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I have been Yo-Yo'ing back and forth about the modifications to the thing..

I was going to take it up and increase the travel, but then some local friends (thingers) were talking me into Slaming it..

Well, I think that after all of that, I am back to the "Off Road" thing, it seems more of a fit, for me and the car.

So here are the questions...

If I was to replace the rear trailing arms, what would be the max that I could do?

I was told that 3X3 is too much and it would hit, not sure about this, but asking opinions.

Then the front, to linkpin or not is the question? Maybe I just do what I can to the Ball Joint and call it even?

And for those of you with a body lifts, who did you buy it from, and what did you think of the quality and the ease of install?

Thanks
RF

Randy I like your plans . In regard to the rear arms I think 2X3 is a good number. I personally used 2 1/2 X 2 1/2 and found them to be fine. If you still want to go with a ten inch wider front beam then you will need to use a 5 inch wider rear arm to match it up width wise.
I used my Thing beam to widen. The advantage to a link beam is POTENTIAL TRAVEL. The link pin has more potential for improved travel. The ball joint is a better beam out of the box. If you are not an all out racer then likely the 181 ball joint is going to work for you. Personally I am a rough roader not an off roader. I drive on unimproved roads but do not get airborn so the 181 unit was fine for me.
In regard to the lift kit I made my own from raw materials found at the local metal supply house. Rectangular tubing works well. There are a couple of kits available but I can remember only one of them right now and that is Up Your Bug. I understand that commercial kits are a kind of plastic or neoprene substance. There is not a lot there (kits) to pay $130 or more for though. Spacers and fasteners. Best of luck. Bob Ingman

Bob,

Yes we had the 10" wider discussion earlier, I think that it is overkill now..

They sell 5 and 6" wider beams, so that may be the way that I go. I am not sure about changing the frame head at this point.

I agree, there does not seem to be much to those "Lift kits" but I will have to take a look. I have a friend that is a welder fabricator (has a great shop!) that I am sure would be willing to help with that.

I have the 4" wider rear fenders, need to get the pre-runner fronts so that I have room.

I seen the "Baja" shortend 181 that you posted from the Slammed thread. I have asked David if he has any other pictures of that car, or could get me in contact with the owner. I too liked the way that the back was cut.

I am going to tube the whole car, so at that time, I may just do the LinkPin but till I deside the Ball Joint will work fine.

Where did you get you Trailing arms from? What else had to change to get that done?

I have just ordered Pre-Runner bumpers from Kenperfab ( http://www.kemperfab.com ) I bought the "Texan" for the front and the "double Tube" for the rear, also had him make them 6" wider and add a pre-runner loop to the rear bumper. Should be here by the end of the month.

Thanks, I aways enjoy your posts.

Randy

I was looking at the pictures that are posted on "The Samba" of your Thing.

What size tires are you running?

Can you post some detailed pictures of the set up?

Also you said that you extended your front beam, by how much? What else did you do to the front and rear for that matter.

Thanks
Randy

Randy the front beam of my thing has been widened by six inches with a cut and turn plus adjusters added.
The rear arms were purchased from Autosport International in Vancouver Washington. They cost about $420 but in my opinion are worth more than that when compared to the Taiwan and Chinese productions commonly on the market. They are works of art. No foolin. They are the best thing on the car. The welds look like Indian bead work. Just perfect. They are tubular with boxed ends. Best of all is the fit. I was trying to go with some home made jobs and they just did not work out. Made the rear wheels look as if the car had been T-boned. Finally I got tired of jury rigging and went down and bought the best ones I could find, and glad i did too!
If you look back a few weeks and find the thread Panasonic Welder by nathan there is a better description of the modifications there. Best of luck. Bob Ingman

Bob Ingman wrote: In regard to the lift kit I made my own from raw materials found at the local metal supply house. Rectangular tubing works well. There are a couple of kits available but I can remember only one of them right now and that is Up Your Bug. I understand that commercial kits are a kind of plastic or neoprene substance. There is not a lot there (kits) to pay $130 or more for though. Spacers and fasteners. Best of luck. Bob Ingman

The body lift kits arent plastic or neoprene. Up Yer Bug is the only Co. making a body lift for a Thing, since we all know the floorpan shape is different from a Bug. The cheap $130 body lifts are for a Bug. The Thing body lift has 3 cast aluminum pieces, and 3 rectangular steel tubing pieces, and of course hardware. The Thing body lift is in the $450 range. Thats why I drove to San Diego(about 2 hours) for mine for a "nice" price.

Bob,

On you 2 1/2 X 2 1/2 what axles did you use? Are they stock bus axles?

Thanks
Randy

Yes Randy, stock bus axles fit anything with a 5 total alteration factor. Best of luck. Bob Ingman

So if I read that correctly, 2 1/2 X 2 1/2 = 5" total change so my 2 X 3 which also = 5" are a-okay!

If that is so, I am a happy camper!

Randy

It is so. Happy camper. Best of luck. Bob Ingman

Most accurate way to check for correct axle length is to cycle the rear suspension. Gotta have rear suspension assembled w/o spring plate/torsion bar hooked to trailing arm, must also have stub axle and trans in place.

Push the trailing arm up to the point where the stub axle CV cup is parallel with the transaxle CV cup. Hold it there and measure the distance from the bottom of one CV cup to the bottom of the other. Take that dimension and subtract 1/2". Thats your axle length.

Or as in my case where I had the axles and was reasonably sure of their fit ,do the same thing with the axles and CVs hooked up. That way you can rotate the wheels and check for binding just to be sure. The first set of arms I used would bind up and I was not able to adjust it out. The second set (the quality ones) were a perfect fit through the entire range of travel.
Most arms are designed and made to use a given length axle. At the time of purchase the merchant informed me that the 2 1/2 X 2 1/2 arms were intended to be used with bus length axles. Best of luck. Bob Ingman