 4. We collapsed the suspension...  4. We collapsed the suspension and our shock, then bolted the shock into place to find our upper mounting location. |  5. Steve made a cardboard...  5. Steve made a cardboard template for our rear upper mounts, and made sure that it would clear the four-link bar. |  6. Here's our two upper mounts,...  6. Here's our two upper mounts, before and after. |
 7. Steve bolted the mount...  7. Steve bolted the mount to the shock and placed it where it would be tacked. |  8. Once it was tacked into...  8. Once it was tacked into place, the suspension was cycled to check for clearance and then fully welded. |  9. Steve cycled the front...  9. Steve cycled the front suspension and measured it at full droop to find out how= much travel the front would get. This suspension got 9 inches of travel. |
 10. Steve knew he needed 9...  10. Steve knew he needed 9 inches of travel. He plugged numbers into the formula, which showed that he needed to position the lower shock tab at 6.25 inches from inner pivot towards the wheel. |  11. With the lower tab in...  11. With the lower tab in place, Steve could then make templates for the upper mounts. |  12. Here is the upper mount...  12. Here is the upper mount made out of 3/16-inch plate. Once cut out, it was drilled with a 1/4-inch bit. |
 13. Here, you can see how...  13. Here, you can see how our spacers were first bolted into place and then welded solid. Notice that our spacers were used on the inside of our brackets, this ensured clearance for the shock body. |  14. Next, one of the tabs...  14. Next, one of the tabs was drilled and tapped using a 1/2-20 tap, and the other side was drilled to 1/2 inch. Since space was an issue, not needing a nut helped in the long run. |  15. This picture shows our...  15. This picture shows our upper tabs bolted and tacked into place. |
 16. With the shock in place,...  16. With the shock in place, the last bottom tab was traced out and made. |  17. Here, you can see our...  17. Here, you can see our lower tab and cap and gusset used for our upper tabs. |  18. Just like on our upper...  18. Just like on our upper mounts, we drilled out and tapped our lower tabs. We also welded another spacer, since putting a nut on the lower tabs was going to be really tight. |
 19. A spacer the same width...  19. A spacer the same width as the shock mounts was used to place the lower tab on the correct spot. It was then tacked into place. |  20. Then, the shock could...  20. Then, the shock could be bolted on and cycled. | 
21. |
 22. Once the shock was cycled...  22. Once the shock was cycled and clears, Steve used a sleeve to keep the tabs proportioned and in place before welding them on. |  23. Next, our cap and gusset...  23. Next, our cap and gusset could be welded into place, since the tabs would not need to be moved. |  24. Here's the finished product....  24. Here's the finished product. Pretty soon this truck will be ready to roll. Keep an eye out for more on project STK TRUK in an upcoming issue. |