'72 shock tower replacement

[Stevelivingfree]

Hi,

The shock towers on my '72 need replacing. I already have the engine out for other work so it seems a good time to strip the engine bay and the get shock towers done. I will need to move the car to the welding shop from my home. I want to make the welders job as easy as possible so want to get the front suspension loose and ready to pull off at the weld shop, but also make a fast easy install so I can roll her home.

Am thinking to remove the front shocks & springs, loosen up bolts on the A frames and pre-split ball joints as necessary. In order to be able to roll the car onto a flat deck, I am thinking to reinstall the shock with no spring for the journey Same A frame & shock would be used to bring her home after new towers installed. They can then have bushings, etc. replaced and be reassembled/ installed.

I am looking to see if anyone has a more efficient way to do this or ideas as to where it may bite me in the tail?

Thanks,
Steve

[DRUMMOND]

Hi Steve

If it was me i would plan on taking everything off at the welders shop. or taking everything off before hand and putting the car on a sub frame dolly.

[Stevelivingfree]

Still chasing my shock tower replacement. For a pro mechanic, can anyone ballpark me an idea of the hours to pull front suspension, remove old shock tower, replace with VicAuto parts and put front suspension back together?

Need to get a grip on costs. Thanks. Steve

[jlw35]

Steve,

The true variable is the removal of the shock tower.
Taking the front suspension apart (apart from the occasional frozen nut etc) should be a no-brainer for any competent mechanic and would not be excessively time consuming.

I think Mark could give you a "shop estimate" as to the amount of time required to remove the tower.

Not much help I know. If you have the time and some tools (nothing exceptional) you can do it yourself with a little persistence.
I did it, and I am far from a professional.

Jeff

[jlw35]

Would also buy the upper and lower A arm assy. I believe that to purchase all new bushings etc. is only slightly cheaper but certainly more difficult and time consuming.

Jeff

[Stevelivingfree]

Thanks for the responses. Have been looking to buy the A arms complete but they have been out of stock for a long while. All bushings are well & truly rotten. That aspect does not scare me. I have undone enough bolts to understand the timing.

Engine & gearbox is already out so access is fairly easy. My ballpark estimate for someone who knows what they are doing...

Strip suspension = 1 hour a side - 2 hours
Towers off & cleanup = 2 hours a side - 4 hours
Install new towers & cleanup = 1.5 hours a side - 3 hours.
Reassemble suspension using new arms, bushings, etc. = 1.5 hours a side - 3 hours
Brakes - 30mins a side = 1 hour.
Total 11 hours?

She will get alignment, etc. when the engine is back in.

Am I way out in left field?

[baltobernie]

Is your welder also an auto body tech? Somebody needs to make a jig that will preserve the factory location and geometry of the new towers. It sounds like you're looking for two different skills; finding one shop with both may entail a good bit of searching. I doubt that you're going to be able to hire such as shop on an hourly basis, and would be surprised if the project you're describing comes in at less than $4-5k, if done at a "real" shop. I too would like to hear what Mark ballparks such a job.

[pwilliam]

I had this done to my 79 and the mechanic shopped the work out to a very reputable set of local guys. The all in price for the alignment, single side of suspension being replaced and welding was about $1300. The replacement shock tower was taken from a donor car so that took some time as well. Hope that helps!

[pwilliam]

I also drove the car from San Francisco down to Santa Barbara with no issues, immediately afterwards. Tires had no uneven wear and the ride was great. I don't believe this would ever be a $4 -$5k task even for both sides. Bracing the car or putting it on a dolly of some sort sounds like overkill. You don't need to remove any crossmembers to perform this task.

[Stevelivingfree]

Thanks again for all of the input. The specialist mech at my local shop seems comfortable with doing it from photos, links to parts, etc. however has not yet seen the car. Their best guess 10 to 20 hours. With new tower metal and suspension parts this could rapidly hit $2.5 - 3.5K (Cdn$). I was hoping to not have to do it until winter 2017.

[pwilliam]

I've seen photos of patches people do. I've patched mine instead of replacing - for the record I don't recommend this, but it'll hold me over till the time is right.

[Frankd1]

pwilliam, do you have pictures of the patches you made?

[pwilliam]

I don't unfortunately but the process is pretty easy. Cut out the bad material and use that, or some paper/cardboard to make a template of the patch to be installed. Give yourself extra material at the edges to lap over the existing good metal that remains on the shock tower. Drill some holes to do some plug welds where the patch laps over the existing good metal. Once you've done a couple of the plugs to secure it in place, weld a full seam along the edge of the patch, fully securing it to the shock tower. You could even weld some ribs along the back side of the patch in which ever axis you think will receive the most stress (likely the z axis) before you weld the patch in. I did not weld any ribs on my repair, it is probably not necessary but might make you feel better =)

A couple of tips: Use a MIG welder, don't use a flux core on something like this. Be careful of your brake hard lines when cutting and grinding. Don't want to damage them. Be thoughtful about how you cut out the old material - it is a good balance of removing as little as necessary to be safe, but as much as necessary to make a clean template and patch that will facilitate a good repair. I would say my own job could have benefited from a bit more care on that step, but the patches didnt fail when I drove it home from the shop I was renting =) I patched both sides FYI.

Finally, use your best judgement. Although it looks like many people have patched and lived to tell the tale this is a critical component to your suspension. You don't want this failing on the highway at 65 mph. If you google search it and if you search the forum you should be able to find images of patches that have been performed. PM if you want my number to give me a call about it - located in San Francisco.

[Stevelivingfree]

pwilliam, you make it sound easy. I have some old metal out back to learn/practice on. Had run towards replacement but there is still lots of good. Will be thinking about this a while longer. Thank You.

[pwilliam]

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say. Pocket depth may be the mother of shock tower repair =)

Happy to walk you through it over the phone if you ever get stuck. You can look at it from another angle which is, if you mess up or lose confidence in your repair, you can just have the shock tower replaced! Which was the first option anyway, right? =)