Trimming Rear Quarter Panels

Last year, I learned that when I have a passenger with me in the Mustang, the additional weight can cause the tires to hit the lip of the quarter panel.  The contact caused some damage to the passenger side tire.  Since both sides are about equal distance from the tires, I decided to trim an 1/8th an inch off each quarter panel lip to see if it and the new shocks help or if I must get some different springs.

I used a set of calipers set to 1/8" and used them to scribe a mark to ensure I trim an even amount.

I decided against trimming using an cutting wheel.  Instead, I used a 60 grit flap wheel to essentially grind off enough metal.  This gave me a smooth surface and allowed me to grind up to exactly my mark and then bevel the sides of the cut just a little.

While I was working on the car, I decided to spray down the rear leaves with some WD40 Silicone spray.  The leafs make squeak noises and this seemed to take care of it.  The stuff I used is suppose to be water resistant so I'm hopeful it will last a while.  

Bilstein Rear Shocks

I installed a set of Bilstein rear shocks today which I purchased a couple of weeks back.  I upgraded the front shocks to Bilstein's earlier this year but waited on the rear shocks as they are a little expensive.  

The front Bilstein shocks were dramatically larger than the KYB Gas-A-Just front shocks.  The rear Bilstein shocks are also larger than the KYB versions but the difference is not as dramatic.  The KYB shocks can be compressed without much difficulty.  The Bilstein's seem to be about twice a stiff.

The Bilstein rear shock is shown below with and without the boot beside the KYB shocks they replaced.

This is what came in the package provided by Street or Track.  They were $94 each.

The replacement of the rear shocks does not have as much impact on ride quality as when the front shocks were replaced.  I can tell the car rides better.  When there are a few people in the car, the back will bottom out with 4.5 mid-eye leafs.  I'll need to replace them at some point but I'm curious if the stiffness of these shocks helps the situation at all.  Time will tell.