If I was to start all over with a new 80 series, what would I do different now that I have learned from my mistakes.
I would get the cleanest 1995 white unmolested rust free 80 I could find. In the end, it is worth the extra money. Then pull all the PMs & stop all the leaks. Now that is over & done, its time for the fun to begin.
I would get on order as follows:
4" Superflex arms from Xtreme Overland.
Dobinson front C97-146vt 2.5" lift front coils that nets 3" of lift & rear would be ToughDog 2" TDC949SL (220/280#).
Shocks would be the Ironman Foam Cell Pro, 6" front & 4" rears.
SS braided ext. brake lines, all 7 lines.
Then order up some Timbren AOR 80 series front & 100 series rear bump stops.
Now before I get all that stuff in, I would unbolt & take off the front fenders.
Bust loose the front control arm & panhard bolts. Then take out the stock coils & shocks, then temporally install two hockey pucks to each front side bumpstop.
Bolt on the 39s then articulate the front axle with a tall hydraulic floor jack & 12 ton jack stands. To get a feel of what it will take to trim till the 39s stop hitting metal. Cant really get final cuts till the Hyper arms & eimkieth stuff is installed. The goal is to trim out the forward section of the inner fenders.
Next will be moving the front axle forward 1" via drilling a 18mm hole in the front control arm frame mount. Redline Cruisers makes them or can be DIY.
Remove batteries so I can make a horizontal slice then push it up 1.25 at the end then drill & bolt together. (simpler said) The 24R/34R batteries can be rotated 90* degrees & slid inward closer to the radiator. If I did it like Clifford the red 80 raising the whole fender, I would lose the air box like he did. Yeah, No Go...
Here is "Half-Ass" See they cut the fender up under where the battery goes to clear a 39" tire
The outer core supports will need to be trimmed back to the front body mounts.
For the rear I would order up some Dobison adjustable upper & lower control links because they use OEM rubber bushings that absorbs vibration better and gives a smoother suspension ride. Then adjusting them .5" longer than stock.
Then take out rear stock coils & shocks then mount the 39s on.
Drop 80 strait down on the rear fender then get under the rig & measure how far away the stock bump stops are from the axle. If around 4" then I would be in ball park but if 6", that a lot of hackin...
I would then cut like this to separate the inner & outer sheet metal.
Then I would draw an 40" half arc on some cardboard & cut it out. Then get the cardboard arc & draw a line above the rear fenders. Then pie cut outer sheet metal up to within 1" of the 40" line. Pull pie cuts out up & away to the outside to allow a articulated 39 to go up in there.
Then I would pie cut the inner fender on top 1st then to the rear all the way to the solid vertical section.
Then articulate the 40 one at a time till the 80 raises off the jack stand. Then check how far away from the axle to bump stop. Finish pie cutting the outer fenders to then fold outer fenders 90 degrees so I could then match up inner/out fender sheet metal so I could rivet the fender back together & fiberglass the inner fenders to seal it. See below.
Also when articulating make measurements for the shocks up/down. Make sure the shocks do not bottom out.
Then at this point measure compressed/extended measurements. Ironman foam cell shocks that baldilocks has. The idea is non charged shocks don't push upward to cause roll.
Install rear coils sit on ground & enjoy the view & drink a beer.
After that there is more to do to get trail ready, but at least now you can drive.
