Koni Front Shock mount spacers and bolts.

[FFR6870]

I have been trying to "restore" / "rescue" a Cobra that is in need of some help. In my journey into doing this, I noticed that the shock mount bolts were swapped (lower bolt in upper bracket, upper bolt in lower bracket). Simple enough to swap them, but getting them out is very difficult. I was able to get the lower bolt and spacers out and, looking at them, I was wondering if they were the spacers that came with the kit. They fit very tightly over the bolt, and had to be driven out with a brass punch and rubber mallet. Is this what your spacers looked like for the front shock mounts? Included in the kit?

Large picture of bolt and spacers (http://posseoffreaks.org/cobra/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMG_20120620_201940.jpg)

They look pretty rough, and I was thinking that perhaps they were not the original parts.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[MK4]

Not the original that came with m'y mk4 they are loose

[FFR6870]

Thank you MK4. From what is my limited understanding, the MK3.1 and the MK4 are pretty similar. Do you recall if your spacers for your shock mounts were made of aluminum or steel?

[GT-Tom]

Those bushings look homemade. You can find bushing or shim washers at places like Ace Hardware. Just make sure the outside diameter is small enough to allow the hiem joint to swivel without binding...ask me how I know :o. Here is a picture of my shock. NOTE: my shock has been moved to the rear of the car to allow for a longer front UCA to get more caster. Normally the shock would be centered but you can see that I used both aluminum bushings and stacked shim washers for proper spacing.
Tom
10404 10405

[riptide motorsport]

Definitly not FFR supplied. Easy enough to make your own.

[MK4]

Original one are aluminium

Mk4

[CraigS]

I wish i had a lathe but I don't so here is my solution. Thought I had a pic but not. I buy 1/2 lugnuts at the hardware store and drill out the threads. This gives me a nice spacer w/ a taper so the bearing in the coilover has room to move. Any more space I just use regular washers. I don't like the idea of aluminum spacers unless they are a hardened aluminum.

[FFR6870]

CraigS, that sounds like a great solution. I tried to actually BUY lug nuts today both at Ace Hardware AND at Autozone... NEITHER HAD IT. I also went to McMaster Car, thinking about getting 1" OD stainless steel spacers, and then rounding the edge myself, but that would have been about $14.50 a side. Not a big deal, but if I could do it better AND cheaper, what's not to like?

[GT-Tom]

You are over thinking this. The FFR supplied bushings are aluminum and engineered for the application. The shocks are used in their Spec Racing Series. There is minimal horizontal stress. As long as the shock is vertically aligned aluminum bushings will hold up just fine. :

Tom

[FFR6870]

Yeah GT-Tom, you're right. I tend to do that at times... but, if you could see just how bad a shape this car is in, I just want to make sure I do things right. The spacers that were used on the car are clearly NOT what was supplied by Factory Five, so, I'll just call them today and have them send me spacers.

Thanks to everybody for all the help!