I just recently went through the same thing on my '67, and watched the same video...lol I pretty much ended up doing the same thing as them. I tried jacking it up first in some different positions, but nothing worked. It was about an inch or so off. Of course I couldn't find a porta-spreader to rent ANYWHERE, so I used some ingenuity and took the Hydraulic ram off of my engine puller and with a couple of blocks of 2x4 it worked perfect, spread them right apart!

 

You can use a bottle jack or even a scissors jack with blocks on either side to CAREFULLY spread the shock towers. I would go a little at a time rather than all at once and make sure your blocks don't shift as you go.

 

Maybe cut a 2x4 slightly longer than the space between the fender aprons, then cut that in half and put a hinge in the middle of it. Press it down to spread. Don't know it that made sense but it would look like this / \ with a hinge in the middle at the top.

 

As you've already done with the front jacked up, let it hang like that for a good day or so then attempt. If that doesn't work, the next step is to incrementally spread the towers apart via a port-a-power or by utilizing a bottle jack as mentioned previously by @myfirstcar66 . Best of luck.

John

 

I bought a Port-a-Power at Harbor Freight Tools. I had to spread my shock towers about an inch and a half.

 

I can't believe that shock towers could collapse inward by 1 - 1 1/2" (but I believe you). How on earth did your hood fit between the fenders? I didn't think there was that much adjustment in the fender mounting points. I guess if I found that much movement, I would also be running a support.

 

Good point. Dunno. Hood was always square it seemed. A couple times I drove the Mustang like a Baja Bug. Not good. Maybe that did it. It was definitely over an inch cause I measured it.

 

Slow and steady wins the race here. Do it once and do it right.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm going to let it sit for a day or two, then try to spread it open with a porto-power.

-DonP your 2x4 suggestion makes sense and I may try that before buying a single use tool, however I'm worried I wont have much leverage to push down from the hinge point since that'll be centered over the engine, but I'll try!

 

Had the same problem with my 67 after having the motor out for a while. I jacked it up on the #2 cross member (the one under the oil pan) and it helped a little but not enough. I did end up using a Port-a-Power to get the last 1/2" or so. Good luck

 

wont the alignment be way off when done

 

In my case I developed negative camber with the sag. When I pushed the towers out the camber appears to have returned to normal but I still need to have it checked.

 

I recently went through the same thing on my 70. I had to spread them about an inch with a porta power to get my monte carlo bar and export brace to fit. loosen up all your fender hardware so not to bind up your fenders and aprons. I had to build some brackets to push on because my valve covers were to high. Like was said go slow with the porta power, small increments and let it set a bit in between.

 

I like the idea of the brackets you made to push against. I'm assuming you spread your towers, installed the monte carlo bar, removed the port o power, then removed the brackets and installed the export brace?

 

I used the ram from my engine hoist and a couple 4X4's. Worked great.

 

I'm struggling with, how it's possible the shock towers can collapse inward a great degree (think 1/2-3/4") and not cause problems with the hood not closing, or, evening noticing a huge change (line of sight) in the gap between the fenders and the hood?

 

Loosen fender bolts and get "crackin", literally it cracked and groaned the whole time.
I was off about 3/4 in per side.
The fenders had been off before me, so alignment was looking good even with the sag.
Changed how the car drove and felt for sure.

 

This is how I correct the shock towers. Easier than setting up the Port-A-Potty

 

Why did you remove the export brace?

 

I suspect the OP was calling the pair of stock tower braces an export brace. Perhaps he didn't realize only the single piece brace is called the export brace. (Guessing here)

 

When I first installed my export brace, I tried spreading the towers with a jack and wood blocks, but didn't have much luck.
I ended up bolting on one side of the brace (loosely), then I stuck a steel rod through one of the bolt holes on the top of the other side and into the corresponding bolt hole on the top of the shock tower. I pried the rod til the other bolt holes lined up and bolted it in. Removed the rod and finished up with the remaining bolt.

 

I bought an Monte Carlo bar years ago, it was a mile from fitting and returned it. I recently acquired an adjustable MC bar, and I’m going to install it, snug it up nice and tight and move on down the road. Probably not the “right” way to do it, but the car already drives straight and square.

On my daughter’s project coupe (both 66’s), a regular bar just dropped in place. Go figure.

 

Probably why people go with MII fronts, shock towers are nothing but trouble…..

 

“Nothing but trouble” is misleading & not an appropriate description of the shock towers. They are less troublesome, not more troublesome than other sections of the unibody. I’d much rather move the shock towers a bit as needed than have to tackle rusty cowls, and rusty door corners.

Downgrading the handling capabilities by installing a M-2 front end seems like a wrongheaded way to fix a minor issue that doesn’t even affect anything close to a majority of vintage Mustangs.

Anecdotally I can report that of over 100 export braces I’ve installed on both customers and my own vehicles, only 3 or 4 of them needed more than a 1/8 to 1/4” correction. And that was easy to lever into position.

On most cars the export brace drops in perfectly.

So how do you know the shock towers are being pushed out equally? What stops it from pushing just one out while the other stays where it is. And what would that do to the geometry of the front end? Why assume an aftermarket piece is correct and your shock towers are wrong?

easy to measure movement on each side with a chalk mark. Body shop 101.

The better aftermarket export braces with the deep(er) channels are make to verifiable specs. I haven’t seen any variation in those pieces in over 50 years.

 

So how do you know the shock towers are being pushed out equally? What stops it from pushing just one out while the other stays where it is. And what would that do to the geometry of the front end? Why assume an aftermarket piece is correct and your shock towers are wrong?

 

Because you install your export brace in first. That centers your towers because of triangulation with your cowl.

 

I’m joking…. My MC dropped in without any issue.

 

If my shock towers had moved together by a whole inch then my hood would have refused to close.

 

Yeah, I searched for a tongue in cheek emoji, but only found a tongue out of cheek one. I liken MII to throwing the baby out with the bath water, unless you fall into the Coyote et al group. My opinion is worth every cent as well.

 

Condolences on having to spread the towers.
When I added the export brace, I was sooo relieved that it dropped on I posted the success here.
Somewhere in this forum was someone suggesting that over the years the fenders might have been adjusted as the towers sagged to keep the body in alignment.
Remember that for most of their lives, these cars were just cheap transportation, so I never presume a fix was done with anything other than the least cost involved.
Case in point, My car shows the rad support has been brazed back together, there are heat marks from someone straightening a twisted bumper, marks on the fender showing where the bumper creased it, etc.... All evidence that someone who really knew metalwork was doing the least expensive front end repair possible, but skipping things that would not or could not be seen from 10 feet away.
I kind of see the battle scars as proof my car has had a life and love them.