Notching The Shock Towers 1965 Coupe

I did it different on both sides for testing. One side I cut a capitol "H" shape and folded the two sides in overlapping each other. Then I covered that with a 3/8 plate (overkill). The other side I cut a big squared "U" shape and folded the top inward, welded a 3/8 plate over that too. The U cut came out cleaner in the end. I folded both towers inward as far as I could leaving about 1/4 space for the coil spring. Both cuts started from the top corners. I eventually did a 1-3/4 shelby drop and cut the tower to about 1" above the new mounting holes, never going back to stock anyways.

In this pic you can see where I ended at the bottom, I hammered the lower sides in at an angle, this allows room for the lower control arm to travel. Some have cut this part horizontal and just welded in a flat piece. I didn't actually remove any material, just changed the shape and added reinforcement.


This is what I started doing, massaging, before I got the idea to just cut.


Here's the H shape cut started. I did a lot of "in and out" wit hthe engine to make sure I could pull plugs and such.


Here's a pic of a 460 in a 65, look close and you see the upper control arms exposed and only bolted to a single plane of sheet metal. I do not like this, not safe. It doesn't take muck to bend the steel there. He should at least use some gussets.