Anyone have an opinion on how much power can be added to a '72 body (no shock tower reinforcements) before the unibody will be damaged, e.g., shock tower cracks or body twist? I'm planning about 240 HP, C4 with shift kit, stock converter, 3.00 rear, and 235 60 15 street tires. Torque boxes and sub frames appear to be in good condition although other parts had considerable rust.
I think that the cracking of shock towers is a combination of engine torque on the body, road conditions, style of driving, and metal fatigue. All of this over 30 plus years of use, and the rusting surrounding areas. If it's worth doing, it's worth over doing.
There are currently no plans for any reinforcement. Just wondering if I'm likely to have a problem. The only unusual stress I anticipate would be from straight line acceleration.
Ford invested a lot of money to design, manufacture, and install the shock tower reinforcement brace for a reason. I'm sure if it wasn't needed they would have saved the money.
I would add a set of sub-frame connectors with any modified engine. While 240HP isn't a whole lot in terms of what can be done, it is enough to cause some flex of the unibody. The subframe connectors are easy to put in and just makes the car better in everyway.
Thanks for the good comments. Do any of the tower shave kits also reinforce the towers in the criitical spots? Think someone talked about selling Mav/Comet sub-frame connectors at one time but don't recall anyone offering them. If kits like those aren't available it sounds like an opportunity.
One thing that you might want to look into is adding a Monte Carlo bar across the shock towers. Ford added these to the Shelby Mustangs to reinforce the engine bay at the spring towers. It wouldn't take much to make one up
Yeah, I was thinking that too. Seems like the Monte Carlo bar would reduce tower flex. Especially when the front wheels return to Earth. So, three kits needed for those of us who are fabricationally challenged: 1. Sub-frame connectors. 2. Tower shave plus reinforcement. 3. Monte Carlo bar.
the monte carlo bar would be help full when you return to earth after a wheel stand but it will be very difficult to to do a wheelie with 240 hp. you should be fine with just the braces from the fire wall to the shock tower and the belly bar that goes under the motor.
Thanks. :Handshake I should have put more winks by the "returning to earth" comment. I was hoping to hear that the stock bracing would be OK.
The braces have nothing to do with horsepower. 200hp or 2000hp, unless your lifting the front tires off the ground your not going to make more stress than daily driving sees. Daily driving and turning into high degree driveway will kill our cars without the braces. It can cause the front windshield to leak, cause the fender to hood lines to rub and wear the paint off, and cause stress crackes in the paint along seamed lines.
