Lift kit options and advice.

[Kender]

Trying to do my research and I have looked all around for info but it is limited for what I am wanting to do.

I have a 1980 El Camino that I would like to lift and make it look more like a truck. I plan on a dark gray paint and blacking out all the chrome. So wheel, tires, ride height need to go with the theme... think Mad Max but daily driven. I am also doing an LS swap. I am thinking about 17inch rims with 245-60r17 tires. I still have to see if there would be rubbing when turning but the circumference should be fine inside the wheel well. It looks like I need about an 8-10" lift to get the look I want. It looks like Universal car lifts is about the only ones with a lift kit for the gbody cars. I won't be racing and this is a daily driver but I do want some good power when I need to step on it to get around in traffic. Is the Universal kit a good brand? It appears to have everything needed. What are the cons to this kind of lift. I currently drive a 05 ram 1500 with 6inch lift so I am not new to riding high just riding high in a gbody. Thanks for any help and advice.

 

[fleming442]

Save yourself a bunch of time and money by slapping the body on a truck frame.

 

[Kender]

The frame swaps I have seen are a lot more chopping and welding than I wanted to go for. The S10 frame is the best match for wheelbase but that's about it, at least from what I have found so far. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to doing a frame swap I just don't have the welding skills nor the tools to do it all myself. The expense is already going to be a big thing on this project.

 

[fleming442]

Well, how much chopping/welding/fabrication do you expect to do lifting a car that was never designed for such shenanigans?

 

[WanaBa442]

 

[84dragcutlass]

There are kits available mainly for lifting Gbodys to put big wheels under. I think the most common would be the universal car lifts ones or the liftabrand kits. Either would do the job you were wanting. Universal is the kit i was going to get to put off road tires under an old malibu i had before i moved and looked like a nice kit.

 

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

Theres plenty of DONK stuff available for these cars. Sounds like you're going for a different look but the lift parts are out there. I cant imagine ride quality would be good with 4" lift spindles though, which is where something much more custom or a frame swap would be the way to go