My understanding with the body lift is that I will have to modify my fan shroud
Yes, just do away with the bottom half of the shroud; you will never miss it.
Or....., lower the radiator.
I’m wanting to do a body lift, but I’m only finding kits for a 3 inch lift. Do you know where to get one for a 2 inch lift for a 1980-1986 truck?
I can only speak for a manual transmission; there are some brackets necessary for trucks with automatics --- I think.
When I sourced mine, both 2- and 3-inch kits were available.
If 3-inch is all you can find; the risers are just plastic and easily sawed down to whatever length you want.
You can make as good or better risers yourself.
All a body lift consists of is the riser blocks and longer bolts plus maybe some necessary brackets for the automatic transmission.
The only reason I went with a kit instead of creating my own was because they include the proper length bolts; if I had created my own kit, I would had to remove the original bolts and leave the truck sitting while I measured and sourced bolts of the appropriate length; meaning, I couldn't have done it in one afternoon while everything in this little mudhole was closed.
There may be something necessary to be done if you have a pickup bed to make the tank filler hoses longer or whatever; my truck has a steel flat so I didn't have to deal with that.
Another necessary when raising the body and something you should have already done anyway is to replace the shoddy O.E.M. steering shaft with a Borgeson; .....or, lengthen the original = cut it and sleeve it with a length of tubing, welding the harder to access bottom side while the shaft is out of the truck; put the cut/sleeved shaft back in place, do the body-lift, and then weld the top of the sleeve where it landed --- MAKING SURE that you marked where the telescoping section rests before the lift (and before you cut) and you line up your marks before welding the remaining end of your sleeve.
Best to just tack it while mounted; then, take it back out and weld properly.
With two inches, the steering shaft begins to look scary; with three inches, it is within a hair of disengaging and coming in two; let the left front wheel drop in a hole while most of the weight is on the right rear and the shaft will come apart.
Much better and much easier to just get a Borgeson; slather every moving/sliding part of the Borgeson with that silver sh_t.
I could not imagine my truck without the body-lift; everything else I have done to it since has been much easier; you can't imagine how much difference two inches makes in clearing things.
