Waiting to hear the final sage advice from Jeff, and here's the plan.

As well as my final questions so that you can all reassure me…

 "Fear not, Ira. You are doing fine."

But please don't throw any curveballs at me because my head can't take it. Remember--I'm not DOING any of this; I'm just laying it all on my mechanic.

1) Gonna buy Jeff's 2" and 1 1/2" combo spacer set. My ride is for everyday to and from work, and also to cruise for chicks who have a thing for short, slightly overweight (I swear) and ugly (I swear) 50-year-old marrried guys with kids.

2) The 1 1/2" go up front, but according to his installation instructions which he graciously emailed me already, I'm to search HERE for instructions on doing the strut mount flip. This is the correct thread to print out and give to my mechanic, correct?

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=13687.0

3) Front spacers can use my existing shocks, but I'm figuring since we're at it, I might as well replace them, right? So--should I use same part number as stock for this?

4) Rear spacers will require new shocks because of the spacers and nothing flipping. Jeff gives you some shock part numbers, but I believe these instructions are for 1 1/2" front and rear. But since I'm going 2" on the rear, is there ANOTHER shock/part # I should use? My mechanic's shop is right next to NAPA, but if I can pick them up for a few shekels less somewhere else and ahead of time, that leaves more money for beer.

5) Is there anything ELSE I can do at this point to my rear to slightly up not the total towing capacity of the vehicle, but the rated TONGUE WEIGHT!? Current rating is I believe about 100 pounds, but since we'll be "playing" back there anyway, I want to see if this can be even MARGINALLY approved. I have a small teardrop travel trailer that the Tracker can indeed tow, but anything I can do to beef it up can't hurt. (And yeah, I'm gonna add a tranny cooler down the road before I do any long tows.)

That's it. I'm on the right track with this so far, right?

That is the correct thread on how to do the strut mount flip.  I used a vice and a socket to pop out the studs instead of the cut and hammer method.

If your looking at getting new struts now anyway, you might want to just pick up some OME (Old Man Emu) 2" lift struts.  They are longer then stock and you wont have to do the strut mount flip at all.  They are a bit more expensive though, but supposedly worth it for the ride quality increase.

One caveat though, you might need to get your front end realigned after the lift. 

For the rear the part number Jeff gave you should be fine.  I use shocks off of a Crown Vic.  They are a little stiff, but work well.

It sounds like you are on the right track though. 

In order to increase the tongue weight you need a new trailer hitch.  Either go with an after market bumper with a hitch built in or you can build your own.  There have been a few threads on modifying/building hitches on the Tracker so do a few searches and have fun. 

If your looking at getting new struts now anyway, you might want to just pick up some OME (Old Man Emu) 2" lift struts.  They are longer then stock and you wont have to do the strut mount flip at all.  They are a bit more expensive though, but supposedly worth it for the ride quality increase.

OME struts are SOOOOO worth it if you're buying new struts. I've done both and the OME are some $$$ but definetly worth it.

As to rear shocks ... flex it out after the lift (sans shocks), take some measurements, use a parts book to fit your needs. I got some that won't bottom until the bump stops, but ended up so long on travel I added limit straps ... YMMV

What kind of money are we talking about for the OME struts?

The rest of what you guys said is Greek to me, but if I have to pay a mechanic to do a flip like this, even though it doesn't look all that complicated and my guy isn't going to reem me, I'll go for the bucks for this if it's really worth it.

It just depends on how MANY bucks. (Links?)

And I keep hearing this Crown Victoria reference. What are we talking about here? Buying the standard replacement shocks for this vehicle, because the mounting holes are the same?

LINKS! I NEED LINKS!

call the folks at arbusa.com <http://www.arbusa.com/contact_us.php> for struts ... they can't/won't sell direct, but can hook ya up with a local dealer who can order it for ya.

The thing about crown vics is that they extend further so you don't top out the rear shocks with the added "lift". I think tho they can bottom out which means you need to extend the bump stops.

A flexy test after the spacers and bits are in place, will give the needed lengths (compressed and extended) that you need for the rear shocks. A *good* NAPA can then use a refernce book to match the top/bottom mounts to a shock that fits your needs (aka the mount type needed). In my case I went with a shock that "over extended" yet won't bottom out. That also meant I needed some limit straps to keep the over extension from causing springs to "fall out".

OME struts
http://rocky-road.com/kickome.html

Thanks, men.

$130 each for the OMEs--ouch.

I think it's a flip for me.