On the strip down I took off a couple of small panels about a foot wide by maybe 8" tall which covered the tops of the coil springs. Are they just there to protect the shocks from stone chips or something or a different reason? For the size of them they weigh a bit so if they dont serve a good purpose I'll weld the holes and leave them off. Any un-necessary weight can go as far as I'm concerned!
They are definately not a cover, they are structrual and add strength to the towers..... You need to pu them back in.....
I'm no engineer so this is just my opinion, but I dont see how they add much integrity to the unibody design since they are not bolted at the top, only on the sides. I think they are beefy just because they hold the bumper incase you bottom out your suspension. Anything lighter and that bumper wouldn't be much good.
That explains it then! I didn't notice a bumper (bump stop?) though they could well have perished away. Will blast them and put them back on then! Cheers all!
