'71 Shock tower

Mtande4 · Apr 2, 2024

Hi folks,

I'm in the teardown process on my '71 Mach 1 and I just discovered my shock towers are trash. I can't find the replacement parts or even information anywhere. The best I can find is the whole assembly for 800+ dollars. I already ordered the other fender aprons so I'd rather not have to go that route (not to mention the install would be much more expensive). Anyone have any links for either replacement shock towers or deletes that will still work with the factory suspension? I tried searching the forums but couldn't find anything. Thanks in advance!

Sheriff41 · Apr 2, 2024

Did you check with Mike @Motorcity Mustang or Bill @Bill Perkins ? You can find them both here on the forums.

detritusmaximus · Apr 2, 2024

How bad are yours?
I have some on a parts car that may need a little patching down low.

Otto · Apr 2, 2024

You can buy them from west coast classic cougar. I got mine from them. The mustang and cougars used the same shock towers. You will also need the engine crossmember, which they might have in stock as well.

William Justice · Jun 21, 2024

I just purchased these. Hard to beat for $150 and the added room. Looks like a simple enough install w/ all the fab already completed minus some cuts.

https://www.gatewaymustang.com/car-parts/shock-tower-notch-kit

Bill Kanode · Jul 17, 2024

Otto said:
You can buy them from west coast classic cougar. I got mine from them. The mustang and cougars used the same shock towers. You will also need the engine crossmember, which they might have in stock as well.

I got my 1971 mustang shock towers from West Coast Cougars also last year. They are great people to work with and sent an email showing where they would cut before sending them to me in Ohio. They had no damage from accident or rust but I had them blasted to make them perfect. After getting them I had to repair the frame rails also. This year I found out that I could have bought frame rails and shock towers complete for a few extra dollars and would have saved me so much time.

rcadd1ct · Jul 18, 2024

William Justice said:
I just purchased these. Hard to beat for $150 and the added room. Looks like a simple enough install w/ all the fab already completed minus some cuts.

View attachment 89936

https://www.gatewaymustang.com/car-parts/shock-tower-notch-kit

Reading up on them

They will only work if you use their front suspension. There is no provision for an upper A arm.

William Justice · Jul 18, 2024

rcadd1ct said:
Reading up on them

They will only work if you use their front suspension. There is no provision for an upper A arm.

This is correct. It does pigeonhole you into their suspension products. Certainly not ideal. The way I was able to justify it was that one of the new full IFS kits was around $7k before install and using the notch kit and suspension from Gateway is around $3K-$4k. It all depends on your end objective. For me, it made sense with my end goal to put a coyote which would certainly require some sort of major front suspension upgrade to handle the added weight. Plus I won't complain about the all new suspension components when it comes to handling.

If money wasn't a constraint I would have gone with the full kit. In the end it may be less time, effort, and money to do so since it comes with everything to include steering....but I'm in it now

https://www.cjponyparts.com/rod-cus...coilover-kit-mustang-v8-1965-1973/p/RCK107-V/

Don C · Jul 18, 2024

Actually, the Coyote engine weighs less than Ford small blocks. The Coyote weighs 430 to 445 pounds, the 351C weighs 550 pounds and the 302 460 pounds. The lighter engine weight may be offset by the transmission weight, though. For instance, the 6R80 transmission weighs around 70 pounds more than a C6.
Where you may benefit from the upgraded suspension is in the extra width afforded by eliminating the shock towers, even though people have performed the swap with the stock shock towers.

rcadd1ct · Jul 18, 2024

William Justice said:
This is correct. It does pigeonhole you into their suspension products. Certainly not ideal. The way I was able to justify it was that one of the new full IFS kits was around $7k before install and using the notch kit and suspension from Gateway is around $3K-$4k. It all depends on your end objective. For me, it made sense with my end goal to put a coyote which would certainly require some sort of major front suspension upgrade to handle the added weight. Plus I won't complain about the all new suspension components when it comes to handling.

If money wasn't a constraint I would have gone with the full kit. In the end it may be less time, effort, and money to do so since it comes with everything to include steering....but I'm in it now

https://www.cjponyparts.com/rod-cus...coilover-kit-mustang-v8-1965-1973/p/RCK107-V/

Cool.

I was looking at AJE or RRS for strut.

At this point I may stay A arm as I have upgraded enough the car is handling good enough.

'71 Shock tower

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