What size lift to clear 40s?

[78k10bro]

I have a 78 chevy k10, I’m about to swap a 14 bolt rear and Dana 44 front. I have some 39.5 super swampers that I’m going to put in it but I’m wonder if an 8inch lift will clear them? I’m willing to cut my fender a little but no body lifts. Thanks

 

[nvrenuf]

If you wheel it hard and/or have a flexy suspension it'll rub but if on the street or light wheeling you can get away with a light trim on the rear of the front fender wheel openings.

Note: wheel width and offset are HUGE factors in what fits vs hits. 12"+ wide wheels are more likely to hit. Wheels with more offset than a stock wheel are more likely to hit. Wide wheels and more offset will hit.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Excessive body lift is silly, but can be very useful in situations like you mention. To eliminate rubbing I'd gladly put 1-2" body lift on a truck before I'd ever dream of trimming fenders on anything. I've lifted a handful of trucks in my day and always try to do it all suspension. But sometimes it's unreasonable to go ALL suspension and an inch or two body is needed in addition to the already large suspension lift.

 

[CalSgt]

Excessive body lift is silly, but can be very useful in situations like you mention. To eliminate rubbing I'd gladly put 1-2" body lift on a truck before I'd ever dream of trimming fenders on anything. I've lifted a handful of trucks in my day and always try to do it all suspension. But sometimes it's unreasonable to go ALL suspension and an inch or two body is needed in addition to the already large suspension lift.

^^^^^ This

I hate body lifts but if I wanted to run giant tires with minimal rubbing I'd consider a 1" or 2" body lift before trimming wheel openings. Also, a body lift will gain tire clearance while maintaining an effectively lower center of gravity.

 

[Juggernaut]

I ran a 6" suspension with 2" body lift. The fenders were cut back a lot, but I had no rub. Body lifts have their pro's and con's. For one, it makes it super easy to change spark plugs. There's more clearance for working on transfer case and transmission. More clearance for exhaust. Con is that ugly ass gap between the bed and frame. You have to lengthen shifter linkage. Cut out a bigger hole for the transfer case shifter and lengthen your steering shaft. I believe the pros outweigh the cons. The cons can easily be fixed, but when working on the truck you'll love the pros! And believe me, if you seriously off road the truck, you will be working on it!

 

[78k10bro]

Don’t plan on doing any hard core wheeling, she’s gonna be my daily when I start driving and mostly just logging roads and light trails. If i go with the body lift should I just change to a jeep Cherokee steering shaft and make that fit? I’ve heard it’s better than the stock ones. I’m also debating on going with a 12 inch lift but idk if that would be to big and make those tires look small.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Don’t plan on doing any hard core wheeling, she’s gonna be my daily when I start driving and mostly just logging roads and light trails. If i go with the body lift should I just change to a jeep Cherokee steering shaft and make that fit? I’ve heard it’s better than the stock ones. I’m also debating on going with a 12 inch lift but idk if that would be to big and make those tires look small.

If you're already thinking of doing the Jeep steering shaft swap, just do it anyway it's supposedly a huge improvement over stock (eliminates steering wheel slop). I haven't done it yet but it's sure on my to-do list. Also, it is a little longer than stock and needs collapsing to fit in a square, it might actually be a good fit with a slight lift (I do say slight because once again a huge body lift looks like ****, but an inch or two is barely noticeable, especially if you make/buy a bumper relocation bracket).

Also, it would take a lot to make 40s look small. But 12" suspension lift might be kind of unruly if you're planning on dailying the thing

 

[Rumbledawg]

with a 8" lift, i would put some bushwacker cut out flares on it instead.
cut out flares are like a 3" body lift without the hassles (shifter linkage, fan shroud, grounds, shorter t-case shifter, goofy gap on your bumpers and box.....)
i have an 8" lift with cut-outs and it clears a 42" with room to spare, stuffed, drooping or lock to lock.

 

[78k10bro]

@Rumbledawg

those fender flares don’t sound like a bad idea.. do you have any pics of your truck with them on? I’d love to see it

 

[Rumbledawg]

https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/post-a-pic-of-your-square.12480/page-138#post-686657

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[hirschdalechevy]

9 inches of lift , 8 inch springs with 1 inch 0 rate blocks, crossover steering a must in my opinion, 38's with a little fender trim and i still touch the fender's sometimes and i wheel it hard as well

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[78k10bro]

I’m about to get a bds 8 inch lift but it comes with 56 inch springs. The Dana 44 I’m getting comes with a b-52 hanger set so I can run them on the front but what do I need to run them in the back?

 

[nvrenuf]

Longer springs in the front is a tricky and expensive rabbit hole, be careful.

56" springs up front take some thought, the center pin is offset (26"/30") so depending on which direction you install them you will either move the front axle forward a lot (steering issues) or you'll have a lot of spring out front. In either case, the axle will be on the arc of the spring not the "flat" center which can cause pinion & caster angle issues.

If this is not a HARDCORE wheeler, I would not recommend 56's up front. I really wouldn't recommend 52's on a street driven truck. If it were mine, I'd run a regular lift spring up front and move the front spring rear hanger forward some to improve the shackle angle and allow more droop.

Also, running rear springs up front will net around an additional 4" of lift. 8" rear springs up front will give you about 12" of suspension lift.


If you want to run longer springs in the back you can simply move the stock rear spring rear hanger back an appropriate amount (4" rearward to put 56's on a truck that had 52's). If you have a shackle flip, most companies build there's with an offset so switching them side to side will usually accommodate a 56" spring.

 

[85K304SPD]

Don't forget that you will have to be able to get in and out of the cab... without hanging on the steering wheel.

 

[Frankenchevy]

The question no one is asking is, why run 40 inch tires on a truck that could get away with running some 33s or 35s?