[Blue Streak]

I was installing new Koni Yellow (sport) struts and shocks (re-using OEM ZSP springs) and realized I made a mistake with the rear shocks. I completed the front struts, which was time consuming, but went well. The rear shock replacement is a fairly simple and straight forward procedure. However, the problem I ran into was when I began threading the bolt on the bottom of the shock, I was using the original bolt from the OEM shock. It only went on about 3 millimeters when I realized it was way too hard to screw on and something must be wrong. I removed the new shock and looked at it on my bench and realized then that the Koni shocks came with their own lower fastener nuts which were still in the Koni boxes.

So now neither nut will fasten on because that lower portion (roughly 3mm) is stripped. I was thinking I may need to re-thread the threads there on the lower shock and use a matching nut. My other option, if possible, may be to machine that bottom section clean off, where the threads are stripped.

I brought them to a friend's shop who is a mechanic and he said those ideas may not be safe and the best option would be to purchase new shocks. He said the walls will be slightly thinner and the pressure of the shock mount may cause the hole in the suspension arm to grow wider, which could cause a major problem down the road. That's crazy... I really need to get my car back on the road and was hoping my ideas may work.

Any thoughts or advice?