Just wondering if anyone has info on an aussie company that makes lift kits??

I remember seeing an ad in a mag ages ago,

PS I'm talking a body lift not suspension.

Yep Sharpbuilt do them. Go to http://www.sharpbuilt.com 

Contact the Manx Club, They can put you in contact with the right people.

thanks guys I'll try em out!

WTF do you need that for? :alien

Dude, forget the lift, and body drop that thing!LOL

N!

i priced a 2'' lift kit from sharpbuild and was about 500 bux same as 3"
all alloy but all u real need is the from part

http://www.sharpbuilt.com.au  try this as the other one was for a kitchen co.



[Edited on 6-7-04 by pod]

Thanx guys!

Nectar did'nt you know??

I've given up on the resto look,
AND GONE FOR THE MUDDY LOOK!!!!!

Ive switched to the dark side.

and now u will never go back

check out this link for a DIY 2' lift kit
http://sandlizrd.baja.com/2inchlft.htm 
marcel

[Edited on 12-7-2004 by type82e]

Thanx alot guys, I'm in the process of bringing my dads old desert bug back to life, after sitting in the grave yard for a couple of years, its in need of a little TLC. I put in a dual port 1600, should be ready for rego in the next month or so and then I will be putting the country buggy running gear back underneath and I might have a go at making my own lift kit for it.

John at VW ctr in Osborne park Perth does a 2 inch lift kit fully welded up for $230- this is about the only thing i would ever buy off him.

John at VW ctr in Osborne park Perth does a 2 inch lift kit fully welded up for $230- this is about the only thing i would ever buy off him.

John at VW ctr in Osborne park Perth does a 2 inch lift kit fully welded up for $230- this is about the only thing i would ever buy off him.

For those who have fitted body lift kits-whats some of the tricks you need to know about-eg- lifting up the seats so you can see out the windscreen,how do you hook up the steering shaft to the box,what do you do for the engine bay sealing if it's not Baja'd and any other things to look out for?????????Sorry to hijak your post but you probably need to know this stuff as well.

I assume this lifts the body above the pan? no offence, but what's the point if it doesn't increase ground clearance? just to be able to run bigger wheels?

it makes wheel to body clearance so you can run bigger wheels and better suspension travel.......... not the that it is very legal... lift kit is up to 2 inch, but not much elsel is..... bloody fourbies get away with anything though, so unfair

Hmm.....bigger wheels=more ground clearance

Hey Rhett,

whats wrong with RHS and a little welding and grinding? Tip: sleeve the bolt holes with pipe to stop the tube crushing.

If you used strap and angle you could have more lift at the rear and less at the front, for that going somewhere look.

AzzA

[Edited on 19-7-2004 by AzzA]

So it appears no body has fitted a body lift kit yet.

I have a 2" body lift kit. I bought the sharpbuilt front yoke (tricky to make) and made the rest myself. fourbies are limited to 2" too.

Body lift helps with tyre clearance, gearbox clearance, and engine clearance.

here you can see the lift kit sitting on my pan. I ran the nose cone of the gearbox through it


you can also see it a little here


bits I made here


crap picture of it all on the pan here

wes
how much is just the front piece to buy?
you just used 25mm* 50mm rhs?
marcel

I used 25x50mm RHS, I basically built it underneath the body of the baja, bolt it to and tacking it as I go.

It was 3 years ago so I can't remember the price exactly, but I think it was around $150.

You also have to make some spacers for in front of the fuel tank (2 places), and the rear shock towers (4 places)

For the steering column, it is still bolted to the underneath of the dash, and then angles down to the steering box. The stock rubber steering joint handles the small angle. I cut the front firewall around the steering column hole, fitted it all up and then rewelded the steering column back in to the front firewall in a slightly lower position.

I raised the seats 2inches. front seats only as the back seat raises itself with the body.

Thanks Wes-Thats what I was after.Looks like a fairly simple job.Steering column was the thing that concerned the most but figured I would do it just as you described.Even thought about cutting a piece from a wreck around the hole and have it overlap the original hole (which would be cut out) and then have it bolt up with slotted holes like early Fords and Holdens.Whatever was the easiest.

I made and fitted my own lift kit to my baja too. Like Wes, I used 50 x 25 RHS. One thing that caught me was that when i got my bolts, I forgot to request the length of thread. Consequently, the threads weren't quite long enough to tighten fully and I had to borrow a "tap and die" set to get the extra smidge I needed. Pain in the ass.

Hmm, the steering column wasn't much of an issue; pretty easy compared to the other stuff. I found that getting all the holes in the right place was the worst bit. Mine ended up slightly oversise but no major dramas.

I didn't want to buy the front section, so instead I just cut and welded the sides of my front "yoke" out of the RHS and welded it to the side sections of the kit too.. Then on top, I cut a bit of 30 x 55-or-so rubber strap so that it fitted into the RHS. Bit of silastic on the ends and jam it in as you jack it up. Worked a treat. Nice and strong and bent to fit the curve perfectly.

I was on my own when i jacked the pan up to the body to put the kit in. (I had stripped the pan bare beforehand and done an IRS conversion.) It was a bit stressful. Tryign to get the two seals, that body sealant goo stuff and the bolts etc lined up was a bit on the crappy side. Funnily enough, it all worked fine.

So yeh, that is my experience with it. Good luck mate. I was 18 and did it myself, so most people should be able to do it if they don't give up. Bit of cutting, bit of welding, bit of grinding, bit of bending, bit of bashing, bit of swearing, bit of crying ...peice of piss.

yeah a bit of swearing was involved

to help get the bolts through the lift kit and 2 body to pan seals grind the bolt ends to points, like the factory bolts. Makes them self guiding. Then using an air rachet to screw them in while force them a little seemed to work ok.

I got the bolts down one side, and then wen't to the other side. I put a jack sideways between the tunnel and the body to push the body sideways in fine adjustments. Check to see if the holes were aligned using a screw driver and make small jack adjustments until I could get the bolts through.