anyone ever done the 2" suspension lift?

[bullsnake]

Ahhh-my bad. I am talking about the mods on the '96, not the '06. I have been beating the bushes looking for a good '06 wagon so I guess I have Alpha on my mind

The Rubber Duck stuff looks AWESOME. I love the stuff-I need to get ahold of them and see if I can have my truck shipped up to them or meet them so I can turn them loose on it. Looking at the website I could burn up $20K plus there pretty fast!

Am I an idiot for wanting to really trick this old '96 out? after all of the mods will I still be left with a far inferior truck than say an '03? If you have read through some of my initial posts you will know that the '96 is going to be a long term family member, so I would like to make it the best that I can.

Thanks!!

[3Hummer]

cant you guys just be satisfied with your 16 inch ground clearance as it is! some of us have to live with only 9 inches

[bullsnake]

Ha ha! My wife says I have Tim Tayloritis-I'm Always looking for more power!!

The springs on the old '96er are looking a little tired and I thought I'd throw this post out to see what everyone else is doing or has had good luck with. I thought as long as I had it torn apart for springs, I might as well go all the way!

[ssgharkness020147]

Originally Posted by bullsnake

Am I an idiot for wanting to really trick this old '96 out? after all of the mods will I still be left with a far inferior truck than say an '03? If you have read through some of my initial posts you will know that the '96 is going to be a long term family member, so I would like to make it the best that I can.

Thanks!!

The 03 trucks have:

A better block casting than your truck probably has (I assume your engine has been replaced, and highly doubt you need to worry about another bad block)

They are quieter to ride in, but you can add sound deadening to your 96 and accomplish the same results.

03's have 17 inch wheels, which you can upgrade to if you'd like.

Upgraded HVAC, which I would guess that you have had the 97.5 upgrade done.

You may want to consider the 98 diffs which are geared a bit better for highway driving (lower RPMS)

A new dog house. Again you can get that if you'd like.

Updated dash/control center. No big deal IMO.

Monsoon stereo. A nice touch.

The rear locker.

ABS/TT4. ABS can be a BIG hazard off road, you dont want it. TT4 can be better for street driving (ice/snow). With practice you wont need it, personally I would not want it.

LED side marker lights. You can upgrade to those for 130.00 at the dealer.

A better brush guard, but still not as heavy duty as an aftermarket.

I personally do think that a 96 is an inferior truck. Hardcore off road H1 enthusiasts swear by the pre 1998 trucks for their off road abilities. The rear locker of the 03 does help the off road ability of the TT4 trucks, and gave the H1 alot of its credit back as a kick ass of road vehicle. When its all said and done I feel that you could make your 96 as good or better then an 03 rig for considerably less then buying another truck.

[bullsnake]

Thanks for the post Carey!
I had a nice long talk with Travis DePew over at Rubber Duck today-heck of a great guy and seems to know his stuff! He is helping me find a transport for my '96 and I am going to basically address all of the things that you addressed in your post. I already have the HVAC upgrade done, as well as the shift boot. My truck has the wrap over the hood and attach to the airlift hooks front brush guard. The truck came with an AVIC N2 head unit with GPS and DVD-I don't get the disk changer of the later models, but I'm not a big stereo guy anyway.
I am going to do the cool head kit, wastegate, exhaust, suspension with the 2" lift, 12K half shafts, underbody protection and rock sliders, lockers, sound deadening material, and maybe a few other little tricks just to keep it interesting. The ABS/TT4 are actually features that I don't really miss, my previous off roader was a Defender 90 and my current sporty car is a Dodge Viper-neither of which have any traction control, ABS, or electronic assistance. My wife's Range Rover has HDC, ABS, and a slug of other off road wizardry that always scared the fleas off me the few times that we used it.

This should be a fun project!

[ssgharkness020147]

Thats a very cool list of upgrades. Are you going to center the front diff? Make sure to post pics of the beast when you get it back.

[bullsnake]

Yup-centering it while he has it-I'm hoping I can get Travis to send just a few in progress pictures while he has it so I can post up here. He says it will probably be a three week project once he gets the truck to his shop. The shipping company is supposed to pick my truck up on the 8th, and I'll be counting the days until it get back!!