B3R Garage: Shaving Shock Towers

The Mad Scientist has decided to put his 1970's Ford Maverick under the knife again. So far the pre-modified can lighting setup was cut from the rear and replaced with a Torino tail lights. The rear bumper was fabricated from a Ford Mustang rear bumper and all visible exterior mounting bolts were shaved. The engine going into the car currently will be a Ford 302 small block with mustang shorty headers  and a C4 automatic transmission. However, the Mad Scientist has recently got the concept of bigger blocks on his mind. So instead of simply dropping the small block into the the Maverick, the Mad Scientist did a little homework and found out what it would take to put a larger block into the car. As it turns out, the process requires shaving the shock towers!

Shaving the Shock Towers

Surprisingly, shaving the shock towers is actually a logical solution to dropping in a larger block or just making room for aftermarket headers. After the shock towers are shaved there is approximately an additional inch of clearance at the top of the shocks and almost four inches just above upper A-arms. Now, and inch at the top may not seem like much, but is is enough to get a larger block in. Furthermore, an additional four inches at the bottom makes a LOT of room for headers. 

At first we believed that cutting the stamped steel would be more of a challenge. However, the shock towers were easily modified with a simple reciprocating saw and a good metal cutting blade. The edges were ground clean to remove burrs and sharp edges. After everything was mocked into place (engine, headers, starter, transmission) the shock towers were reassembled with steel diamond plate. 

Shock Tower Shaving Savings

Conveniently, for about sixty dollars worth of diamond plate the Mad Scientist was able to save $300 in stock motor mount towers, and $300 in aftermarket/stock replacement Maverick Headers. So the decision to shave the shock towers was financially and logically beneficial for the Mad Scientist. Not only did the Mad Scientist save money, but he will now have the ability to put a larger motor into his 1970's Ford Maverick at any time in the future. The Mad Scientist's Ford Maverick is becoming more and more of a custom car.

Note:(Shaving the shock towers is not something to be done by someone who is not a fabricator.)

Item

Location

Price

Part #

Maverick Headers

Auto Krafters

$249\tax\ship=$300

6901

 Frame Mount

Auto Krafters

$198\tax\ship=$300

CR2069

* Diamond Plate

Menards

$60

n.a.

* Shorty Headers

Garage

$0

n.a.

Potential cost

Actual Cost

Savings

~$600

~80

$520