[HO455]

I got the upper shock mounts finished today. In order to keep the shock from hitting the axle at maximum extension I had to deepen the notch a lot more than I expected to. (Photo #1) It was about an additional 1/2" to make sure there would be no problems down the road.
With the notches finished I drilled the mounting holes and bolted the mounts to the cross member so I could then determine where to drill the holes for the shock bolt.
This involved mocking up the shock in postion. To make sure I had enough clearance between the axle and shock body I put a 3/16" magnet on the side of the shock for a spacer. (Photo #2 at end of green line.) (The photo shows the magnet not perfectly centered which is a result of the photo I took during the actual process was too blurry to use, so I when I went back to get another photo I was too concerned about trying to get a clear photo I didn't notice the magnet was off center until now. Dhoo!)
I made a black mark on the white shock bumper disk to represent the center of the hole in the shock's bushing. (Photo #3) Once everything looked to be in the correct position I made the silver mark on the mount to represent the center line of the shock bolt. (Photo #3 again)
Then it was unbolt the mounts and clamp them in the drill vice. I used a washer of the same diameter of the rubber bushing in the shock. I put the very bottom edge of the bushing even with the mount and then laid the washer on the mount to mimic the bushing's position. With the hole in the washer centered on the silver mark. (Photo #4) A small magnet held the washer in place while I marked the hole. Then it was center punch the hole and drill a pilot hole and then a 1/2" hole in both sides from the one pilot hole. (I Cheated and used a drill press.)
The last photo shows the difference in the two mounting locations.