Varishock oem single adjustable?

[ROBS6T8]

Did anyone run into any problems installing these shocks through the lower control arm? According to the installation intructions you must cut out for the adjustment knob to pass through. Understandable. My problem is I can't even get the body of the shock through my LCA. It looks as though I'll have to cut and re-weld the mounting tabs! That's a lil' more than I would like to do for an OEM shock. Notching for the adjuster knob... no problem. I'm talking 68 Camaro here. Thanks for any info. I'd contact them, but it is the weekend. I'll still try though. They've been a big help in the past.

Robert

[The WidowMaker]

not a 68 camaro, but on my chevelle you had to install them from the top and feed the cross bar back through the hole. there was no way the shock body or the valve would fit from the bottom.

[ROBS6T8]

Thanks Tim. I was thinking of just mounting the shock inside(on top) of the mounting surface. Does this sound right? i would hate to re-weld the mounting tabs after I open up the hole. I found out they're open tomorrow, so I was going to call them. I have everything out as I'm replacing the front suspension. So I can just mount them inside then install the spring. Thanks again.

[The WidowMaker]

I was thinking of just mounting the shock inside(on top) of the mounting surface.

there are differing opinions. some say that mounting them on the inside helps secure the shock. when on the outside and under bump travel, there is a lot of force on those two bolts. if mounted on the inside the bolts are put under tension during rebound and dont see the same numbers.

the other thought is that if the car is lowered and there isnt much travel in the shocks already, putting them on the inside compresses the shock even more (thickness of control arm plus the cross bar). its not much, but becomes slightly more when the motion ratio comes into play. if you hit the bump stops on the control arms before bottoming out the shock, it shouldnt matter.

[ROBS6T8]

Tim, I talked with tech this morning and they said to just grind away. Well I started grinding and came to the conclusion that it will not fit!! I will definitely have to cut and re-weld the mounting tabs... what a pain. I just had them powdercoated! I'm going to stick with the bolt heads on the bottom. I was laying there in bed this morning and thought to myself "how the heck am I going to get the spring compressor in there with the shock in there?!?" Now I'm slowly trying to cut the mounting tab off without destroying everything. I might just ground it down and weld a nut to the contol arm. I'll also have to open the hole in the control arm. When I marked how much I had to cut, the shock body was taking up half of the bolt hole. So much for my powdercoat... time for some por-15!
Thanks for the help.
Any ideas on the mounting tab? Should I just grind it down and weld a new nut on or try to cut it out?

[Rick Dorion]

Interesting. Their tech told me to mount on the inside which worked well with no fuss. I did have to enlarge the frame pocket for the body to fit though. Thanks God for die grinders.

[ROBS6T8]

Either way I do it, I'll still have to move the mounting tabs/holes for the body to fit through the a arm. Someone on Camaros.net told me to buy different arms or shocks because of the load. I don't like that idea. If I'm moving these things, I might as well go with a larger bolt for the mounting!

[ROBS6T8]

Got the solution from someone on Camaros.net. Cut the hole for the shock on the inside of the arm then I can just slide it over and mount it where it belongs without moving the mounting tabs. Went outside and measured and it should be no problem with the spring pocket. I'll let you know with pics when done.

[The WidowMaker]

let us know how it works out. your lcas must be a lot different than the ones on the chevelles. there was no cutting or moving of anything involved.

[ROBS6T8]

After spending half the day drilling, grinding, and test fitting I finally have room to install the shock. Thanks again to Joe Clance (camaros.net) for the idea.
Here are some pics I took while doing this.
The third one is of the template I made and traced onto the arm for the shock body. 2" in diameter, or so I thought! Once I had it drilled and ground out, I test fitted the shock only to find out there was a step in the body! No problem more grinding!
Second pic was after taking the drill bit to various positions within the circle.
The last pic is after all the grinding and test fitting.... done!
The first pic is after I painted it. Sorry for the bad pic. The green crate doesn't help it much.
Almost done with the other side also. Should have everything bolted up and ready tomorrow.

[ROBS6T8]

Looking at the original mounting tabs/nuts, I think I'm going to have a piece of flat bar inside and attach the bolts to that as well. I don't like the look of how thin it is. I'll feel a bit more safe doing that. Thoughts?