Solid axle swapping

[Rustykipper]

Morning all, first post here so hope it’s in the relevant section.

Keeping a long story short I have owned for the last 20 add years an American 4x4 S10 blazer, kind of the size and shape of a Vauxhall frontera. I want to carry out a suspension lift and fit some bigger rubber something like 31 or 32 inch. These trucks come from the factory with independent front suspension that is horribly expensive to lift so what our American cousins do is swap in the front axle from a jeep Cherokee using leaf springs. I have seen this done by someone on RAF Lakenheath and he managed to mot it so I know that’s fairly do-able. The thing here is the roads up here in t’north are as rough as hell and leafs just aren’t going to cut it so am looking at link suspension with dual rate coilovers.
Again this is common in the states, the same jeep axle (Dana30) is used but this time a jeep long arm lift kit is fitted to the chevy, then either coil springs or sometimes coil over shocks are used, this sounds just the ticket. Also I can swap out the knuckles for those of a grand Cherokee and have some 4 pot callipers up front to counteract the increased diameter of the tyres.

So here is the rub, as I have swapped out the little 2.8L V6 for a slightly larger 5.7L V8, I will be swapping both axles and suspension so will be sailing very close to the dreaded 8 point rule! I figure or at least how I interpret the regs is that if I don’t weld or modify the chassis I should be safe. The leaf spring system comprises of a …….. ahem…….. bolt on kit, the coilover system involves lots of welding, cutting and fab work, an upper shock mount needs fabbing and welding to the chassis rails and a lower mount needs welding to the axle tube. As far as the 8 point rule is concerned I could argue that all the mods were carried out in the eighties as it’s a 1984 vehicle this being before the 8 point rule was instigated, this is an imported vehicle so not sure how feasible it would be for the powers that be to check. I want to try at least to stay on the right side of the law for insurance purposes in case the worst should happen.

I have quizzed the insurance company and they say they are happy with any mods as long as I inform them…..hmm.

My friendly local mot station say I should be OK as long as the welds are good and everything is safe with no binding, rubbing or play. Again being an imported vehicle this is not on the mot database so generic testing is carried out to the vehicle type and weight.

I have done a ton of fab work, welding, engine swapping ect but as soon as I take a gas axe to the old suspension there is no going back! And yes I am aware that if a weld breaks the vehicle will roll over and kill 200 school children before someone points that out!

As far as suspension geometry is concerned this will be that same as the jeep Cherokee that the lift kit is designed for, this being a very similar wheelbase and weight as the Chevy.

Here is a link to a magazine article in the states that carried out this very mod albeit using coil springs and a slightly newer vehicle.

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/transmission-dri...

So I guess what I am asking has anyone done any major axle swapping and suspension work? I know we are not allowed to repair steering and suspension systems by welding so am not really sure where the line lies between fabbing and repairing. I want to get as much advise as I can before I start.

Sorry for the long post I was hoping to keep it short.

Hopefully I have uploaded an image of my vehicle and what I want to achieve.

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 10:42

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 10:49

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 11:45

[Rustykipper]

Only one picture up loaded so here is what I'm aiming for;

My lift won't be anywhere near this high and I'm going to use track rod ends and not rose joints. All the tie rods, track rods and such are available as made up aftermarket parts for the jeep suspension.

It will also need quite a substantial anti roll bar for road use.

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 10:52

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 11:33

Edited by Rustykipper on Friday 18th August 11:42

[300bhp/ton]

Interesting project. Suspect you'll find little info on here to help you out sadly.

As for doing the work. If you can do it or get someone to do and declare it insurance wise. And done to a good standard, then I don't see why you should have any physical issues with the car.

As for the legal aspect. Completely grey area and online will just be opinions and usually conflicting ones.

For instance, look at the .gov website and there are regs listed for "restored" and "modified" vehicles. But no definition to how a Vehcile falls in one or the other. And only one has the points system.

It also clearly states and welding to the chassis results in loosing its registration and ID. But this would mean welding in a rollcage would cause this. If you read it to the letter.

I believe if you phone up and speak to someone you'll get more detailed info. But will usually just be the opinion of the person on the phone. They are unlikely to put anything in writing officially saying what you can or can't do. And it'll never be specific to your Vehcile in question.

There is a mindset that says just try and fly under the radar. Don't post pics all over the internet. Make sure the work is of good quality. That it's declared to the insurance and has a current MoT. As the numbers go, you'd have to be very unlucky.

And as it's an import. You could just claim it was that way when you imported it. Assuming you don't do any build threads

[Rustykipper]

Thanks Mat,

That was kind of my thinking,

I think a sensible plan might be to do a leaf spring conversion at least initially, this will get the axles in place, get the brakes working, wheels fitted and get the vehicle road worthy, the leaf spring kit is more or less a bolt on swap, also being a kit should make it easier to pacify the insurance company. I can then see how it handles on leafs then if needs be the conversion to coilovers will be relatively strait forward as most of the donkey work will have been done.

It does seem that even with 47 inch leaves the vehicle does become a very competent off road vehicle, I’m just not sure if it will shake my teeth out on the road.

Oh there has to be a build thread, it’s the law!