[edgy]

ok this is my 2nd go round on these..... initially I had a little help from Doug/RRT to weld up a couple steel rods with rod ends and i had him weld up some steel scrap for a firewall bracket and a brace that went behind the firewall to tie the bracket into the chassis more solidly....the firewall is so it wouldn't do crap for reinforcing the braces on its own....I tied that into my Area 51 brace & stepped back for a look....not a bad 1st attempt but the steel rods were Heavy, i kept them short to save weight...but they also looked funky & were less effective mounted slightly 'inboard' like that... also they were a bit thin to "look right" with the thick ass Area 51 Strut brace...

so i decided i'd try again....

I ended up finding some nicely sized 1 inch plus diameter carbon fiber rods online that were for another car... they came with BigAss spherical rod ends but were JUST a little too long...they are actually really nice dry carbon/kevlar tubes with a "pretty" CF weave on top and nice long threaded alloy inserts in the ends that the spherical rod ends threadded into nicely, so..... they are perfect for what i need...

I sliced the CF tubes near the ends to get the threaded plug out & then sliced up the CF tube on the plug in a spiral so i could pull the CF back & break the glue & pull it off...

aftermaking sure the tube was square & the proper length... i glued the threaded insert/end back in the tube and threaded the Rod ends back in... BAM!!....custom shortened carbon kevlar hollow rods...

then I went to the local metal center & found some 1.14 inch square alloy tube...I sliced out part of one wall of the tube leaving a small ridge at the top & bottom and cut it down to the width i needed...

It turned out i needed to " build up" the insides of this bracket so the spherical rod ends would fit tightly, centered inside the tube and not move....note the alloy bars in the back ground...

I ended up using 1inx1/8 in. alloy bars that I cut down...these slipped right inside the 1in. internal dimensions of the bracket & fit like a glove. When inserted, the open space between them was PERFECTLY sized to allow the spherical rod end bearing to slip snugly into the opening, with NO slop....

I filed everything down cleanly & then i drilled the mounting holes thru the top and bottom of the bracket...

using those holes I marked the two alloy bars.....after drilling the bars out to match the bracket's holes, I cut the ends of all the parts at an angle to finish the basic shape of the bracket..

Not able to weld...I JB welded the two strips inside the bracket & used two of the rod ends bolted inside the parts to properly brace the inner parts & make sure they stayed put as the epoxy dried...

The holes in the BigAss rod ends are HUGE... & i wasn't planning on using hardware that large for a number of reasons... I had a nice set of spare bolts from my CF cage...male & female 'shoulder' bolts...they have a really low-profile allen head and i wanted to use them..but 1st i had to cut them down a bit...

Using these bolts meant i had to create an offset bushing inside the spherical rod end bearing for two reasons:
-1st so these would bolt solidly to the bracket with out using a bigAss (heavy) bolt that filled up the bearing internally.
-2nd so the large ass rod end would fit inside the shallow bracket, it needed to be offset outward so the thick rod end would still pivot freely for installation & adjustment. So, the hole thru the rod end had to be offset to naturally push the rod end away from the back of the bracket and allow the rod end mounting bolt holes thru the bracket & inserts to be evenly centered.


I ended up using the TRUSTY JB Cold Weld epoxy... I mixed up a bunch & poured it inside the spherical rod ends after i placed a rubber vacuum cap in them offset to one side to keep a hole open....

When the epoxy cured, I peeled out the rubber vacuum caps & the offset hole left was the exact diameter of the shoulders on my bolts for the bracket....when i locked these in place they would be SOLID!!

After a little filiing & sanding, here is what i ended up with...

then I tackled the measurements to attach the ends of the rods to the Area 51 brace...I moved the mount points as wide as possible on the bar this time, marked the bar and & drilled it out.
Here is a comparison of the old & new as i set up the mount points for the rods onto the bar....

I ended up grinding the heads down on some steel bolts and then drilled a dimple in the top to mount the rod ends to the strut bar & i threaded the hole in the Strut bar so the bolts threaded right into the bar directly....

Here you can see the little bushing i had ot make to use these custom lighter bolts cause they also were not as big around as the insides of the rod ends....of course.......

PS... if possible .....NEVER throw away little unique bits of metal & old extra parts from projects etc....I ALWAYS end up needing a funky ass diameter bushing or spacer or some little part shit & 8 out of10 times i am able to find SOMETHING in the pile of Misc hardware/crap i have saved to make 'it' work...


Basically after test fitting it & adjusting the rods... the thing sits & fits PERFECT & functions as well as looks MUCH better than my 1st stab at it.

All I need to finish here is the welding on the reinforcing bracket that goes inside the windshield base 'trench' on the other side of the firewall to actually provide some support here since the thin firewall provides no real support... like the Triangle brace on the Cusco rr strut bar..... only I will be making the parts needed to Correct this one & make it right...

 

[is300soon]

dick

 

[is300soon]

on a serious drunk note, does ur wife ever see u?

D

 

[hattrickinc]

dammit.. i fu*cking came a little.... ah... hmmm

 

[hattrickinc]

lol every think about selling those? I'll take one... heh

 

[TeCKis300]

Freaking Ed! I can't even keep up reading your updates everyday. You must have an army or gnomes working on your car.

