I have an 83 cj7 and needed some suggestions on a lift kit.

[Chugger]

Paragon pics from this weekend

I have a 1983 jeep cj7 i just purchased and want to lift it. This is what i am considering. The SOA with the revolving shackles either revolver or teraflex i havent decided on that. but i will be running 33x14.50x 15 boggers with 15x12 mt classic 2's. What shocks should i use, bilstein rancho, pro-comp this will be a road vehicle but off road will manily cosist of rocks and mud. Mostly rocks though. I am looking into running a dual shock conversion all the way around. because i have no power steering a dual steering stabilizer. What length shocks will I need to get teh full use out of my revolving shackles. I know i ll also need a drop pitman arm, longer stainless brake lines, transfer case lowering kit and shims for the front and rear axels. What else will i need to shop for i have access to a welder and all kinds of fab supplies. I personally am learning to weld but suck at it my beads look like some kind of meesed up caulk line but my friend the one who has all the equipment is a awesome welder so he will be doing the soa if i decide to go that route.
I will also have sway disconnects.
What else should i look for or will i need. Please help me i am a first time jeep owner.
Also it is a 5-speed inline 6 4.0 or 4.2 i believe.
please give me hand.
Thanks
chris

 

[Junkpile]

Have you ever owned Boggers before? If so, and you know what you are getting into, then ignore this........but Boggers are NOT a good choice for a Jeep that sees alot of asphalt. A "step down" to a slightly less aggressive Swamper would be a SMALL compromise on the trail, but sooo much better on the road.

The SOA is an attractive way to lift the Jeep, until you actually have to live with a factory spring SOA CJ. Save the SOA setup for when you want to go big enough that you HAVE to go SOA. My vote would be for a conventional 4" spring lift. That will give you plenty of room to run those 33s and you won't have to battle with springwrap. The increased springrate will help to control those rather heavy little tires in the mud, and as long as you buy a quality kit it will flex great in the rocks. You don't need dual shocks either. A single quality shock will give you the best results in that light little Jeep. Just my opinion.

Do a power steering conversion. The CJ manual steering is hell with big wide tires. You're gonna have forearms like Popeye after wrestling that steering wheel through trails for about 6 months :lol:

 

[Chugger]

The main reason i wanted to go with the soa is the fact that i will def end up with that in the long run and wanted to get it over with and do the suspension once and only once. But the leaf lift does seem like a better option for the time being. What about the revolving shackles is it ok to use those with a spring lift kit or will i need to do some other modifications. i was thinkin maybe a 4 in spring lift and 2in shackle or 4in spring with 1/2 shackle and revolvers with a 2in body. with the 14.50 wide tires work ok on with the mentioned lifts above with a 15x12 wheel? thanks for all the help

 

[Junkpile]

Gauging Interest on CJ3a parts

So.....6-6.5" of lift? That is alot of lift for 33s. My 77 is sitting on a 4" spring, 3" BL, and I think the 1/2" shackles are on there. That's 7.5" and I've got plenty of room for the 36x12.50s that are on there. After I put the TJ flares on, it's getting 38s. Just the 4" spring lift should give you lots of room to flex those 33s. I don't see why you couldn't run a revolver style shackle setup. I have no experience with those and can't really be any help.


The 33" Bogger is a 14" wide and not a 14.5" wide isn't it? I don't think the tread is quite 11.5" wide on that tire. While I like that you want to run a rim that is close to the tread width, the 12" wheel is a little too wide in this case. I'd step back to 10" wide wheels and run a slightly lower pressure.