Hi Everyone,

picked up this beauty yesterday:



She's a little rough around the edges but seems to have been well looked after mechanically...

I'm planning on toning down the aggressiveness of the truck and using it as a runaround for the missus, with the odd camping LR club back road trip. This means goodbye super swamper tires, custom bumper, winch and body lift...

I did a search, but couldn't find a tutorial on body lift install/tips. Is anyone aware of any literature on here on the subject?

Cheers

Dave

 

Are you sure there's a body lift and not just a tall suspension lift? The bumpers seem to line up with the body too well for a body lift, normally there would be a gap.

If there is a body lift, it should be as simple as removing bolts, jacking the body up off the frame where you're working, removing the tall spacer, adding a factory style isolator back, and then putting bolts back.

Love the old series in the background.

 

It's got a 2" suspension lift with HD OME springs and adjustable rate shocks - the previous owner did quite a lot to the truck over the years. He also added in 1.5" body lift spacers - these are what I'm trying to get rid of as the wife is only 5ft 5 and the 2" suspension lift will be more than enough for her to have to climb into! Retaining the 2" lift I'll likely ditch the super swampers and go with a more modest 31 inch AT tire...

I thought it would be straightforward, thanks. Do you know what the body mounts look like form factory? guessing there's a rubber isolator inbetween the body and frame but I don't see these on mine.

The PO also mentioned he had to adjust the steering linkage a bit to accommodate the BL...

LOL everyone comments about the old Series in the background of my posts on here - I guess I should finish that project off before picking Discos!

 

I've got a 4'11" mother and a 5' sister, I understand that well. That said, neither of them ever ride mine, so I can make it ad tall as I want at 6'2".

Adjusting the steering linkage shouldn't be hard, at least I wouldn't think. I've never done it, myself, so hopefully someone else will interject. You are correct, there is a rubber isolator that is probably 1/2" thick on a blind guess, but I've never actually looked that close to make a better guess.

Do note, you'll have to either replace or modify the bumpers that are on the truck when you delete the body lift. Otherwise they will come in contact with and cause damage to the body.

Where are you located? If you're relatively nearby, I may be interested in those swampers.

 

Yeah, I'm 6 ft 5 so its perfect for me!

Good point on the bumpers - I'm taking off the front bumper/winch and going back to stock. The rear will need rejigging though.

I live on Vancouver Island, Canadaland. About as far from Virginia as you can get!

Had a little chuckle to myself while rereading my posts - a lot of guys are set on lifting their trucks, throwing big tires underneath and fitting mean bits of metal in place of the stock bumper.... and I'm doing the opposite!

 

Ah, bummer! That is quite a ways. Haha

No doubt, that is a different direction than most people here go, but I can understand for sure. Actually, I've seen a couple of people even asking questions about lowering them below factory height. They were older posts and I feel like the forums have really chilled out in recent years because the people were getting flamed and not receiving any help. Anyway, if you need any more help give us a holler.

 

You are a rarity most are headed the opposite direction. I tend to keep my trucks as stock as possible. If you are 'deleting' the winch and steel front bumper you may need to re-appraise your front shocks and springs as they are often different due to the additional front weight. Also check the driveshafts haven't been modded to accommodate extra body lift.

 

I also note you have an old Series 2 or 2A lurking in the garage

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I've been talking to the PO and he's been a great source of info - apparently no mods were made to the driveline geometry... he just replaced the drive shafts with greasable ones...

I think the front coli springs are HD +2" OME - plenty of guys run those without additional upfront weight, and my shocks are adjustable rate...

The lurker in the background is a 1964 Series 2A 109 - I'm getting there with that one but it's been a long term project... started with a good frame and a box of bits but she's coming together. I have a build thread on another forum if anyone is interested in seeing more pics:

The Rover-Landers of BC ? View topic - Dave's Series 2A Rebuild...

Cheers

Dave

 

so I had a poke around today to get prepared for the job... Couple more questions:

1. Steering linkage - is it just the single bolt (13mm) right up near the firewall that needs to be slackened off?

2. Radiator is currently resting on the frame on passenger side. I assume this needs to be moved upwards before the body is dropped. Whats required to remove/move the rad?

3. Where is the best place to jack on the body while removing the lift on each side?