Hey everybody..

I want to thank you all for your ideas. Though after reading them..I'm starting to think that the ingenious metal worker is the way to go.

In case I didn't mention it before..the frame is in great shape. I just replaced the body mounts a while back and was impressed with how well the frame has held up..(almost 300,00o miles). The shock towers (mounts) are in rough shape..but I believe that with a creative welder..and some ingenuity..that this old girl might make it to 300,000 and beyond.
I think her days of racing up and down the beach on the Outer Banks might be behind her. After four trips..and some of the best times I've ever had..she, and I, will have to be happy with the memories.

Now if any of you have created, repaired or fabricated a new shock tower..by all means send me some photos..and I in return will send you some back of the finished repair.

Again gentlemen..my thanks for your thoughts on this matter..they were most appreciated.

raoul

 

If the control arm was disturbed all that's true enough, but it looks like here'd be no reason to detach/reattach that lower portion just to establish a new upper mount for the shock. Whether a shock mount is exactly as it originally was or off at th top a little one way or another wouldn't disturb alignment so long as the wheel's placement is as it's always been.

PO's truck has only lost it's upper shock mounts(s) as I understood him.

 

KRS two, things, you do realize the picture is not his truck. That is from mine, and I posted it so others would understand what the mount looks like.
The other thing, in my experience, when the tower is rusted where the shock bolts on, the pocket, down below, where the control arm bolts onto the frame is rusted much worse. Mainly due to the design of it holding mud, salt, etc. But it will rust more then the top of the tower.

 

Raoul, OBX beach cruising? Your shock towers got a case of the Hatteras termites!

I think a competent fabricator/welder could replicate the tower and control arm attach points accurately. One way would be to tack a temporary jig to the frame that rests flush against the mounting points, in the same plane, before cutting away the old tower/bracket assembly. The newly fabricated piece could then be set on the jig and tacked in place. The holes would be marked on the jig and elongated like the factory holes to allow for adjustment.

Borrowing Crazy's photo, here's the mounting planes I'm referring to. The arrows reference the holes for mounting the control arm pivot and the shock. Also, 93ragtop is quite right, the pockets where the upper control arms attach collect crud and do tend to rust.

[IMG][/IMG]