6" or 7" suspension lift

[F.Y.R.E.]

Sup, I'm thinkin' of raisin', yes, I said raising, my Festy for a truck conversion. I'm lookin' at about 6"to 7". I won't have any problem with the back wheels and suspension, just a little torchin' and weldin'. But the front I'm not too sure of, my guess would be to modify the motor mounts so as to not have the shafts, boots and joints in too much stress. Whatcha think? I'm actually serious about this, lol. htchbck gave me some pointers, the more info the better, thanx.

[F.Y.R.E.]

Well you need to realize lifting your festiva up 3-6 inches is going to ruin its driveability, and yes this was answered last week.

Your car's front wheels are going to be so far pigeon foot'ed that you are going to eat through tires every couple of thousand miles. Also your rear end is going to push the rear tires down and forward when you lift it, do to the swing arms pivot point, if your 12" tires don't rub after 3-6" of lift, then your new larger rims will if you go that route.

Also you have to think of the short wheel base of these cars. Lifting them 6 inches, then putting taller tires on them are going to make them even more unsafe around corners.
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this answered my question, thanx anyways, back to the drawin' board, lol.

[htchbck]

how about just getting a suzuki samauri chassis, jacking that up with big tires (kits are available for it) and then bolting the festy frame on top. The dimensions should be similar enough to make it doable... just trying to add some thoughts to the mix

[F.Y.R.E.]

thanx htchbck, that's what i'm lookin' for, some thoughts, lol.

[MrBadWrench]

yea, tossing the festi onto a truck chassis would be the safest way to do it. ive seen it doen with several vehicles. A honda Civic CVCon a international scout chassis, a geo metro on a S10 chassis and 100 chevy monte carlos, elcaminos and chevelles on chevy pickup chassis.

Ford rangers have a pretty complex 4wd system I would look into an AWD aerostar, I wouldn't chop up a samurai, but thats just me...

Actually there have been some people buiding lift kits for alot of cars and some of them are deviously simple. it just involves spacers and stuff.... but Im assuming you want improved ride hight not just making it look taller.

don

[muscle_Car1]

Or how about the K5 festiva that was on here a few months ago?

[quaddawg]

Geo Tracker, or Suzuki Sidekick would be perfect, I have thought of it too... still thinking of it, cause my Trackers body is shot, but the mechanics are great...

IFS and a live rear, tons of aftermarket.. light and just about the right wheelbase.


I'll do a photchop of my festy, on my Tracker and show you.

be right back

[25Horseplay]

Hmm..........I have a rusty Tracker sitting around!

[quaddawg]

Here you go, you would have to channel the body a bit, to get it to ride this low, and trim the fenders a bit.. but I don't like the tall 4x4's.......too tippy

Sorry the angle is off a bit, but it was a rush job

[25Horseplay]

^^That could be alot of fun!

[quaddawg]

quarter view

[MrBadWrench]

you do realize that the engine will be in between the seats about where your radio is now.

Don

[quaddawg]

lol, yeah, pretty much... but it's not all that bad, I did some measurements.

Just sitting the body on the chassis looks hillbilly as hell though.. I don't like that high body, low frame look.

[F.Y.R.E.]

Here you go, you would have to channel the body a bit, to get it to ride this low, and trim the fenders a bit.. but I don't like the tall 4x4's.......too tippy

Sorry the angle is off a bit, but it was a rush job

THAT, MY FRIEND, IS BEAUTIFUL :shock: :cry:

I might want to go that route, it'll be a tad later, though, but i'll be thinkin' of it everytime I look at my festy, Thanx

[F.Y.R.E.]

you do realize that the engine will be in between the seats about where your radio is now.

Don

that is something to think about. That's a bad thing, right? :?