looking for an affordable lift

i am looking for the least expensive full spring kit so i can put my 350 in and keep my hood stock and i need some web sites to look in for them, i know about rubicon express and rustys, rustys is more in line with the priceing i need ( no E-bay suggestions please, i read the thread )for a 4.5" or higher

got my sawzall my lincoln welder and desire just short on funds


Troy

What are you trying to do? Lift it but keep your hood the same? Im at a loss. You could find a lift used maybe for around what you want to spend. There are no lifts that are worth using for that kind of money. If you want you can cut a lot and you wont have to lift.

oh yeah, the chevy 350 engine mount positioning with the advance adapters swap mounts requires a 3" lift to clear the oil pan and the axle during driving or i can keep the suspention the same and have the engine a little higher by fabricating the mounts myself and cut the hood and not need the lift (but i want a lift ) and the hood with a custom cowl inlet will help keep the engine a little cooler.

Troy

i pieced my lift together, a little Rustys, RE, and custom cuts....but a 3 inch lift for 300....means add-a-leafs....with all that HP from a 350 sounds like axle wrap to me...then your getting soft springs up front and you will have more weight from the motor...500 sounds a little closer to a starting price for the lift you need

the rear end is the easy one - the front end, thats another story.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=23381&highlight=leaf


after about 3" the price goes up by about 400.
to do it right and get 4.5" you need to have adjustable UCA/LCA's and an adjustable track bar.
For the front on a budjet -
you want to go coil spacers and if your dead set on swaping the chevy 350 - then maybe you could get away with the F-150 coils and not have the harsh ride that i have heard of with them.
The track bar can be remidied by drilling a hole about 3/4" to the drivers side on the axle mount - but plan on carrying spare TRE's to replace the ones that go out from the crazy angle.
Arms i guess could be made - RE sells superflex joints and currie sells JJ's for like $35 a piece - and your local NAPA sells bushings for around 3-4 a piece.... however careful choice would have to be made as far as metal choice for sleves baded on size and strength as well as finding a bolt big enough to trust my suspention on.
Brake lines come off a stock YJ and will work for about 5" of lift (in my expierence) - New for 80.00 all 3 - or used for 10bucks from a guy in your local jeep club.
Coil spacers can be made, bought - i would not suest spacers larger than 2" - there isnt enough coil tower left after than and it would only take a little bit of flex to loose a coil...

the f-150 coils and the 2" spacers net 5" of lift (roughly) on a stock cherokee - so you might concider a 2" f-150 lift coil from a ford board or www.pirate4x4.com to get the desired height. (being as the chevy 350 weighs more than the 4.0L)
spring rate calculators, and trail and error are your friends here...

hope this is helpful
-Ranger