lowering the suspension
 

Ok, so I really like the look of the racing beat front lowering kit, which physically raises the mounting location of the shock on the body, but I dont like the idea of just cutting off the stock spring perch and adding nearly the same piece at a cost of $168.00. Is it safe for me to cut the perch myself and just weld in a 1" - 1 1/2" section in between the perch and the body, with a bit of reinforcement or should I just dish out the cash to RB. Also if my idea will work, is it possible to do that to the rear end of the car as well or would that create issues with the links and torsion bar?

Or for that matter, has anyone ever properly lowered the rear suspension?

You can cut and weld the tower yourself. One thing to look out for is hood clearance, go to far and your hood will look like it came off of and old Ford Probe. As for the rear, there are many ways to lower it 'properly'. Most kits you can buy are built to fit into some rule structure that may only allow specific mods. When you lower the rear, the upper links cause you more problems the lower you go. The rear end tilts forward at the top and throws your driveshft out of phase and the links create more of a bind as the car leans in a turn. Fix those problems and all you need to worry about is spring rates to keep from bottoming out, oh and shocks to control those stiff springs.

You mentioned a kit for the rear...does anyone know where to find such a thing? Im interested but I dont even know where to start looking.