I would like to thank all of you for suggestions and help, both on the forum and through PMs. This has been a scary job, knowing that the wrong cut could do permanent and irreparable damage (without converting to a MII suspension!). I think it will turn out just fine. I will post pics when I am done. Hopefully, you will be able to see the tower work around my new heads, headers and intake!!! Sorry, I slipped up and bragged a little
I don't remember exactly what gage I used, but I took the scrap peices to a fabricator to use as a go-by. I actually got a little bit thicker than the original thickness, but I'd say anything over .031" thicker than the original is overkill. Also, (and imho) the closer the thicknesses are, the easier it will be to weld (f.y.i. I welded on both the inside and outside (which I'm sure you will too) and ground the welds smooth. see http://www.ranchers.net/conversions/sheetmetalgauge.htm for common sheet metal gages
I will go with 1/8, but if everyone thinks that taking out 3" will weaken the integrity of the tower, causing it to fold in on the engine, I will use thicker. I ended up taking a bit more out, since I had lots of space before I hit the spring. I think it ended up being right at 3" per side. Maybe I should run one of those bars that go across the engine bay from tower to tower? Just to be on the safe side?
Yeah, a Monte Carlo bar. I wish someone would just make one that fits a Maverick, like they do for Mustangs, so that we wouldn't have to have them custom fabricated...
I think I might make my own. Shouldn't be too difficult. Just needs a screw or two in the middle to allow adjustments before bolting it down. Could do it in chrome, also. Local hardware store stuff, maybe $50. Now you guys have me worried that I took too much off, so I will make one of these.
Here is the second tower, I evened out the first one by cutting another 1/2-3/4" at the bottom, and running the cut up to the same top level. When I put the shock cap on, there is plenty of material between the bolt and the edge of the tower. It doesn't look like much more than the one in Okibono's post. What do you guys think, 1/8" plate, 3/16" plate, and/or Monte Carlo bar?
any updates....... I am gonna shut my car down soon..... within the next month and now I am thinking I want to do this now that I have a better understand
Scooper ,What was the final measurement depth wise at the cut? measured by the piece you cut out ,the way you did it in the other picture you posted?
i wish i would have cut all the way to the top. i cut mine before doing any reading about it. step 1. step 2. assemble step 3. read instructions step 4. reassemble
No updates yet. I will try to buy some plates this weekend, and cut them to fit. Home Depot rents a wire-feed welder, $36 for 24 hours, so I want everything ready to go when I get it home. Currently, I am "disabled" as while I was cutting the second tower, I got a metal chunk in my eye. Have done this many times before, working in the machine shops, but this time felt different. When I went into the sun, it hurt differently, when my eyes adjusted to the light. My doc said go to an eye doc, who numbed it out and yanked the chip out, then "drilled" the hole out to get the rust out. Currently, I look like Marilyn Manson, with one full black dilated pupil and one normal one, wearing sunglasses all day, and gopping my eye up with Polysporin Opthalmic and eye patch at night. Maybe by this weekend, I may be ready to grind again. This morning, I could see nothing but blur out of the one eye, I can now see blurry letters, so it is getting better. Yes, I know, I should have worn eye protection...WAIT, I WAS wearing eye protection. Full goggles that sealed around my entire eye area. Still, somehow, a chunk found it's way in. Just goes to show that you can never be TOO careful when it comes to protection. I might finish with goggles and a shield. Anyway, I should finish this job in about 6 weeks. Have to go to an Aggie football game next weekend, and then the weekend after I fly out to Guam for 2 weeks, then a weekend in Hawaii (my job SUCKS!!! :bananaman ), then back to finishing up the car. I will definitely post pictures along the way (of the car, not Guam and Hawaii!) edit after reading the page 3 posts--I ended up going in 3" at the bottom, and 3/8" out from the larger part of the hole at the top, where the shock bolts in. When I put the shock cap on, there is plenty of material, I would guess. Originally, only 2.5" in, but there was so much clearance between the cut and the tower, I figured another 1/2 shouldn't do too much to weaken it. Since I have so much cut away, I may do 3/16" plate. Depends on how strong it feels compared to 1/8". And, in the new Popular HotRodding, p. 26, there is a really cool "Monte Carlo"-ish bar on a mustang. I might fabricate something similar just for the heck of it. It will strengthen the flex in the suspension that any shock cuts may have given it.
