74 Javelin front shock installation question...

[74humphulk]

Hello everyone. I bought KYB shocks for my 74 Javelin AMX. The engine is out of the car and I am trying to put the front shocks in. The problem I'm having is this: I got the shock in on the drivers side but there isn't any thread showing to bolt the shock to the shock mount when the rubber bushing is put on top before the saucer washer. The bottom two shock mount bolts are in. It seems without the top rubber bushing I can put the saucer washer on and get the nut and lock nut on. Is this ok to do? The shock seems to be fully extended and I'm at a loss as to how to get the shock connected to the shock mount as well as the two bottom bolts. I've tried everything I could think of. I hope somebody can give me some advice on how I can get these front shocks in. I thought this should have been a 45 minute job at most and its turned into a real project. Thanks to all suggestions!!

Vince

[jeepsr4ever]

Hey Vince...welcome aboard

Are you saying the shock stud is stripped or the threads are bad and the shock wont extend to the stud?

[tufcj]

With the engine out of the car, the front is just too high for the shocks to reach. Same thing happened with my 69. The shocks actually limit the droop of the front suspension.

A solution is to jack up the rear corner opposite the shock you are installing. (jack up left rear to do right front). Or you could just wait until the engine is back in and install the shocks then.

Bob
tufcj