235/85-16 on Stock Suspension, No Body Lift & All Original Panels

The Ultimate Question of everything Suzuki Jimny...
Whats the biggest tyres you can fit on stock suspension, no body lift and only minor trimming of the plastic arches with a little prying of the inner sheet metal  ?



The Ultimate Answer is not 42 but 32".... well 235/85-16 to be specific which are just under 32".
Yes on Stock Suspension & No Body Lift ! (With only Minor Trimming of all original panels & trim, keeping 99% & the Slightest Bit of Persuasion with a prybar and limited repetitive percussive alignment with a BFH.

 

 
 

Oh this is going to be good! We already have a Guide reference, yay!

I look forward to seeing what you've done. That's the modern equivalent of 7.50r16, which I've always thought would be a good size on a standard Jimny.
I've been thinking 205/85r16 could be done, but I haven't been able to find any sensibly priced 5.5j16 rims to put them on.

Correction
I might have got it wrong on the tire size: 235/85-16.
My concern, as on all builds, was clearance of the front tyres against the fire wall.
I might have to adjust the size & my ambitions.

I think it was Dave with his boogie build that used offset castor correction bushes to move forward the front axle a little to get clearance?

Others have re-drilled the radius arm brackets on the chassis to move the front axle forwards slightly.

Busta... redrilling the radius arm mount brackets... cool idea. Like the Hagan Mod for Vitaras.

Thing is... I have gobs of room behind the front tyres with the arches the way they are as I got the car.
Plastic arches were hanging off & I need to get the wing repaired so I've left them off.
 
I recon i could get some skinny 35s under there.

But it all gets a bit tight infront of the rear tyres hence the emergency trimming.
 
 
I had the idea to relocate the rear axle back 2" by installing new mounts behind all the existing mounts. To make life easier a friend suggested coilovers. I want keen on this idea originally as I wanted to keep it all stock but I'm coming round to it.
Then I think 35s will fit. Need to look at what skinny 16" tyres the landie bois use.

 

But I'm getting ahead of myself to the present day.
How did I get to this point....
 

This was going to be for the wife but then I thought better.I bought this car unseen.History lesson: It came from the Porto region of Portugal, home the oldest vines in Europe because of its sandy soil where the late C19 blight from America couldn't live, unlike France

These are the photos from the advert

 







 

Even had an ARB that I need to find in my hoard of parts & reinstall. 
 

Wasn't quite as nice when I got it.
The advert said it had a suspension lift.... well sort of.
I can't remember the tyre size.
After looking at it I decided that i just wanted it back to stock to get rid of all the crap.





 

It was left to Leigh Catherick to clear up the damage & years of offroading neglect that was not advertised.

 

Luckily that sandy Portuguese soil hosed off. 

Even if he did have to go a bit extreme

 

Oh well good a time as any for a 1.6 engine swap with the help of this forum.

Cleaning still wasn't done. There was till all the stuff you couldn't see, like inside the chassis. 
my friend had written the Jimny off when he first saw all he mud, thinking it was English clay/mud.
Thankfully that sandy Portuguese soil cleared out after about an hour of shoving a friends petol powered jet wash nozel 18" into each end of the chassis. 
Once the water came out clear from all orifices I walked away to let it dry for a week.

Got a bit ahead of my self... its been so long....  Almost 2 years.
Underneath the homemade fiberglass bumper was a crude winchplate.
Also presumably for the low profile bumper & better approach angle the ends of the chassis had been cut back.

 







No idea why I took this photo

Years of having the car just sitting around allowed me to buy stuff for it like bumpers & side steps.
So the chassis ends had to come off in preparation for the cheap Chinese front bumper. Enter Dean with his gas axe.











I got some gold chassis ends/crus cans in anticipation of replacing the ones that had been cut off.