on my 97 I have my torsion bars cranked up with blocks in the rear and am currently running 285/75/16 on the stock wheels. I am wondering if I could fit 33 12.50 17 on a 17x9 wheel with 4.5 inch backspacing

 

hmmm...it would be close. Especially with 4.5 backspacing and the tire being 12.5 wide, you may need a little more lift. however, since theyre 33s im thinking it should work.

 

I read on here somewhere that somebody had 35s on their 2000 with just the bars cranked. I think hes full of it but I really dont know

 

It is possible to get 35's with 3" of lift, in some cases. It depends on your wheel offset and wheel/tire width. For me, with -44 offset and 13" wide tires, 3" wasnt even close to enough.

However, if you have some narrower 35's with stock wheels or wheels with around 0 offset, it is possible, lots of people do it.

 

what kind of offset would you reccommend to fit 33 12.50 17 with 2 to 3 inches of lift?

 

With that much lift, i'd go with somewhere close to 0 offset. You must remember though, that offset is measured in millimeters, so a -10 offset is pretty close to 0. If you want a wider stance (the wheels/tires to stick out of the fender) you will want a negative offset. I think a -10 or -15 should work.

Here is a link to a wheel offset/backspacing calculator. You can play around with it and maybe figure out what youre gonna like.
http://www.autolounge.net/calculators/tirespacing.html