Hey, pretty new to the offroad scene.  I just picked up a 79' Chevy k5 and I need some help picking out suspension and tires.  Keep in mind I won't be doing anything amazingly hardcore. I've got 980 acres of family property full of mud and some swamps that need to be conquered .  I've got around 1500 to put into this.

I dont know much about the different brands, but I've been looking at the suspension lifts on www.roughcountry.com.  Are these quality products? I was thinking about a 4", what would you guys reccomend?

As for tires, the same applies, I don't know much .  Whats the biggest I could fit on this with a 4" lift?  More importantly what size and type of tire would you guys recomend?

What other upgrades would you guys recomend to make this a solid 4x4?

Thank in advance and sorry for all the questions

I've got a '77 K5 with a 4-inch rough contry suspension lift and 33X12.50 Procomp X-terrains. The Procomps are pretty good in mud and trail from my experience. Rough Coutry lift hasn't given me any trouble over the years either. The cheaper way is to do blocks in the back and springs in front - Don't ever put blocks in the front. There are a lot of fools out there that do. It can be very dangerous off-road.

The best way is to get a 4-inch shackle flip kit from ORD for the rear, and the rough country, or higher quality springs in front. The more and thinner leafs the smoother the ride, and the more expensive too. Personally I like my truck to be a truck, and not an 'SUV' with a smooth ride. I got 3-leafs in front, and six in back.

As far as tires you could probably fit 35's with a 4-inch lift and possibly a little fender trimming just behind the front tires. It's hardly noticable if you trim the fenders the right way.

You will also need to buy exended brake lines, or alter the mounting points with this much lift. Braided Stainless brake lines are the best. You will need both in front and one in the rear. Another thing you will need is to get a raised steering arm or lowered pitman arm for your steering. It's a cheap fix, but your turning radius will be less than it is now. less turning radius to the right than to the left in my experince. The best mod to keep your turning radius and control is a cross-over steering system - not cheap. You will need to replace, or have a shop mod the passenger side steering knuckle in addition to all the other rods and parts. Your steering will be linked from the passenger side after this mod instead of from the driver side knuckle - as is the factory configuration.

You will also need something around 4-degree shims for the rear axle to keep you pinion angle on the rear driveshaft correct. The tech folks at ORD or Rough Country can help with the specifics on this.

I would not consider any of these mods to be 'hard core' ( except the cross-over steering, maybe a bit) , but just a decent off-road truck. You've already got the best base to build on ( the Chevy K5 ) in my opinion. There's nothing better in my book, but then I'm biased by owning two of them a '76 and a '77.

I hope this helps you some. I'm not an expert, by any means, on any of this stuff, but just some knowledge I picked up over the years. Don't save money on things like extending brake lines and correcting the steering. They aren't cool mods but can cost you your life or a lot of pain if they aren't done right. The brake lines don't just have to be able to extend the travel of the springs, but the full articulation of the axle in any off-road situation - and that's a fair distance on a 4-inch lifted K5.

...and don't waste your time and money on a body lift kit over 1-inch in height. It's a waste of time and money in my opinion. The fender trim will get you the same result for a lot less time effort, and money.

You may want to look at making your beast a bit meaner once you get used to the mods. What have you got as far as engine, carb, tranny, transfer-case, and axles ?  Good luck with your build.

i also say go with the shackle flip in the rear and 4 inch springs in the front, im pretty sure you dont have to do brake lines with a 4inch you just bend the bracket, ive got a 4 inch on mine and 36inch tsl/sx's i cut the corners of my front fenders, but i dont know if you can open your wallet up to super swamper after you get your lift, try ntwonline.com or the other place i think is tyers.com??? could be wrong on that website but they're in the mag all the time and they both have pretty cheap tires so give them a try, let me know what you end up doing

The shackle flip is a great way to gain lift and maintain ride and flex, however if your main terrain or terrain of choice is mud.. you may need a different approach to lifting your rig.  There are usually 2 different theories when it comes to mud.. dig to the bottom for traction or float across the top. Regardless of which way you prefer I would go with the largest tires you can afford.  If your truck ceases to float 35" tires may not get you out.  In the mud and swamp you wont need the flex that a trail truck would need.. most mud truck have tall stiff lifts to make room for the largest tire..  You could hack your fenders to fit larger tires, but this will also keep the frame low.. lower center of gravity may sound like a good thing, but it also make a great flow in the mud.. keeping the frame/truck as high as you can will create less drag in the mud..

If this truck will serve double duty as a trail truck then I would go with moderate sized tires, a rear shackle flip, new front lift springs and some fender trimming..

just my 0.02

I think the other guys summed it up pretty well, but here's another idea. If you cut the fenders to fit the bigger tires so they don't rub, find a decent looking used set of Bushwacker cutout flares. I have a '78 chevy pickup with a six inch lift and 38" tsl's and had to cut an inch or two off of the front and rear dog ears on the front fenders. I ended up picking up a set of cutout flares at a swapmeet recently for $16. They cover up about 3" the whole way around the wheelwell so it doesn't matter if you butcher the fender. They look really nice too while allowing a smaller lift and bigger tires.

'78 chevy longbed; 38" tsl's; 350/350; dual exhaust; 6" lift

wheres all this land at id like to go wheelin out there sometime