How do I lift an el camino 1-2"?

[crazydavez28]

I want to lift my El Camino 1.5~2.5" from where it currently sits. I'm running 225/70r15 in front and 225/75r15 in back on N90 wheels. The tires look a little big for the wheel wells but they should look about the way i want them to after a lift.

The only thing I have done so far is switch the rear springs out for 4th gen F-body springs that raised car 1/2". Was going to put in factory style air shocks to help them out but that seems like a band-aid fix. I've read about B-body springs and big block springs for the front but don't know if they will reach the 1.5-2.5'"(preferably 2+) mark? I am not afraid of fabrication and would gladly modify my control arms if need be.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Here's how mine looked with "B" body rear springs and "F" body front springs, as well as 225-75-15 tires all around. I later lowered the rear a bit with JC Whitney "high jackers" which are springs that are spec'd for our cars, but with 2-3" of lift.

 

[L.A.X-RATED]

Used 2" lift cups and shock extenders w/longer shocks.

 

[crazydavez28]

Here's how mine looked with "B" body rear springs and "F" body front springs, as well as 225-75-15 tires all around. I later lowered the rear a bit with JC Whitney "high jackers" which are springs that are spec'd for our cars, but with 2-3" of lift.

great info, any particular B-body springs? do I need B-body shocks for the extra height?

How high did the F-body springs raise the front?
I want just a little rake but nothing crazy actually the height difference in the tires would be enough


big block springs and shock extenders on the front?

 

[Bonnewagon]

I used 1979 Buick LeSabre rear springs, because I had them laying around. I needed shock extensions even with coil-over shocks. For the front I used 1979 Firebird Formula 301 springs because I was putting that same 301 into the wagon. The stock "F" body front springs will raise the front about 2-3" just because the overall area between the lower control arm and the top spring cup is shorter on an "A" or "G" body. The 301 springs were a perfect match for the 301's weight. I used Trans Am 400 springs once with a 400 motor and the front end pointed to the sky, so I ended up cutting 3/4 of a coil off to drop it down. This increased the spring rate but that was a good thing with the 400 in there.

 

[crazydavez28]

Looking at Moog-5245 for the rear for 3.3" Lift and Moog-5376 for the front ~1.9" lift depending on suspension geometry it may be more. Do these sound about right?

 

[crazydavez28]

ok, here's an easy one. How do I get the front coils out? and then how do I get even stiffer longer coils back in??? No emergency I just want to be prepared when my springs arrive.

 

[crazydavez28]

so i changed my goals a little bit when looking at the options out there. Moog has a great selection of springs to choose from. Was shooting for 3.3" of lift and decent ride quality. So I went with Moog 623 cargo coils and some Monroe MA719 shocks to boot. Those shocks are 3.5" longer than stock at full droop and actually extend 1/2" past axle full droop on my Elky and have 1.5" more travel than stock. Must have done something right b/c I hit the 3.3" mark dead on with very little air in the shocks. Rides smooth and nothing like those old saggy springs. Hopefully the front goes as well, then we'll see how good of an engineer I really am. Shooting for 2.1" in front.

 

[crazydavez28]

well, after much suffering the front springs are in and accomplish what i wanted.

anybody know where a good place would be to get higher clearance upper A-Arms? the stock ones are just off the bump stops when sitting there. would like to have some extra extension capability to make sure that I don't ride on the bump stops

 

[bawazir]

jerket a little