I've been silently gnawing my brains to mush thinking about how to lift an E without sacrificing Ride, Longevity and Stability... Well, it took me all of 3 weeks or so to devise a method, but it kinda hit me when I was driving around today at work day dreaming (read: while driving, lol)...

Portals! There are a few vehicles that come with them, namely, the [Humm-Vee], the Pinzguaer, and Unimogs/Volvo C303s! 2 of previous-listed vehicles are IFS+IRS just like the E... SO, there's about 2 companies that I know of that produce universal portal kits for solid axle applications, but none for independent suspension applications (really would be impossible for universal). You can literally get anywhere between 3" - 5" of lift without changing the springrate (all the weight is mounted under the coilspring), longevity (inside is just steel gears and wheel bearings, CV angles are also kept stock) or stability (track width increased only 1" - 1.5" increases stablility with lift).

Now I'm thinking all I would need to produce a pair (other than large amounts of highly concentrated cash directly injected) of front and rear portals is basically some spare front/rear suspension parts:


Strut Assembly
Upper/Lower Arms
Hub/Brake Assembly
CV Joints
Tie Rods


Which brings me to the question... Does anyone have close up detailed pictures of all the aforementioned suspension parts? (More specifically where the struts/calipers/control arms mount)

And last but not least, Have I sold anyone?

http://www.portal-tek.com/cart/images/marketingpic2small.jpg

http://www.portal-tek.com/cart/images/Rear%20Portal%20Box%20small.JPG

http://www.portal-tek.com/images/HQaxle2med.jpg

wow, what a project!

that middle picture unit looks like you'd end up w/ multiple gears in reverse and only a single forward gear. <grin>

if this ever happens, you've got to show us how, but i won't be holding my breath. sounds like lots and lots of time and $$$$$.

but, good luck, i hope you find a way.

and i'd be willing to travel just to see the finished product.

ya'll have fun with that. :D

It sounds like a great idea, but I'm lazy and would just take the $ for the portals a buy me a Wrangler or strait axle Toyota pickup.

that middle picture unit looks like you'd end up w/ multiple gears in reverse and only a single forward gear.

Hey! You are right! Those are going to require that the axles turn in reverse in order to make the vehicle go forward. Good luck!

So I am guessing that you want to run over small cars with your E???

Are we gonna see you at a Monster Truck event racing a Ninja Turtle??

i think they may have another gear in there somewhere. My wife pointed that out to me when I presented her with my preliminary drawings.

I did make a design the other day that has 3 gears that are about 2" in diameter. I designed it so that it wont be any taller than the brake rotor. So you could even run 15" wheels with the portal. The lift you will get should be around 4" or so, enough to run 32" tires!

I have some technical sketches, but I need to pick up a protractor and some graph paper and hit the drawing board with vengeance lol.