Hey guys, i have a 1974 Dart swinger. Car has a big block with small block torsion bars. And some viking DA shocks. Is it normal for when we bounce the car around (getting it to settle after adjusting ride heigth) the passenger side shock tower to move around ? Theres a void where the stud comes through the engine bay and when you move the car up and down hard it flexes. Normal? Bracing needed? Any info would be helpful. Pics attached
A body shock tower movement
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no, it should not move. hole there is correct, but it looks a little big and gacked out.
is the shock mount (loop) itself properly secured underneath to the other body and frame components?
is the shock mount (loop) itself properly secured underneath to the other body and frame components?
yeah that should be attached.
if it's a race car i'd tie it to the cage or J bars or get some bracing going for chure.
if it's a race car i'd tie it to the cage or J bars or get some bracing going for chure.
Check out USCT. You can make similar for about $10 in steel !
Mopar A Body Inner Fender Shock Tower Brace Kit
Mopar A Body Inner Fender Shock Tower Brace Kit
Daves69
Well-Known Member
The top of this a body driver side panel had just two spot welds onto the shock tower. Below, a very different story....
Inertia
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I just got thru a vehicle with similar issues.
The top of the frame, that collects the mud, rotted out.
All the alignment cams etc would move along with the top section of frame.
Grafted in new sections .
Good luck.
The top of the frame, that collects the mud, rotted out.
All the alignment cams etc would move along with the top section of frame.
Grafted in new sections .
Good luck.
I checked mine for Rot. It was caked with dirt and mud like you said but the underside was still solid. I stripped it with a wire wheel, used rust inhibitor and did painted it. The car was in Yuma for most of its life. Only place it has real rust was where the jute padding was on the floors with all of the windows rolled down. I believe the front end is ok
Inertia
Well-Known Member
So the shock tower shouldn't be moving around a ton. That being said, it's only there for the shock and was only designed to carry the loads from the shock, which shouldn't be all that much compared to the rest of the suspension.
The pictures are kinda interesting, the gap around the hole in the inner fender isn't uncommon at all, my '74 has a gap there as well. But the gap at the end of the shock tower is a little more concerning
On my cars the top of the shock tower is flush against the inner fender there. On my '74 there's actually 3 spot welds right there at the top of the shock tower, plus another down from that
In your picture it doesn't even look like the spot where I have that lower weld is even anywhere near the inner fender. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was just a production thing, the tolerances and quality control on these cars was not that great.
I added J-bars into the engine compartment on my Duster, but honestly you might just start by seeing if you can use a body jack or something to press that upper shock tower against the inner fender and add some spot welds.
The other thing that you might want to check is to see if you're bottoming that shock out, because if the shock is bottoming that would definitely cause the shock tower to flex more than it's intended. And certainly with a big block and factory small block torsion bars you're probably bottoming the rest of the suspension out.
The pictures are kinda interesting, the gap around the hole in the inner fender isn't uncommon at all, my '74 has a gap there as well. But the gap at the end of the shock tower is a little more concerning
On my cars the top of the shock tower is flush against the inner fender there. On my '74 there's actually 3 spot welds right there at the top of the shock tower, plus another down from that
In your picture it doesn't even look like the spot where I have that lower weld is even anywhere near the inner fender. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was just a production thing, the tolerances and quality control on these cars was not that great.
I added J-bars into the engine compartment on my Duster, but honestly you might just start by seeing if you can use a body jack or something to press that upper shock tower against the inner fender and add some spot welds.
The other thing that you might want to check is to see if you're bottoming that shock out, because if the shock is bottoming that would definitely cause the shock tower to flex more than it's intended. And certainly with a big block and factory small block torsion bars you're probably bottoming the rest of the suspension out.
That would certainly explain why it’s moving!
jbc426
Well-Known Member
My '68 had nearly torn the spot welds off the shock tower and was flexing too. I ended up welding the shock tower almost completely to the inner fender while I was installing the US Cartool chassis stiffening kit under fender brace. It ties in to the shock tower too.
Later, I fab'd a bolt-on Monte Carlo brace, which also helped stiffen up the front chassis.
Later, I fab'd a bolt-on Monte Carlo brace, which also helped stiffen up the front chassis.
autoxcuda
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Pretty common. Nothing to do with rust. Just years of road use.
On some A-bodies, I've seen the spot weld hold but the material around it pull through.
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autoxcuda
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Convertibles flex around. Just compounds the stress on those spot welds.
autoxcuda
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Careful with that kit.
The large triangular rearward mounted piece will rub wide and tall front tires at full lock up. Especially is the front is lowered a bit.
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