BUDGET LIFT |
Lifting
a Sidekick Using Grand Vitara Coils |
Editor:
Eric Bewley Story/Photo: Jeff Johnson, Tim Walters |
NICHOLSON, PA -Difficult times
have left me without my trusted Samurai and in need of a capable vehicle able to pre-run
and be a part of GONZOOKIN and event that I have been extensively involved with since it's
inception in 2000. This event has grown so much and
has become a significant and enjoyable part of my life. Now that I didn’t have a zook
capable of running trails any harder than a dirt road, how would I be able to work the
event in a stocker? This question lead me to ask my friends for a little assistance.
A good friend of
mine and co-founder and coordinator of GONZOOKIN called me up and had a great idea. Tim Walters, AKA Yankee Tim, had been
doing some research and believed that using stock Grand Vitara springs on a Sidekick might
lift it similar to the Old Man Emu springs. So
after a few conversations and a quick drive up to Tim's house, we installed the springs.
To say the least, the results were amazing. Using the Grand Vitara springs yielded a two
inch lift measured and compared at the frame height.
An interesting side note we discovered is that the stock struts and shocks
on the GV were identical so they would not help travel any.
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For the rear, we used the rear springs on a
92-02 Ford Econoline E150 van. These springs are 2 inches longer and have an additional
1.5 “ of travel. The mounting of the
springs from the sidekick and ford shocks and they are identical. To gain extra front travel, we flipped the strut
blate to add an additional inch of length. The springs did cause the caster to be out so an alignment has been scheduled
done to fix this. |
  
 ZW
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