Export Brace Bar
- Thread starter daddy oth
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dodgestang
Active Member
Lay in the brace where the shocks mount where it fits, jack up the car and put stands under the front sub frames. Leave car on jack stands over night.
Come back 24 hours later, if holes line up, bolt in, if they don't drill them and bolt it in.
Come back 24 hours later, if holes line up, bolt in, if they don't drill them and bolt it in.
HistoricMustang
Active Member
Bingo! If the shock tower bolts match up you have the correct year export brace.
Also, is this an original or repo? There is a big difference in the thickness.
HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com
dodgestang
Active Member
I would recommend strongly against drilling anything to make the export brace fit. Doing this is undoing what the brace was made for. You need make the car fit the brace not the other way around. Mustangs are notorious for getting "Tweaked" putting on the brace is a great idea and keeps the front end straight and true.
HistoricMustang
Active Member
If it is an aftermarket unit from our friends across the pond no amount of "tweaking" on the body is going to make it fit. They use the "carpenter" method........................"Hey Joe, it that where it needs to be................No LeRoy, it is about 1/2 inch to long.........................That is great Joe, just nail it!
HistoricMustang
dodgestang
Active Member
The point was that:
1. It fits on the shock towers just fine
2. If the car relaxes on jack stands for 24 hours and the holes still don't line up then the brace will never line up with the car and when you account for both the lax manufacturing tolerances of these cars when they were new coupled with the lax manufacturing tolerances of reproduction/after market parts for these car, it is a guarantee that it will never go in no matter now long you let your car dangle.
3. You could drive yourself crazy for months buying different braces and test fitting them until you find one that has it's own tolerances off in just the right fashion that it bolts in and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.....or you can just drill out the 4 holes along the lip on top of the firewall and install it. When you are within 1/2 inch there it has no impact on the ability for the export brace to do what it was designed to do.
Cyclone
Founding Member
Here is an article that I did for "Mustang Monthly" Click on the link below...
http://www.fly-ford.com/MM0105-How_To_Install_an_Export_Brace_and_a_Monte_Carlo_Bar.html
http://www.fly-ford.com/MM0105-How_To_Install_an_Export_Brace_and_a_Monte_Carlo_Bar.html
65fastbackresto
Active Member
Bringing this thread back from the dead. Anyway, I just mounted my export brace and it just laid right on there, no tweaking pulling or anything. Its freaky after reading the install articles and how hard it can be on most cars. Right now its bolted to everything but the cowl, I`m gonna let it hang for couple days before I secure it, the bolt holes aren`t even close right now. I guess what I`m wondering is being as the brace bolted right up width wise to the shock towers, could I be doing it some harm letting it hang?
Pity. Now the car will never be straight. I have installed these on cars where I started with mis-match of an inch or more. Always got the brace on within an hour, and never drilled anything. A half inch mis-match is average, not unusual at all. Jacking and waiting doesn't work, by the way, as you found out. You should have attached at the firewall, loosely, first. Then jack each side, starting with the worst, with the jack below the front edge of the front seat. I have often loosened all but the first and last top fender bolts. Works every time.well i jacked the car up let it sit on the jackstand for 2 days with slight movement.so i just went ahead and drilled the damn holes and bolt it down.thank you for your thoughts
65fastbackresto
Active Member
Well I don`t see how I`m gonna get it to move this much, but I am going to try. In my case the holes on the brace are not only too far back to match the cowl holes, they are cocked to one side at least 1/4 inch.
horse sence
15 Year Member
i have done several 65-66 the holes never line up just drill them
the 67-70 usualy line up a little beter but even they need a slite
egging out some times. the bars are the same bar 66-70 except
the early 65 with even spaced holes, if your front end will sag a 1/2
inch when jacked up then you got a problem. if the bar will bolt to
the spring towers and will set on the cowl lip without forcing it is
is probably alright.the reproduction bars fit teribly and are thin use
the origional type for a beter look and fit
the 67-70 usualy line up a little beter but even they need a slite
egging out some times. the bars are the same bar 66-70 except
the early 65 with even spaced holes, if your front end will sag a 1/2
inch when jacked up then you got a problem. if the bar will bolt to
the spring towers and will set on the cowl lip without forcing it is
is probably alright.the reproduction bars fit teribly and are thin use
the origional type for a beter look and fit
65fastbackresto
Active Member
Left overnight I don`t think it sagged at all. I just finished messing with it again and I am starting to think that my subframe connectors are keeping me from "twisting" the shock towers around. I can`t put the jack anywhere under the front end (or combination of jacks) to move the shock towers at all. The export brace still drops onto them no matter what I do, so I`m drilling. Experiment over.
I just caught that thread of yours last night on the coupe to fastback conversion, very nice work, one thing wrong though, need more pics.
I just caught that thread of yours last night on the coupe to fastback conversion, very nice work, one thing wrong though, need more pics.
horse sence
15 Year Member
working on it time is limited lately just posted some pics on the ifs
install
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