some Brat questions

[tomtomtom]

Hi, I'm 6" lifting my 87 brat. I'm doing it by cutting some 6*2 stainless box section into 2" sections, bolting them in place and then bracing them when they're in position and everythings square, then making an extension plate for the diff rather than a new moustache bar.

 

if anyone can answer any of the following i would be grateful!

 

1) can anyone see a fault with my method?

2) will i have to cut much out to fit my 31*11.5-15 Kumho M/T's?

3) are all the bolts that attach the subframes 12mm?

4) can i drill all the holes in the centre of the 2" sections or will they foul on anything more than an amount i can grind off safely?

5) i measured the angle that my strut tops tilt inwards at and it was 12.5 degrees? does that mean i make my tower extensions to that angle?

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[northguy]

#2 - you will need to make some mods - one of which is to bash in the wheel wells for steering clearance on the front wheels. Having only lifted one Brat, I am by no means an expert. Might want to shoot Zap a PM.

[Gloyale]

You will still have to trim the front fenders for 31's

 

I would place some flat bar on the top of the rear blocks to spread the load onto the body sheetmetal. My blocks started crushing into the body until I added some plate up there.

 

12.5 Degrees doesn't sound like enough. I use 16 degrees for these Gen II cars. (22 for Gen I and 18 for Gen III)

 

Use the factory bolts to bolt the block to the body, then use SAE grade 5 hardware to attach subframes to the blocks.

[tomtomtom]

Cheers, if my angle is 12.5 though isn't 16* going to give me negative camber? Also, I don't want to individually unbolt all the subframe bolts to see what size they are, do you know if they're all 12mm?

 

Thanks again,

 

tom

[GeneralDisorder]

I didn't even worry about the angle - I just offset the bottom plate from the top plate inward as far as what the body would allow and built my stut blocks to allow for camber adjustment. That way I can change control arm lengths and such later on at will and only have to slide the strut top in or out to compensate. They are more work to build, but for a one-off it's not that big of a deal.

 

And it's going to pay off in the end since I'm likely going to use EA82 control arms and axles to get more articulation with flatter angles on the axle joints. And nothing on my lift components has to change. Planning ahead has it's benefits sometimes.

 

As far as the body bolts - you don't need to buy any. Just use the one's that are one the car. For the bottom of the blocks use SAE grade 5 stuff since it's cheaper than metric. Use what size you like - 7/16" or 1/2" are typical here.

 

GD

Edited May 1, 2010 by GeneralDisorder