I agree with J par but I braced my 8 3/4 in my Hardtop 500 stroker because I had the housing and chuck already and will admit thought it would look cool. My Neihbor had a short I-beam I made as a jig to secure the housing and slowy tacked Brace in place before slowly welding up solid as not to warp anything.Like you, I had time and my labor is free to me .
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