I stopped by Buck’s 4×4 shop here in Boise yesterday and picked up some BDS Shocks.  My measurements showed I needed a pair of shocks that had a compressed size of approx 15″ and a maximum size of approx 25″.  It only took them a few minutes to find what I needed.  Best of all, the price was right — under $100.

Now that I had shocks, I could finally create the front shock mounts, something I’ve put off for a few months. I knew I wanted something similar to what I used last time for shock mounts.  On my last jeep I took some 1/2″ steel that was 4″ wide and bent it using a 10′ tube pipe and dad’s huge vice (firmly attached to a 1000lb bench).  The result were mounts that attached to the side of the frame, rounding up and out.  I liked the effect, so for this jeep I wanted to do something similar.  Instead of the steel I used last time, I took a piece of 1/4″ x 5.5″ x 6′ piece of steel I salvaged from my sisters’ farm and created my shock mounts from that.

Below is the best image I have of the old shock mounts.  I started out with two shocks on each side (this might have been the first time I drove the jeep), but the ride was way too stiff, so I went to just one shock on each side.

My first step was to bend, cut and drill a piece of steel to see if it had the right look.  Below is the mockup. (Note the cool chrome headers!)

I was happy with the general look, so the next step was to create the mounts, create the supporting ribs, and trim up the edges.

To create the supporting ribs, I cut out the shapes, put them in my bigger vice, and pounded them over a pipe to get the round shape.  When I got the shapes the way I wanted them, I cleaned up all the rust.

Next, I welded up the edges

Finally, I welded the mounts onto the frame and paint them.