Front Strut brace

[zeroaxe]

You fellas that have bought these braces, can somone please do me a favour and tell me the dimentions of the Strut brace itself? I am after what thickness 'plate' is used for the (two)parts that fit over the bolts and the diameter of the pipe(round or square if applicable) that is used please. I can possibly have one made for me out of Stainless Steel!!! Cool or what?

Thanks in advance guys(and gals).

[yetibone]

I made mine from schedule 40 T6 aluminum pipe with 1/2" ID, and 1/4" T6 aluminum plate. For ends of the bars, I used 3/4" T6 aluminum solid bar that I drilled, and threaded for the fork ends, then shouldered (turned down) to fit into the pipe, and TIG welded it together.

[zeroaxe]

Thanks yetibone. The only thing that I am a little confused about is exactly where the solid bar comes in to play. I.e. how did you TIG that to the two plates? Thanks again :agree:

[yetibone]

The solid bar pieces are for the fork ends to screw into. The I.D. of the pipes I used was too big for the 1/2-20 fork ends, so the drilled, and tapped solid pieces was the only solution for a smaller inner diameter to suit the fork ends' threads. They're welded to the ends of the bar going between the strut towers, and the bars going down to the frame head. Here's some pics...

[Steve C]

Hi Yetibone

You and I must be the only people who feel the need to brace the struts to the floor area.

I made mine from 25 mm square steel tube with a 1/4 inch plate over the strut tops. I didn't make mine adjustable at all.

Steve

http://www.clubvw.org.au/images/new_strut_brace.jpg

http://www.clubvw.org.au/images/new_strut_brace.1.jpg

[yetibone]

WERD!:agree:

I'd seen ones that have diagonal bracing up to the far front of the spare tire well, but none like mine, until I saw pics of yours.:D My thinking is that that style of bracing I'd seen before I built mine didn't seem to counter the cornering loads on the towers as well by sending the load forward to another part of the body. It really only sends the load to the opposite strut tower. Our ideas address the the transverse loads on the strut towers by bracing them directly to the chassis, and to each other.

[Steve C]

Hi Yetibone

I agree with what you said about the load on the towers, its all about triangles. Triangles are stronger than squares.

It looks like you can push your pan around with the struts not falling over, something that makes me jealous (but I'm over it) of torsion bar front end cars.

Steve

[flat]

I'm with both of you guys, the triangulation is the key. I make a kit for the front area that triangulates just like Steve C's setup. I use the same links and clevises that I have in the kafer cup bars. Looks sexy but cramps the spare tire space.

Steve C, what is the threaded rod sticking up from the center for? Battery?

Lanner

[zeroaxe]

Yeti,

Now it is clearer than mud to me ;) i get what you are saying. Steve C, thanks for your aditions too. When I searched this site for home made braces, yours came up!

Anyway, I just want to confirm some of my dimensions of you guys dont mind... between the two close studs, I measured 64mm and between both of the two studs close to each other, towards the further-est stud, I measured 125mm. Would you concur?? I am considering the triangle part, but dont want to loose the spare wheel space, as the trunk will still have to serve it's purpose.... where else do you guys think I can attach it to the chassis?

Thanks!

[Steve C]

Steve C, what is the threaded rod sticking up from the center for? Battery?

Lanner

Hi

The threaded rod is to clamp my spare tyre down, the alloy box you can see is my radiator, that why the spare is mounted on top of the tank, this was all on my my old 1302, Im doing the same setup with my 1303.

The 2 diagonal bars take up only a small amount of room, perhaps you could fit a space saver spare in the remaining room?

When I made mine I just had some 1/4 plate profile cut, then I Veed some 25 mm tube so that it would kick up at the correct angle, then welded it in place. You need to make the holes for the strut top bolt hole have a little bit of clearance, otherwise they can be hard to get in place unless you drop the strut down before bolting it in.

Steve

[yetibone]

Yeti,

Now it is clearer than mud to me ;) i get what you are saying. Steve C, thanks for your aditions too. When I searched this site for home made braces, yours came up!

Anyway, I just want to confirm some of my dimensions of you guys dont mind... between the two close studs, I measured 64mm and between both of the two studs close to each other, towards the further-est stud, I measured 125mm. Would you concur??

You can use one of your strut crowns for a template. You won't have to worry about measurment accuracy, and your mounting holes will line up perfectly. You can hammer the old studs out very easily. They'll have to be replaced with longer bolts tack welded in anyway, so once the old studs are removed, lay the strut crown down on the plate you'll be using for fabrication, trace around it, and mark all the holes with a marker. For the big hole in the center, just measure the diameter of the opening in the body, and find a hole saw as close to that size, but not smaller.

Once those pieces are cut out, bolt them into place on the strut towers of the body with the strut crowns in their place below. Tack-weld your clevis ends into place on those new pieces, and measure how long of a bar you'll need between the strut towers. Your body dimensions may vary slightly from mine, so it's best to measure what you'll need, minus about 70mm total for the clevis' at the ends of the bar..

I am considering the triangle part, but dont want to loose the spare wheel space, as the trunk will still have to serve it's purpose.... where else do you guys think I can attach it to the chassis?

Thanks!

If you're using a 5x130mm bolt pattern wheel, a deflated Porsche space saver will still fit into the spare tire recess in front of the triangle bracing. I screwed myself here with my front oil cooler plan as it's such a tall cooler, I had to modify my spare tire well to make room for air to move thru it. :o It'll still fit into the boot with the decklid closed, it just won't sit flat into the recess anymore. :rolleyes:

[zeroaxe]

Yeti,

Thanks for the break down. Good news, found some old struts not mounted in the piles and piles of spares I have here!!:agree: Now I just need to unbolt some things, hopefully tomorrow night.

The new studs, do they have to be high tensile steel? I would think so. Now, where in the name of ***** can I find a site online in France that sells nuts and bolts?:confused: (off to fleabay.fr to search)