Front Suspension

I didn't have much time in the shop today, but I was able to finish the notches in the shock towers. I wound up cutting the passenger side loose and redoing it. It turned out I cut too much out of the rear side of the tower. I wanted to make sure to leave as much material as possible so the tower could take the abuse the shock will give it. I set the body on the pan and it does clear, but not by much, so I will be trimming a little off the wheel wells below the gas tank tommow.

Front Suspension

Today I was able to get the body set back on the pan so I could mark and notch the shock towers. The passenger side is almost finished, all that is left is a little grinding. The driver side has been cut, but I still have to cut the patch to weld in. Once that is finished, I can disassemble and paint everything.

You may also notice the new wheels. It turned out with the dropped spindles, the ball joints did not clear the inside of the 15 inch rims. Thank goodness Discount Tire was willing to take them back. But of course the 16s cost over $200 more. They are better tires though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Front Suspension

This weekend I was able to get the torsion leaves and the tie-rods cut to length. The picture to the left is the short tie-rod with a threaded rod welded into one half. This will add strength to the tie-rod as well as make welding it back together easier. The clamps have also been removed for cleaning and paint.

Here is the short tie-rod welded back together with the cleaned ends in place. The long tie-rod has been cut, cleaned and welded back together as well but the ends still need cleaned up. The last thing that needs to be done before I can paint everything is to notch the shock towers so the front clip will clear when the body goes back on.

Front Suspension

This morning I was able to get the inner batch of wide torsion leaves cut and get the front end loosely assembled. I still have to cut the thinner torsion leaves, notch the shock towers, shorten the tie rods, cut the wheel studs to length and paint everything. But at least I can see the car on the ground again. I have a ways to go, but I have to say I'm happy with the progress so far.