A-Body chassis bracing- stock and aftermarket- what's good?

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MRGTX

MRGTX

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I have noticed that some A-Bodies (usually '73+???) have some bracing under the hood between the inner fenders and the firewall.

What is the story with these braces? Are they any good? Was it part of a package?

I'm also looking to add some bracing to my 'Sport as it gets closer to road-worthiness to alleviate some of the fatigue of old age (and flaccidity of old tech)...and hopefully make the whole car drive better.

What's a good place to start?

THANKS!!
-Mike
 
a place called XV Motorsports made stuff at one time. i've heard about delivery issues over on moparts however. so my advice would be to call them and not expect it shipped tomorrow. if you are patient and persistent you could probably get them to make what you need if you cannot find someone local to fab stuff for you.

i believe what you are referring to is the XV radiator support listed on this page:
http://www.xvmotorsports.com/products/category/index.cfm?cid=40&lvl=1

Lower%20Rad(1)%20-%20Web%20Large%20Photo1.jpg


if you had a local person who can weld and fab stuff, they could easily make something like that for you.

there are different items listed on that page above... take a look

good luck whichever way you go
 
My 74 Duster has those braces also, who knows how much that helps. The best help is braces across top of engine between shock towers. That was tested on late 60's - 70's NASCAR mopars and definitely worked. I think that I have seen vendor made braces like that advertised.
 
we have a fellow on this site that does excellent
set of Subframe connectors, Seymour Scamp, I think..
Yes they are worthwhile. I've gotten two sets..so far
 
I have seen the cowl (firewall) to fender braces on a lot of mid 70s A bodies. I just got a pair off a 76 valiant for my 74 duster (not sure if they are correct length yet but I bet they are).
My 74 duster had them factory as well.

Probably a good idea to have them on any Mopar.

Also, seymourscamp a member here makes weld in sub frame connectors that are solid and great price.

Third you can weld in torque boxes. A small amount of grinding and welding required. The pre-fab rear ones are useful, the fronts could just be made up rather than buying.

Fourth you could add bracing tube from cowl to front frame rail. There are kits available for this and it is a bit intrusive into your engine compartment.

Fifth you could add a roll cage.

I have seymourscamp's 1x3" subframe connectors, front and rear torque boxes and will be running a pair of braces from the cowl to each fender and possibly one across from fender to fender to triangulate it in. Check out my build pics under my info if you want to.
 
i have some of those later braces for my 67 but i haven't installed them yet. somebody in a previous thread on this subject suggested that they were mainly for extra crunch bracing to supliment the required 5 mph bumpers of that era. its an ongoing debate whether they provide any chassis stiffening benefits.
my feelings are that at the very least they can't hurt.
 
Uscartool makes a nice A body tubular lower radiator support brace. Im going to duplicate that with my friends hydraulic tubing bender.

I also saw some upper shock tower bracing custom built by a gent on an A body cuda at englishtown nj one springtime swap meet. The bracing went from both inner fenderwells at the shock tower brace, and tied together at the top center of the.firewall. Like a letter V. Then he had a brace that went across from shock tower to shock tower triangulating it in. This one bumped up to clear the engine then bumped down to tie the shock towers together. I believe this part used adjustable rod ends and was easily removable for engine mtx or swaps.

Look at an old 65 mustang shelby. You will see the stamped braces from shocks to firewall. This was factory ford it was called an "export brace". The bar that ran from tower to tower straight across with i believe a bend to clear the air cleaner was a shelby design it was called a "monte carlo bar"

Now our A bodies are a little different than a mustang, but similar enough that bracing the engine compartment will stiffen it up the same. The 1960s model mustang and our Abodies are all unibody construction.

I intend to eventually make this kind of setup for my 67 cuda.

Matt
 
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