Sometimes it’s hard to mess with a good thing. Our ’78 Jeep J-10 pickup, Project Piggy the Pig Truck, is unquestionably eclectic. There’s no need to take a perfectly good stock truck and ruin it with silly aftermarket modifications that change its looks or off-road capability, right? Well, no. Somehow Piggy has made it through the past 35 years with super deep 4.10 axle gearing, 27-inch tires, and no Overdrive. Sure, this setup offers tons of torque, but the old 360ci V-8 is literally screaming down the highway just trying to keep out of the way of modern-day traffic. And Piggy, though we love it just the way it is, is a freaking lowrider, man. Even with its larger 32-inch tires, most modern 2WD work trucks were looking down on us. We are talking El Camino height here.
Piggy has way too much style to be looked down upon like some trar (truck/car), that’s for sure. She is a big green, patina’d, V-8 powered, manual trannie’d, pure American 4WD slap in the face. She needs to carry herself with a little, no—a lot, more attitude. Solution: a lift, big retro tires, and wheels that fit the patina.
We went with a tried-and-true 4-inch suspension from Skyjacker. The company pioneered “Softride” technology and still makes one of the best leaf springs in the industry. The bulletproof suspension parts not only get our framerails away from the ground and trail obstacles, but clear room for some 36-inch STA Super Lug 9.00-16 bias-ply vintage tires (PN 71014) that we mounted on 16x8-inch Wheel Vintiques13 Series Chrome/Bare Smoothie wheels (PN 13680604). These are the same vintage-looking 36-inch tires Mopar Underground put on its J-12 concept truck. Super cool! Follow along while we set Piggy up with some new shoes and a better stance.
The Skyjacker suspension we...
The Skyjacker suspension we used is available with four replacement leaf springs. We like that. Lift blocks, while frequently used in some kits, act like a lever arm when torque is applied to the rear axle. The added expense of full leaf packs is almost always worth the better performance gained. We also opted for Skyjacker’s Hydro-series shocks. Installation of the lift kit (PN JP40KS-H) was about as straightforward as can be. A couple of days before the install we soaked all of Piggy’s suspension bolts with penetrating lubricant. In the end, by some miracle, we had no broken bolts.
On a suspension system with...
On a suspension system with this much height, a dropped pitman arm is more than just a good idea. Without this part the tie-rod ends would be maxed out as the suspension flexes and moves, which could cause binding and parts failures. Steering failures are bad. Also the dropped pitman arm allows the drag link to be more level at ride height, which makes bumpsteer less of an issue. The Skyjacker pitman arm (PN JA350) is also huge and dwarfs the stock unit. It’s much stronger.
We also ordered up a full...
We also ordered up a full set of new braided-steel brake lines for Piggy from Skyjacker Suspension (PN FBL40 front, RBL41 rear). The old brake hoses were definitely factory original and were dry-rotted and cracked. The new suspension will also allow Piggy to flex and stretch its legs much more, so longer brake lines are more than just a good idea.
After slinging on a set of...
After slinging on a set of 36-inch tires, we decided it was probably prudent to swap out all four tie-rod ends for new Moog units from the local parts store. Although Piggy only has 90,000 miles on the odometer, some of these steering parts might just be original—and consequently 35 years old. If they are just a little bit worn, the bigger tires and a little wheeling will find the weak link in the system. We like steering, and don’t want to find out that there is an issue while we are hurtling down the highway.
All our friends build a lowrider!...
All our friends build a lowrider! With the lift kit installed in the front, but not the rear, you can see how truly low Piggy was riding. It looks much better with the suspension fully installed, and the uber-low axle gearing works great with the larger tires.
Our stock steering stabilizer...
Our stock steering stabilizer was basically a rod running through a tin can. The dampening properties had long ago oozed out with the fluid. Luckily for us Skyjacker sells replacement steering stabilizers (PN 7005). We added one to be sure that the Pig tracked down the road as well as possible.
Once the suspension was installed...
Once the suspension was installed on Piggy we went to our local dirt hill to flex it a little to see if the tires were gonna rub anywhere. The only area in danger was the very forward, bottom edge of the front fenders. A little work with the airsaw gave us plenty of clearance without compromising Piggy’s original look too much.
With new steering, tires,...
With new steering, tires, and suspension we loaded up the tools and recovery gear and hit one of our favorite local trails. There are lots of flexy spots that allowed us to be sure that the suspension worked, and the tall, yet narrow tires did not rub the sheetmetal…too much. We did find out that prerunning Piggy a little would cause both front shackles to invert on a hard bottom. We are gonna have to add some snubbers to keep the shackles standing up straight.
Woops! We got stuck. This...
Woops! We got stuck. This pile of rocks was just a little bit too tall even for the much larger Piggy. Regardless of our stuck, the new suspension and tires tackled some tough obstacles that a big truck with open differentials had no business on. We are blown away that a truck that is basically stock could swing 36-inch tires, with only the addition of a 4-inch lift. We now need a winch, rocker guards, Hmm, maybe some lockers. Oh boy! Here we go again.
Retro Tire and Wheel Performance
The STA Super Lug 9.00-16 bias-ply vintage tires (PN 71014) from Summit Racing look retro, but also grip very well off-road. For the trail we aired them down to about 8 psi, though we probably could have gone to a slightly lower pressure. On-road these tires are relatively quiet despite the aggressive tread pattern. Bias-ply tires do flat-spot when parked overnight and tend to ride rough for the first few miles until they become round again. The look and performance of the tires is well worth this little side effect. The 16x8-inch Wheel Vintiques13 Series Chrome/Bare Smoothie wheels (PN 13680604) and baby moon center caps from Summit Racing got some almond-colored rattle-can paint. These wheels are functional and certainly eye catchers. We can’t wait to get a few more on- and off-road miles on these beasts. We’ll let you know how they hold up to our Jp-style testing. Another outing in Piggy yielded at least two more offers to buy her. Everyone loves Piggy. Sorry folks, she ain’t for sale.