Hindsight is 20/20, especially when it comes to automotive design. How many times have you wanted to go back in time and slap the engineer who designed something that simply isn't right when it comes to performance? Take the rear shock absorber location on many musclecars, most notably early Camaros and '68-'72 Novas? The shocks are mounted on the outside of the framerails and are usually the first thing that hits when you're trying to fit fat rubber. It seems so obvious that the shocks should have been mounted on the inside of the framerails and leaf springs to provide maximum tire clearance, but that's not the way it happened. Thankfully, with these cars, it's easy to relocate the shocks and give yourself another few inches of tire clearance.
As proof, we watched while Performance Motorsports (PM) relocated the shocks on a '68 Nova that was destined for street/strip action. The rearend, suspension and wheelwells on this car are stock, with the exception of a set of traction bars, which supplied the lower shock mount. If not using traction bars, the lower shock mount will also have to be fabricated by welding tabs off the lower spring mounting pad. The shock relocation on this car provided slightly more than 2 inches of extra clearance, and the entire operation took less than an afternoon. Of course, a welder is required, so if you don't have one, you'll have to find someone who does. Since most welders or chassis shops charge by the hour, anything you can do to cut down on their time will save money. In other words, cut the tubing and mark it for shock mount location, and you'll save some bucks. Now if it was this easy to install mini-tubs for even more room . . .
