6 inch lift on 1982 wagoneer

[Jeeper8219]

I am wanting to run 35's on my wagoneer and I seen one with 35s and had a BJ's 6 inch lift and light fender trimming. My question is would it be better to get the 6 inch lift and trim the fenders or go with an SOA? I don't mind doing light fender trimming for a lower c.o.g. I just want to know which is best. My understanding is the SOA has a better ride and more articulation. Thanks

[Stuka]

Even if you go SOA, you have to trim the fenders. Wagoneers just have very tiny fender openings. So unless you jack it to the sky, its better to keep the lift moderate and trim some.

But an SOA works well. But unless you are going with wider axles, I honestly say go with less lift and 33's. Wagoneer axles are fairly narrow compared to most vehicles of their size.

[will e]

The narrowness can actually be an advantage on tight squeezes. What kind of off roading are you planning to do?

[Stuka]

The narrowness can actually be an advantage on tight squeezes. What kind of off roading are you planning to do?

Very true. Being wider can hurt on tight trails. Just have the keep the lift lower.

[Jeeper8219]

Won't be doing anything extreme. Old logging trails, camping/fishing trips, no rock crawling or anything like that. I will get wheels with 4" back spacing

[Jeeper8219]

This is what I want. He has 6 inch lift and 35s with trimming. If there is not a major difference between SOa and sua then I'll just go sua

[mineral co]

I am just wrapping up putting a BDS 4" lift (sua) on my '84 GW. Now that I can actually just sit and look at it, it's clear that going SOA is just an all-around better idea. No doubt more expensive and requires some real and actual skill to implement properly, but if money isn't a paramount concern, I would strongly encourage anybody to consider this compared to a tall sua.

I had read in many places that going SOA gets you six to seven inches of lift, and that seems to fit right into your plans. The spring arc will be relatively flat so skipping trac bars for highway use shouldn't be a problem (though I still think they are a good idea), you can run with fewer leafs in the springs which has the benefit of eliminating a fair amount of unsprung weight, plus you get a lot more clearance under the axle at the outer ends.

Even if somebody wanted to do only a four inch lift with SOA, they could run some springs with a slightly inverted arc (like most all modern larger trucks).

If I decide to get serious into this off-road adventuring, I'll convert mine to SOA and put the new BDS springs up for sale!

Chris

[haminawag]

I have to agree with what Chris said. I bought my '79 with SOA already done, but it was a terrible job, really unsafe and just plain sloppy, so I reconverted to a SUA 4" lift, the kit with springs only cost me $100, it worked out fine, but now that it's done and I've driven it and looked at it I can see that SOA is better. I'll go SOA on it after winter is over, but I'll do it better than the PO did. hint: anti-sway bar is important!

[Jeeper8219]

Yea I've kept looking into it and decided to do Soa. I was looking at the TT's fabwork kits last night. 265 for the kit not counting u-bolts and shocks and all that. Read somewhere that you could put a 6" drop pitman arm on for steering but I believe I'd rather spend the extra money and go the high steer route or crossover. Plus I'd order new springs to replace the old saggy ones. I have some other things to worry about first such as the hole in the frame, which I already ordered the patch kit from team grand wagoneer, and replace my brake lines and some other body work. The jeep runs good but I haven't gotten to drive it so I don't know how well the trans and transfer case is. I bought it with the fuel tank out and I haven't put it back yet because of the hole in the frame

[wewillsurvive]

Jeeper don't use wood as your lift blocks either..... not that you would but someone on here bought an FSJ that had wood lift blocks

[Jeeper8219]

That would be cheap way to do it. I read about that on another thread and also seen a picture of someone that used square tubing for blocks