With all the components and systems that have to be squeezed under a car during the build process, it's no wonder many of them want to occupy the same space, sometimes turning what is supposed to be a hobby for most into a hair-pulling packaging nightmare. Careful planning and building in a sequence can eradicate most of these problems. For instance, in the case we are going to examine, mounting shock absorbers before fabricating the exhaust system would have been the answer. But this was a finished car, brought into Circle City Hot Rods for an upgrade in the shock department, so planning for clearance issues wasn't an option here.
A very nice, on-the-road '36 Ford three-window equipped with a Durant Enterprises monoleaf spring, its owner wanted to upgrade from the stock lever arm friction shocks to tube type. With an early aftermarket conversion kit already in his possession, this should have been as simple as bolting the new shocks in place, but clearance issues with the exhaust system meant the shocks could not be fitted where the kit was designed to place them-inside the chassis 'rails.
After some head-scratching and spending some time studying the underside of the coupe, Circle City's Jimmy White came up with a solution that involved mounting the lower shock mount on the spring shackle, and fabricating an upper mount that would bolt to the outer chassis 'rail, allowing plenty of clearance between the shock and the inner tire sidewall. Incidentally, if you're experiencing similar clearance issues, CCHR is about to start offering these upper and lower mounts for sale, part of an upcoming product line from the company. Contact Circle City Hot Rods for more details.
