I'm not converting it to 4wd.I'm keeping it 2wd.I would be using the car to go camping which will include alot of driving on rough roads, sometimes at speed.To help protect the car as much as possible from the football sized rocks that seem to grow on dirt roads around here I will run some LT tires with a suspension lift to get the body up out of harms way along with a full compliment of skid plates to protect the squishy bits under the car.The plan is a 3" suspension lift which will give just enough clearance to run 31" tires with little trimming.Sure I could crank up the torsion bars to get that much lift but suspension travel and ride quality would suffer.So I plan to redesign the suspension so it sits 3" higher in the middle of its travel at ride height and I can't really do that while keeping the torsion bars.
The obvious answer is use a truck or suv but their driving dynamics leaves much to be desired.Instead of enjoying the drive to the campsite it becomes more of a chore.A pickup's very nature means that it will understeer constantly due to the piss poor weight distribution when lightly loaded, and because its designed to be loaded heavily the rear end is too stiff so it tends to bounce around.Both of those issues can be fixed but then the truck can not be used as a truck anymore.A rwd car would have better balance and after installing subframe connectors,torque boxes,etc will be stiff to enjoy driving.Camping for me consists of a tent,sleeping bag,a cot to sleep on,and a camp stove to cook with, then going back to work when the weekend ends.So for that I might as well drive something that I enjoy...
