upper mount
 

Suspension guru's-

Can these OEM upper shock mounts on the rear of my Apache be relocated to the inside of the frame and used as rear upper coilover mounts? Pros/Cons?

Re: upper mount
 

Technically yes they could be relocated & re-purposed. I would only do it if the bracket material is @ least frame thickness @ a minimum.
The relocation fab work needs to be done well to support the spring & shock load(s).

Re: upper mount
 

Thanks, Scoti

The 60-62 OEM shock bracket is extremely stout so I'm pretty sure it'll do the job. I'm interested in a 20 x 12 rear wheel with a Mickey Thompson 6620 (nearly 15 inch section width) but it won't fit with the stock outboard shock configuration. The other alternative is to use a frame crossbar with shock tabs welded on. Just brainstorming for now. Thanks again.

Re: upper mount
 

factory shocks mounts were not intended to support vehicle weight. With that being said I would fab up something different with a double shear

Re: upper mount
 

Respectfully.... From what I'm seeing in the pic that is a double shear set-up & the factory thickness on the early frames should be close to 3/16" material.
Correct me if I'm missing something.

Since he would be relocating them inboard, they shouldn't be attached like that exact OE arrangement any longer but could still possibly be made to work as needed if the material thickness is enough.

There's many a C/O mount/tabs out there @ .188" thick material. IMHO, it's prob easier to make something from scratch & upsize material to .250" but that wasn't the question he asked. I get that some guys like to repurpose things if/when possible.

Re: upper mount
 

Stock 60-62 upper and lower shock mounts are double sheared from 3/16 thick material.