78 Hilux questions

Picked up a decent 78 Hilux. I was interested in what people did to the front to get these trucks to lay.
 
I pulled the springs out of the front and jacked the lower control arm up and maxed out i'm 4 inches from laying frame. 3" from laying the front crossmember. My thoughts were to either z it or or section the engine crossmember to lift it up an 1.5" or so then step the lower control arm to get the rest. I see the gear box to column is going to be a problem.
 
Just wondering what everyone else has done.
 
Thanks

I have a 74 that I haven't got to cutting yet but have done some  research and measuring to see what is needed.  One of the most popular options seems to be switching to a later model front clip from an 84-95 toyota truck. I want to do mine with the stock parts so this option is out for me.  You can Z the frame up front to get the bottom of the front crossmember even with the bottom of the frame but you will have to move the steering box  up the same amount. This will mean reworking the stock steering coloum by shortening it and adding a piece of shaft and a couple of universal joints to get it hooked back up to the steering box. The coloum is very simple in stock form and looks like it will be reasonable to work with, if you have a Haynes manual check the exploded diagram of the coloum out to get an idea of what its made of. I want to use the stock one for my truck to retain the factory signal and ignition switches. Cutting the spring pocket off and using a torsion bar style bag bracket is most likely going to be your best option to mount a set of bags in the front. You can build a new upper control arm mount off the top of the frame to replace the original one that is part of the spring pocket. You can step the lower arm some to get some more drop out of it as well. You will probably find that removing the coil bucket will give you some additionl travel before your balljoints bind up which will lessen the amount you will need to step the arms to get it to lay out. I hope this helps you out a bit, hit me up if you have more questions and I will do my best to help you out. Later 

i have a 78 as well. its static'd but i measured my frame at the front kick up at 4" off the ground on a 195/70/14. front crossmember at about 2.5" at the very front. i have done alot of measurements and it looks like i can use an 85-95 spindle and brakes if i flip my lower balljoint. to do it you have to cut out that half circle it sits in and flip it. other than that it should be a simple swap. other than steering. its on the other side of the front axle centerline. but a rack and pinion would help with problems z'ing it anyways. so that is also part of my plan. a 1.5" Z, a 2" late model drop spindle and id almost be on the ground. then remove the front pocket and put a bag and its good. also, i dont have a terrible amount of camber. tires last a good amount of time for me, and i have a little toe problem. laid would only be a hair more camber. less with a shorter tire. the reason i looked into this was that the stock front brakes are just terrible. tiny non vented rotor with a tiny brake pad. late model vented rotor and a 95 4runner caliper will be way better.  the nice thing about these trucks is that if you take the motor out the whole front crossmember bolts in, so ill probably make a new one setup and just swap it in. i also though about modifying it to where it comes up without z'ing the actual frame rail. basically trim off where it sits to the frame a little so it tucks up higher. and mount up a nice steering rack. bag mounts. yada. total bolt in. it would be a nice clean setup. plus i might have to cut it up to let the 5M oil pan work with it. i think a supra rear sump pan will work though.