As many of you already know, there aren't too many Mighty Maxes on the road. The thing I have noticed about the ones I do see is they're all 'bagged different; few are 'bagged the same. I talked it over with Steve, and he came up with a system to bolt the 'bag into the existing cup on the Mitsu. It works great, we didn't even have to cut too much of the existing metal. With just the right amount of cuts, we managed to get enough lift to clear our 20s.
1. We started by ripping the...
1. We started by ripping the front end apart. We pulled out the shocks and springs then removed the sway bars and everything else in the way to prepare for the cutting.
2. Before we removed the strut...
2. Before we removed the strut rod, we measured from the body mount to the center of the ball joint. We're going to build a custom strut rod later on.
3. We now measured from the...
3. We now measured from the ground to the bottom of the crossmember.
4. Since our ground measurement...
4. Since our ground measurement was at 12 inches, we knew that with a 27-inch tall tire, we needed to get to 25.5 inches to lay. Our ball joints were binding here, so we knew we had some cutting to do.
5. We started by pie cutting...
5. We started by pie cutting our upper arms.
6. Then, we marked and cut...
6. Then, we marked and cut the lower arms.
7. We cut it like this because...
7. We cut it like this because of the bracing on the lower arm.
8. We remeasured to see where...
8. We remeasured to see where we were. Cutting the arms solved our binding problem. We know we prepared to cut the spring pocket.
9. Next, we cut the spring...
9. Next, we cut the spring pocket by using a torch.
10. Once we had acquired our...
10. Once we had acquired our desired measurement, we were ready to weld the arms back together. Leave the suspension bolted together and jacked up while you weld these to ensure they don't move.
11. Using the torch, Steve...
11. Using the torch, Steve heated then pounded the pocket with a sledge hammer to make room for our Slam Specialties airbags.
12.