Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi fellas, Just bought me a stock as a rock 85 diesel dualcab lux the other day and have plans to modify it into a weekend warrior.
However I need some help on what mods best suit the lux and what can be done to improve its crawling capabilities. The truck is not a everyday driver and Im not afraid to take a grinder to it either. My budget is around the 6000 mark but would really like to try and do most of the work myself where I can.
Is coil conversion worth the trouble or am I better off going aftermarket leaves or are the standard leaves flexy once those clips and load beares are removed? What needs beefing up and whats most likley to break or bend?
Are the 2 piece tailshafts strong enough, no engine conversion planned btw. suspension and body Lift how high? whats shocks? When is hi-steer needed? and what tire size works best?

Any help appreciated. cheers

Satrebuk,

Dual Cases, regear the diffs, lockers front and rear, 30 spline front axles, x-over steering, bigger tires. The list can go on and on. A good leaf sprung suspension can work very well. Or 4-link the rear with leaf springs on the front. It all depend what you want the rig to do, money and how comfortable of a welder/fabricator you are. If you can design and fab up a 4-link or 3-link setup with long arms and flexy coil springs, coil overs or air shocks that will work well too. But the linked suspensions tend to cost more money. If you go with a flexy leaf spring set up you will want to have x-over steering. Hope this helps.

Jason