 

[edgy]

hahaha no.....I just have been doing alot of shit a little bit at a time over the last 2 months & not posting.. i am just catchin' y'all up a bit...





PAul.........I do need to talk with you seriously on the EMU part of this project... i keep coming back to YOU as the guy who can probably help me get this done right... and LEARN from the process so i can become self sufficient in this as well... PM me yer # again would you please...?... & what ever IM addy you use... i have several questions & i would like you r opinion on the parts i have ready to install...


Thanks!


edG

 

[edgy]

OK,...Final Installment...


It took me a while to get some time there.. ..but I finally got together with my welder & got the car in the shop to finish this last bit of reinforcement bracketry up nicely...

So here are the parts i made... i used 3/8 inch alloy plate stock... I chopped it up with my trusty Makita angle grinder & used everything from a bench top belt/disc sander & dremel to a drill press to finish everything up & shape the parts properly for the stamped firewall and windshield linkage support detail shapes

here i had to accomodate this stamped in "T" bump/ridge in the base plate......

by shaping my part like this..thx Mr Dremel...
(sorry fig i know it is embarrassingly rough right?....pretend you don't kno me............ it is ok.... :

and... this 'step' stamp in the firewall.... conveniently placed right in the middle of where i was working....... had to be accomodated... i know i know....if i had any real skill........ i wudda left a little material off to the right & kept the piece snug against he firewall surface all the way across....... i'm just a freekin hack....

Sweet...they bolt in perfectly...

OK, then I made the "bridge" piece.... including the litle brace i cut to fit underneath and provide a bit of extra beef

nice fitment....

now.... several weeks later & here we''ve tacked in the parts as I carefuly held the bridge piece with my now very hot little hand.:run:

here is my little wedge ready to weld in...

and... after final welding...

This ties the CF strut brace rods & bracket as solidly as possible into the chassis behind the firewall, without welding in additional steel etc...

I know it coulda been done prettier ... but i specifically told the guy that they did NOT need to look good as it was all hidden inder the cowl piece any how....so it was all done fast & durrty..but nice & solid.


OK next.. there's much to do.....

 

[02isjw]

Very nice write-up w/ pix & great work!!

 

[mister chief]

very very nice! thats one clean engine bay!

 

[748special]

Wow, I mean.....WOW. I wish I had the time you do. I took me 2 week just to get my rear strut & trunk bars to look good and still have my trunk mesh net still work.

if you can, or get Figs to copy that brace I'll pay for it. I've been looking at triangulating my front strut bar for awhile now. I hope you don't mind I'm using your post to help with the project. Thanks for all the posts and updates.

++rep

 

[Myis300t]

I really think i just came a little in my shorts...
That looks great. everthing...
My car used to be that clean....ahhh the neglect..

 

[longnights]

looks great, +rep (again)

 

[Fig]

Your a real nut Edge, looks great you OCD bastage.

 

[LexDymndz]

hey ed,

i was looking at your work. its great. but i since you like everything super clean...
any reason why you did not mount the rod to the bolt that connected the top piece of the strut bar to the base? i circled the bolt below.

the extra rods have spherical end so if you put a longer bolt and some washers into the strut bar, you might be able to make it look even cleaner. or use a piece like thise to tie it into the strut brace bolt:

the pics is of a honda c-pillar brace

i was looking into something similar but since my JIC isnt as beefy up top i was trying to find other options. just an idea.

 

[BlackSportD]

You make me sick.

 

[rllinghardis300]

phockin' edgy..
i'm just going to wait for him to get a Magazine Spread in OCD Monthly and than buy his ride for a lowball price.. LOL..
.. i am not worthy brother from another mother.. LOL

 

[Flatline Graphiix]

For some reason, you never cease to amaze me. You're such a hack... Just kidding. That looks awesome. Makes me want one, even though I wouldn't do anything with it.

I think your days have extra hours in them. There's no way, I could work, and then play with my car as much as you do.

 

[edgy]

hehe thx guys


i dont really sleep much actually...

really, & the health & nutrition business is awesome ... I'm my own boss & EVERYONE knows some one who needs to feel bettter, look better, lose weight or have more energy.. much less the fact that NO ONE has job security any more & almost EVERYONE could use a 500 -1500 bux extra a month, so yeah I work on it when i want to.

& lex i hear ya... i was looking at the bolt mount setup for a long time trying to see how i could do what you referred to... it would dsefinitely require a little bracket like you pictured......& i might make that change, the rods will reach easily... but I am not equipped with the tools to fabricate that bracket here, & i wasn't willing to spend more cash on a part for another car & use only the ends..... I already did that with these rods & my new CF triangulating trunk brace rods....


BUT........... i am looking at using something else that might work for me there & i might not even have to swap bolts.......... Item number 548 in my CONSTANT evolution of this car... i cannot even remember how many times i have don e somethign & spend a good amount of energy & time on it only to realize later there was a better/cleaner way & i would just start all over...... Most of the mods on my car have been redone 3-4 times at least..

As it is now, this way was very simple to do & is VERY solid... I did have to modify my CF hood frame to clear the rod ends on top of the bar.

 

[JohnnyBlaze]

good shit Mr. G. Let me know when you'll be making those cf rods?!?!