ThreeSheds Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Hi, I have just fitted a 30mm body lift to the 1990 RRC which has standard (slightly H-D) suspension. The main reason for doing this was to affordably get more clearance under the back of the rear wheel arches for the 235/85R16 mud tyres which were just lightly catching at full articulation. During fitting it became apparent that, for me at least, this is the Goldilocks of lifts - not too big and not too little - and so I thought I would write it up giving thoughts, ideas and discoveries made along the way. Cost and time for me are major considerations and so I didn't want to have to start replacing or moving more than was absolutely necessary. Usage To help with understanding my reasoning below, here's a quick note on my normal usage: Typically I will use the car only for green-laning and driving to/from and competing in RTV type trials. Occasionally it will get used for a 600 mile round trip to Scotland. I am not particularly competitive offroad, preferring to bimble around and have fun. Appearance/Cost I didn't want the thing to look like it is on stilts, I wanted a little more height for the tyre clearance but that was it really. Avoiding additionally cost is a significant factor for me. Fitting Notes Steering joints: The splined joint in the steering column undid easily during fitting and when I came to do them up I noticed that with a 30mm lift each spline only needed to be slid out to it's maximum fully-engaged position to allow for the additional drop from body to chassis. Additionally the angles at which the joins are now working is not noticeably different to standard - "Goldilocks" I thought Middle body mounts: The middle mounts - between the chassis legs - the ones that are threaded and mounted on a 'hinge' (for want of a better word) and look like they are intended to strengthen the floor in the area of the bask mounting of the front seats - probably for the seat-belts I think. These mounts have an extra length of threaded section which can just nicely accommodate a 30mm lift without having to replace them. "Goldilocks" I thought Transmission tunnel clearance: When removing the engine it was apparent that the top transmission tunnel bolts are a bit of a biatch to get to - clearance in this area is going to be significantly improved with the 30mm lift. Any less wouldn't make much difference, any more would cause other problems - "Goldilocks" I thought Gear levers: With a 30mm lift it is not necessary to touch the gear levers at all. In fact they still look relatively normal in their new, 'shorter' form - "Goldilocks" I thought Hydraulics: The (flexi) brake pipes will always need replacing with any body lift, but at least with a 30mm lift the clutch flexible pipe makes it ok, although I have replaced mine anyway for other reasons. Bumpers: With higher lifts the bumpers need to be relocated so that they still look right with the bodywork. I already had a higher than normal front bumper which looks fine with the new lift, and I have found that the rear looks ok too apart from a gap under the lower tailgate which I will easily be able to fill with something later - "Goldilocks" I thought Fuel filler pipe: With higher lifts it might become necessary to modify the fuel filler pipe whilst the standard flexible filler pipe can easily accommodate a 30mm lift - "Goldilocks" I thought (note to self: Check that I have tightened the clamps up!!! Radiator etc: With a 30mm lift it is possible to leave the radiator in it's standard position wrt the chassis and engine (and leave the fan cowl in place) and only re-mount the upper mounting brackets - a small job and another "Goldilocks" I thought I will return to this topic later with some photos, but for now I just wanted to post this up in case it helps anyone currently on the fence about body lifts. Incidentally, I went for Wizardbilt spacers (he will make them to any size you want and seems reasonable in price and good on delivery - no connection) and self-sourced extra-length 10mm high tensile bolts. I had to 'ream' the rust out of a couple of the big top-hat washers with a 10mm drill, but apart from that I had no problems lining anything up or getting the bolts through. The standard LR bolts are 'special' items, but this is (in my humble opinion) solely because they have a point on the end to aid production-line assembly of the body to the chassis - I don't believe them to be anything special in other way. TTFN Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 bet you love mildly warm just sweetend porrige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted March 24, 2010 Author Share Posted March 24, 2010 A couple of extra points - The clutch hose did reach with the standard (body-mount) fixing between it and the rigid 'top' pipe, but once the weight of the engine was fully on the rubbers, it was too tight for comfort - so the easiest solution was to make another bracket and ease the rigid pipe down a little. As predicted the bell-housing bolts are so much easier to get at now - I actually managed to use a torque-wrench and multiple extensions to get at the top two, so all of them are now correctly torqued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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