You never know what you’ll find at the Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show. At the last show, one of my employees bought a 2.5” lift kit from another vendor, who was located just a few spaces away from us (we’re on Road 22, Spaces 22, 24, and 26). We ordered our employee some tires and rims, and when everything was here, we did the install. Follow along to see how we performed the full installation.

Here’s the before picture. As you can see it’s just a normal height, two wheel drive Toyota Tacoma.

Tacoma

The first step is to remove the sway bar. We found that completely removing the sway bar and brackets from the vehicle made the installation much easier.

sway bar

Here we are removing the brake line clip so that we can lower the lower control arm and remove the suspension.

break line

Here we have the spring out, as we prepare to install the extension.

remove spring

Here we have the extension mounted to the top of the spring. We had to cut the original mounting studs because they were higher than the extension, and they would have interfered with the upper mount.

extension mounted

With the spring re-installed, it’s time to move to the rear.

re install spring

We supported the rear, then put on C clamps to hold the spring together so that we could remove the U bolts from the rear axle.

install c clamps

The added leaf and new U bolts are now installed. The job is complete except for a wheel alignment.

added leaf spring

The finished, lifted truck, with new rims and tires! It looks much better, and has a more aggressive feel. Now off to the alignment shop!

Finished lifted Tacoma

This job is not for a novice or the occasional DIY’er. You need skills, tools and the proper equipment. Be careful and know your abilities and limits!

Capps Header

With over 40 years of combined restoration experience, Capp’s Hot Rods rebuilds and restores Model As, Deuces, ’33s and up, classic cars of all makes and models, and muscle cars.  Located in Woodland Hills, California, Capp’s specializes in complete wiring services, from repairs to complete harness installations.  Visit their website or call 818-974-7530 for more information… or to schedule an appointment for your classic car.  You can also find the Capp’s team at the Pomona Swap Meet on Road 22, Spaces 22, 24 and 26.