From: bw738@cleveland.freenet.edu (Ed Wetherell) 
Newsgroups: volvo.net
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 23 :30:40 -0400 

Having been through this process on both sides of 2 x-members, I believe that is *definitely* something that should be part of the performance 1800 suspension!

Fabricate the plate to fit -inside- the tower. Attach the plate to the frame with rosette welds and in the case of a blown tower, the ragged edges where the shock went through. The reasons are the following: you don't have to rely on the welds for strength, just locating the plates. This limits the amount of welding necessary which can change the strength of the x-member. You also don't have to put as much trust in your welder. I have a hard time trusting some of the people I find to do strange projects, and although my welding skills are better than many, I try not to put my welds under the extreme stress of the top of the tower. If for some reason the welds do fail, it is still rather difficult to push a piece of 1/8"+ thick metal though the top of the tower. It may be necessary to fill in the area surrounding the shock hole and grind it flat so you wont kill shock bushings.

As a side note, all you 1800 drivers out there w/ the trick suspension should keep a close eye on the x-member. There are a couple other places besides the top of the shock tower that are prone to failure! The most common is the shock tower, the next is the tube that runs though the member on each side. The large bolt that holds the lower A-arm runs through this tube. I have seen this mount fail!

ed