How to identify the amount of suspension lift?

Mossie · May 6, 2010

I am a newbie to the EB and was curious how I go about identifying how much of a suspension lift that I have. I have been trying to pick up some Ranchos shocks based on what I was told the lift was and can't seem to get it right.

Is there some simple measurements that I can perform so that I can save some time ordering parts?

I am running 32.5 BFG's and have rolled front fenders on my 1972 Bronco sport.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Mossie

Miker · May 6, 2010

Welcome to CB. Alot of wicked smart Bronco guys in here. Wish I was one of em'

Can you post up some pics? That will help us give you some sort of idea.

Mossie · May 6, 2010

This is one of the few pics I have.

Anything specific I should photograph?

Terkish · May 6, 2010

You can measure from the top of the axle to the frame to find out how much lift you have.
BC Broncos has the how to and what your measurement means. Welcome to the addiction.

http://www.bcbroncos.com/springheight.pdf

MarsChariot · May 6, 2010

http://www.bcbroncos.com/techtips08.html
"Measuring Spring Height" shows how to determine lift.

Mossie · May 6, 2010

I will head to the links. Here is a picture I just took.

K Bar S Dual shocks

Thanks for the repsonses.

Mossie · May 6, 2010

Here is the pic.

Mossie · May 6, 2010

Hmmm....7.5"....and stock is 7"? Wow, far short of the advertised amount of lift!

Bigger problem is I have a James Duff Full exhaust with headers arriving Monday and apparently a minimum suspension lift of 2" is needed to clear the driveline without mods.

Not a happy Thursday discovery!!!

DirtDonk · May 7, 2010

Well, unless you're going wheeling soon, you could temporarily leave the driveshaft off (blasphemy!) just to get by until you figure it all out.
Then again, since, as we've come to find out, "your results may vary", when it comes to Broncos, your stuff might just work anyway!

I see you've got air-bags too. Not that common anymore, but were very popular for years. You can pump the bags up to get more lift (more than you might think in fact), but your ride will suffer greatly.
At least your nice new shiny headers might fit though, so it could be worth it.

As for shocks, lifted or not, you can measure from mount-to-mount and use that dimension for your needs. All the Rancho catalogs used to have a full specification page in the back. You can figure out where your length would put the shock close to the middle and run with that.
You don't get the exact valving that Rancho designed for the Bronco that way, but they don't always valve for each vehicle anyway. It's one big compromise sometimes.

And another thing to think about here is, don't go spending on new shocks for the current setup, if you're going to end up altering the suspension soon. You might just find you have to get new ones again!
That would suck.

Good luck.

Paul

ol gray mare · May 7, 2010

That old K bar S stuff sure brings back some memories. I used to have a bunch of that stuff on mine. As you upgrade, I'd be inclined to box up the vintage performance parts and put them away somewhere. That stuff was state of the art some 30 years ago, kind of like antiques..ya know. I bet it would be worth some cash to a guy restoring an old racer for instance. A good example of the retro hot rod thing is my older brother recently paid almost $300 for an old Edelbrock, SBC three-two's manifold with three Stromberg 97s (50's stuff) for his old '27 roadster. Not so long ago they'd been worth more as scrap aluminum.

Mossie · May 7, 2010

I have decided to just utillize shocks for the stock ride height and possibly look at going to a lift sometime down the road possibly when the tires need to be replaced. I actually like its stance right now.

I spoke to a tech at James Duff today and he indicated that the exhaust setup will "likely" work just fine with the stock suspension so I will cross my fingers until next week when it arrives. The driver side should be the only possible problem so I will start there.

Yea, tried the airbag solution but I think I will keep my fillings in my teeth!;D

I save all parts including including those that will be coming off soon. I am actually planning to use some of the old components, if possible, down the road if I decide to do a modest lift.

I believe that the rear (4) shocks are from the original "Stroppe" setup and I need to start doing some research on whether or not the Gabriel Shocks can be reconditioned to be used once again. They are in rough shape but nothing that a bead blaster, some paint, and a rebuild can't fix. I believe the steering wheel is also a Stroppe item and I am not sure if there is somebody out there that can rebuild that also.

So many things to do.....so little money available!!

ol gray mare · May 7, 2010

Quote:
I believe that the rear (4) shocks are from the original "Stroppe" setup and I need to start doing some research on whether or not the Gabriel Shocks can be reconditioned to be used once again. They are in rough shape but nothing that a bead blaster, some paint, and a rebuild can't fix. I believe the steering wheel is also a Stroppe item and I am not sure if there is somebody out there that can rebuild that also.

Is it an old Baja or does it have a Stroppe kit, or maybe just some random upgrades? You just might have a real jewel there amigo! Does it have a auto trans and power steering?

Mossie · May 7, 2010

It had the Stroppe Steering box long ago but was replaced with a West Coast Bronco Box.

My understanding is that the vehicle was sent to Stroppe to add the "Baja" package after purchase.

At that time, it received the Stroppe toploader 4-speed tranny.

It is far from "original" at this point in time but I would like to slowly take it back to an "authentic" state over time.

ol gray mare · May 7, 2010

Very cool, very rare. I look forward to watching your progress. There's an article in the Jan/Feb 2005 Bronco Driver Magazine about just such a Bronco. Intresting reading if you haven't already seen it. Jim

How to identify the amount of suspension lift?

Mossie

Jr. Member

Miker

Bronco Guru

Mossie

Jr. Member

Terkish

Sr. Member

MarsChariot

Planetary Offroader

Mossie

Jr. Member

Mossie

Jr. Member

Mossie

Jr. Member

DirtDonk

Bronco Guru

ol gray mare

Sr. Member

Mossie

Jr. Member

ol gray mare

Sr. Member

Mossie

Jr. Member

ol gray mare

Sr. Member

Similar threads