Rear Shocks.

Converting to a SPOA (spring over axle) lift using 2.5" Skyjacker springs, Revolver shackles and Rancho 9012 shocks I ended up with 14" of suspension travel. The first problem I ran into was how to mount the rear shocks? The Rancho 9012's are very long shocks. Fully extended they are 33 inches and fully compressed they are 19 inches with a travel length of 14 inches which leaves little room to mount them on a stock CJ body! The pictures here show my original plan, running a cross-member from frame rail to frame rail. Then mounting the shocks at an extreme angle so they would fit. I even went as far as to fabricate a cross-member before coming to the realization the the shocks were simply to long to mount in this fashion. 

Just for a second I thought to give up and ditch the Rancho 9012's and go for something shorter, something easier and less time consuming, but that moment past and I came to my senses. Then I recalled seeing a jeep many years ago running the rear shocks outside the frame rails. So there and then it was settled, I was keeping the 9012's and I was going to try something a little different.

So then I bent out two U shaped pipes that would act as a shock hoops. I then sectioned two 90  degree angled ends that would attach flush with the frame. If you look closely at the picture you can see two grinded off areas, this is where I welded the 90 degree angles and grinded the welds smooth on the hoops. After looking at the hoops a while I decided  they were to big for my liking and I thought the sectioned tube would be to weak under the continuous stress of the shocks going up and down. My tube bender will only make hoops in a 13" radius and that's as good as it gets. Now maybe if I had a 10 to $20,000.00 machine I could do what I want but I don't, so I would have to figure something else out.

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