Body Lift Kits
- Thread starter kruzer52
- Start date
I have not seen it done. Raising the body 4" would drastically change the look of the car - it wouldn't look sleek it would just look 'big.' All of the work that would go into making it look better after the body lift it seems like it would be just as simple to drop the pans.
That's my take on it.
That's my take on it.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Not personally, but this car was for sale in Washington not too long ago:
Doesn't look too good, huh? Dropping the floorpans is the only way to go.
Doesn't look too good, huh? Dropping the floorpans is the only way to go.
I personally think that raising the body of these cars totally screws up the look and stance of the car.
What would probably happen is that you'd end up having to then lower the suspension a whole lot to make the wheels and wheel wells look good again. So now the chassis is lower anyway, just like it would have been if you lowered the floor, except that now the ENTIRE chassis is lower which affects the scrub line (ie, the lowest points in relationship to the tire rims, like things that would scrape if your tire ran flat).
That said, in my blue Sterling I found that I could get away with raising the rear of the body just a little bit. I lowered the floor at my butt by about 3 inches, and I tilted the rear of the body up just a little -- definitely less than an inch -- at the rear. Big rear tires can still totally fill the rear wheel wells, yet tilting the rear up a little arguably gave me a little extra headroom. Because it was only a subtle change, I think it will still look balanced.
But yeah, when I was mocking it up, I found that if I raised the rear more than an inch, it looked like crap. And if I raised the front at all, it looked like a steaming pile of fresh crap with corn in it.
Standard disclaimer: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
(Lesser known adage: Corn is in the turd of a raised Sterling.)
What would probably happen is that you'd end up having to then lower the suspension a whole lot to make the wheels and wheel wells look good again. So now the chassis is lower anyway, just like it would have been if you lowered the floor, except that now the ENTIRE chassis is lower which affects the scrub line (ie, the lowest points in relationship to the tire rims, like things that would scrape if your tire ran flat).
That said, in my blue Sterling I found that I could get away with raising the rear of the body just a little bit. I lowered the floor at my butt by about 3 inches, and I tilted the rear of the body up just a little -- definitely less than an inch -- at the rear. Big rear tires can still totally fill the rear wheel wells, yet tilting the rear up a little arguably gave me a little extra headroom. Because it was only a subtle change, I think it will still look balanced.
But yeah, when I was mocking it up, I found that if I raised the rear more than an inch, it looked like crap. And if I raised the front at all, it looked like a steaming pile of fresh crap with corn in it.
Standard disclaimer: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
(Lesser known adage: Corn is in the turd of a raised Sterling.)
It's hard when things like that car come along. On the one hand, I am adamant about trying to be respectful of other people's projects and ideas, even if they aren't my own particular taste. Certainly I've created things that other people don't like.
On the other hand, if a person never voices their opinions, then they choose to not have a voice at all.
Suffice it so say that many of us have aesthetic concerns over raising the body of a Sterling.
(BTW, if my memory serves, the mechanicals for that yellow car were very, very good; nicely done from an engine/drive train standpoint! Unfortunately, the builder was really tall ...and hey, he found a solution that allowed him to drive and enjoy the car.)
On the other hand, if a person never voices their opinions, then they choose to not have a voice at all.
Suffice it so say that many of us have aesthetic concerns over raising the body of a Sterling.
(BTW, if my memory serves, the mechanicals for that yellow car were very, very good; nicely done from an engine/drive train standpoint! Unfortunately, the builder was really tall ...and hey, he found a solution that allowed him to drive and enjoy the car.)