cut shock towers?

anybody with knowledge on cutting shock towers here? ive already cut mine but will not be able to weld it up, so i was thinking of putting my airover on and gently set it back down. then i can cut the rears, so when a welder comes out, they can do it all at one time, rather than do the fronts, and come back another day and do the rears. as for the cut, its probably about 7" wide by 10" tall. i cut it the piece out closest to the engine just so the airovers can clear. i know that the structural integrity of the shock towers is lost, but i dont think that much. anybody think that its a bad idea to just lower it now, without the piece? or should i wait it out and have it rewelded?
also, my buddy that will be doing the welding, will be using a mig welder, would this be good, or should i source someone else to do the welding?
Charley

What kind of car are you doing this on? Do you have any pictures? I was thinking about doing something similar to my SC.

93 es300. its not really that hard to do. just think about what section needs to be removed, and where exactly should be removed so that structural integrity of the frame isnt lost. regardless you will lose some.
thats what i think, i might be able to get some pics later on today.
Charley

pics will help a lot but as long as you didn't cut too much/critical areas you should be fine. the enigine/sub frame should keep everything in line.

that being said i would just leave it out if you can until after it is welded up/corrosion protected. just to make life easier.

yeah, that is true, didnt think about the subframe. ok, when i get back home, down the car goes. but this is fwd, so a lot of pressure is on the shock towers due to everything being up front.
charley

this is fine. the apron cover you are talking about right?
people do it to FWD drive cars all the time. bagged accords ring a bell? i had camber kit on one of my EKs and busted a hole in each shocktower and i didnt crumple and fall. wleding would be nice though... im sure the welder would rather cut it himself. so he knows how he wants t odo it.

thanks. yeah, well im not too familiar with the bagged car scene. i just go by what i know and think about. other than that, yeah, its down now. gotta get 1 more inch lower though. and the wiring will be done tomorrow. and yeah, its that apron that sits closest to the engine.
i was planning on getting the metal myself, and shaping the box, and my buddy mig weld it in. i dont know anyone else that does welding so mig will probably be ok right?
charley
pics to come tomorrow i guess

Hey Charley, post some pix up of your bagover setup and the way your suspension looks.

I'm curious. I need to mod my rear to go lower though.

im guessing youre on shocks, if you are, youd probably need to cut and weld the bottom mount up higher. i should have some pics up tonight, i will be finishing up the install today i think. gonna go work on it the moment im done eating.
Charley

yeah charley, mig welding that will be fine. the nice thing about mig is that its a real hard weld and it can be ground down flush to look like factory. now if you were to be doing body work after the welding around the area then i would tig it. tig is a more pliable weld and is more workable than mig (b/c its hotter). if you try to do body work around a mig weld you run a great risk of cracking the sheetmetal around the weld. so as long as youre not working the metal around the weld you'll be fine with a mig:biggthumpup:

k, thats good to know
i should finish it up today after my calc finals
wish me luck
lol
charley

Intense. I'd love to do extended shock towers on a car sometime.