@Chris: I do not think this is a very good idea, because it increases the unsprung weight by quite a bit! With normal mounting position the only unsprung part from the shock is the shaft, while you have the entire shock body now as unsprung weight.

There's different opinions on this subject, because some people try to say that body and shaft are somehow connected through the oil anyway. But this is my opinion and when we once tried it in electric a few years back it wasn't good.