know?

[Prerunner1982]

Originally Posted by thebrown83

how much different are 88-98 control arms than 73-87? what would it take to put extended control arms from an 88-98 onto a 73-87 and keep the coil springs? is it possible? if it is possible to put on 88-98 extended control arms then you could even use stock spindles and only have about 3" lift but wider track width and more travel. does anyone know?

I have looked into this and talked to other people about it and it seems very doable since a common thing for the 67-72s is to put 88-98 front end parts on. The 67-72 and 73-87 suspension are pretty close so the same idea should work. As far as what parts need to be swapped I do not remember. My 82 was decomissioned long ago, so that list has been forgotten. I want to say the lower control arms need to be replaced with 3/4 ton units using the 88-98 ball joints.. but dont remember what else.

[Tony_SS]

Fabtech does make a kit for the 73-87's which is basically just coil springs and ball joint spacers and lifts the front 3".

I'm going to try some HD springs or a spacer to level out the stance raising it an inch. That should clear the 32's.

[Prerunner1982]

The kits arent really worth the money, yes they lift it but due to the design of the front suspension it does nothing to help the performance. The upper A-arms will hit the upper coil spring buckets and you will have no down travel. Which you need, not only off road but on to have proper suspension movement. If this was going to be a desert truck it would need longer control arms either the mounts moved in or ending up with a wider stance) and coil over shocks.

[Prerunner1982]

Also, when you lift the truck it increases the ball joint and tie rod angles. As you mentioned most kits come with the ball joint spacers.. I realize this is probably more than you needed but thought I would put it out there anyways.

See the circles in the pictures for the problem areas.

[Prerunner1982]

The HD coils and spacers should be enough to clear the 32"s with little or no problem. I think with the spacers though it might lift the front up a bit too high depending on the condition of the rear springs. The HD coils alone levelled out my truck. Due to geometry a 3/4" spacer will provide more than 3/4" of lift. Infact I think it is about 2"..

Sorry about the 3 different post, it wasnt until I finished this one did I notice we got the Edit button back.

[Tony_SS]

Thanks Jon. You're right, that setup looks horrible. Yikes.

I'm going to talk to Marcus and SC&C. He's really helped me on my car, maybe he can help here too.

I think I'll add the wheel/tire setup first, then determine how much clearance I need and the best way to do it. Like you said, the HD springs ought to do the trick alone.

[JohnC]

If someone is looking at doing this I will have a set of 3" Fabtech lift coil springs I will be taking off of my 1/2 ton here in the next couple weeks. PM me if interested. The truck now has the 3" lift springs, and then I think 1" or 2" blocks in the back. It's running 31x10.50 tires on 15x8 rims. You can check out the pics in my album.

[Prerunner1982]

Originally Posted by Tony_SS

Thanks Jon. You're right, that setup looks horrible. Yikes.

I'm going to talk to Marcus and SC&C. He's really helped me on my car, maybe he can help here too.

I think I'll add the wheel/tire setup first, then determine how much clearance I need and the best way to do it. Like you said, the HD springs ought to do the trick alone.

It's not necessarily that particular set up or that truck I was trying to pick on, it's the design of the front suspension that is the problem.. unless you go custom there really isnt much you can do.

[eganracing]

I have a set of fabtech 4" "long travel" control arms and coils that would give you that prerunner style if your interested

[Driveway Dreams]

TONY SS: Have you looked into the Nitto Dune Grappler? It has a cool look for the street without being too aggressive. But it does not look so much like a big rig tire got shrunk down. Might be an option to consider.

[powerhouse199216]

Originally Posted by eganracing

I have a set of fabtech 4" "long travel" control arms and coils that would give you that prerunner style if your interested

still have this or can you help me out with my post