export brace or monte carlo bar?

19mustang65

New Member
Apr 25, 2004
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Phoenix AZ
can somebody school me on what having either a monte carlo bar or export brace does and if its worth it. i know they add support the the shock front end, does it inprove handeling?

on the monte carlo bar, im pretty sure id have to get a curved one...i would think having the curve would screw up the whole stiffness part?
 
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The export brace is almost mandatory to keep the front end stiff. The monte carlo bar is optional. The curved MC bar is for those folks that have an oval air cleaner. Installing the export brace is easy. Installing the monte carlo bar is a huge PITA.
 
ravenblack67 said:
The export brace is almost mandatory to keep the front end stiff. The monte carlo bar is optional. The curved MC bar is for those folks that have an oval air cleaner. Installing the export brace is easy. Installing the monte carlo bar is a huge PITA.


i already have an export brace right? the factory style.

is the montecarlo bar a weld in thing or something?
 
19mustang65 said:
i already have an export brace right? the factory style.

is the montecarlo bar a weld in thing or something?

The MC bar is held in by the existing bolts in front of the shock towers. Be prepared to use a little muscle and a hammer to get the bar lined up :) If you have an MSD dist., you will need the curved bar. You do have a 2 piece export brace, but the aftermarket one is better because it's one piece.
 
restomod22 said:
The MC bar is held in by the existing bolts in front of the shock towers. Be prepared to use a little muscle and a hammer to get the bar lined up :) If you have an MSD dist., you will need the curved bar. You do have a 2 piece export brace, but the aftermarket one is better because it's one piece.


get the bar lined up... this mean it fits extremly tight? as long as it doesnt require cutting and welding im all about doing it, this car has kicked my @$$ before so im not afraid for it to happen again.
 
anyone ever had issues installing the export brace on a car not originally equiped with one... ive heard that the shock towers can sag making it impossible to line up the mounting points on the export brace without some good equipment and an alignment shop.
 
84convertablegt said:
anyone ever had issues installing the export brace on a car not originally equiped with one... ive heard that the shock towers can sag making it impossible to line up the mounting points on the export brace without some good equipment and an alignment shop.

This is true for a monte carlo bar, though one way around it is to jack up the car from underneath the engine block. I don't see how it would be an issue with an export brace since it just replaces the 2 piece brace you have now!

A monte carlo bar will definitely increase the rigidity on your front end and improve handling. After I installed mine is was like night and day.

Export brace same situation, though not qite as drastic, but the 2 togeter are definite must haves! :nice:
 
(I have done a cut and paste from an earlier post) Here is the monte carlo bar Dolfan made for me. It is made of 1 inch moa steel tubing an has RH/LH threaded rod ends. You don't have to beat it in with a hammer to get it to fit. Instead, you can simply rotate the bar and it either extends or retracts, pushing or pulling until the shock towers are in place. This is the same principal for the export brace you see there too.

This MC design is superior to everything else. The only drawback is that you have to pull the distributor to adjust the distance between the shock towers. Global west makes one similar to it but in spite of their claims that the curved bar fits an HEI distrib, the GW MC bar propped up in the corner of my basement suggests otherwse. Is it strong in spite of the curve? I placed it in between two bench presses I have in my basement and stood on the middle. It took my 230 lbs no problem with absolutely no flex whatsoever.

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