Lifting a G30

[Lieutenant Van]

Hi guys,

I've got a 2wd G30 Diesel with ugly rims and small street tires that needs new big shoes. There's very little (read:zero) information easily available on this subject.

I've read that "35's kinda possibly maybe idunno fit on my dad's 4wd G20 suspension with 3" lift back in the day"on other boards but that does me as much good as a screen door in a submarine.

Ive got the heaviest springs made for the G-Vans. Longer springs on the stock arms will throw off the camber. Aftermarket G-Van soecific FRONT kits, upper arms or lift spindles dont seem to exist, but I've heard that full size trucks shared components with vans.

Can anyone with personal experience shed any light?

Thanks!

 

[1stDeuce]

If you get some lift via coil spacers or taller front springs (not sure where from...) there are solutions for fixing camber. I believe there are offset upper control arm bushings that will fit and provide 1 degree of camber change. I don't believe any 8 lug van parts interchange directly with trucks, but with mods, some of the truck pieces from previous generations can be used to convert them to 4wd... You MIGHT be able to buy some of the lower control arm bracketry from Quigly, along with the torsion bar crossmember, then add some junkyard parts and get a torsion bar front suspension, which would be somewhat adjustable...

Looking at the Quigly vans that my work neighbors have, 35's are pretty much out of the question without significant lift... They're running 265's on stock wheels without rubbing, so you might be able to get a 255/85R16 to fit as well, but I'd bet you'll need to do some trimming/bashing to fit a 285, especially if mounted on a wider aftermarket wheel.

Also, I'd suggest that if there's some tire rub at stock height, a mild lift (coil spacers or taller coils on the front) will only prevent that rubbing on the street. As soon as the going gets rough, and the suspension compresses to that same position, you'll have rubbing again... My advice would be to get the the biggest tire on it you can via a little trimming if necessary, just as it sits. Then, if you still want a little more ground clearance, look into springs/spacers/rear blocks.

And do post up some pictures when you're done!!

 

[1stDeuce]

It appears you should be browsing the 4wd/2wd camper van section lower down in the forums list... Here's a recent post about lifts for these vans, currently the Quigly version, but they're promising a 2wd kit soon too... http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/168705-Chevrolet-suspension-lift-(2-wheel-drive)

Good luck!!

 

[chilliwak]

Why not just sas that van? It would look so good with leaf springs in the front and lifted with 4by4!:drool:

 

[G35Vortec454]

When I did my G35, I used a Fabtech 4" spindle lift. It's not a bolt on, I had to ream the hole in the spindle to fit/match non-stock tie rod ends a d uppre ball joints. And drilled holes on the upper control arms in order to bolt the upper ball joints. But that was about it. I drove it for more than a year with ARB lockers in the rear before I put a Dana 60 with locker in the front also. I sold the spindles soon after.

 

[Lieutenant Van]

I thought I would follow up, despite the age of this thread.

I ordered the Chevy 1500 4.5” spindles and immediately noticed a major problem: brakes.

My 1993 has a 9200lb GVWR and beefy brakes to match. The 1500 uses a completely different brake setup. In total, the upper ball joint would need to be replaced, upper arm drilled to match, tie rod hole reamed and boss shaved (1/8” thicker casting on the 1500 spindles), and possibly new hub or new wheel bearings depending on size of the spindles.

Thankfully, three days after receiving the spindles I found and bought a running 4x4 G30 in PHX for cheap because it had rolled over years ago and ended up an unfinished convertible project.

In the meantime, I installed “stock” springs for a 454 or 6.2L and spacers for G Vans that I bought on ebay. The part for the springs was Moog 6454. Total cost of parts was about $110 plus tax.

This gives enough lift to clear 32” BFGs with fender trimming at the rear.

 

[chilliwak]

Without jacking this thread I would love to have seen pics of your van Mr Vortec. I would also like to see pics of your progress Lieutenant Van. Cheers, Chilli.. ?