SHOCK tower bar interest

Chingon1

Chingon1

2nd Gear Poster
Joined
Sep 25, 2023
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122
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicle Details
97’ thunderbird LX
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Hey guys, im getting together with the fabricator this Sunday to get started on the removable STB for the front. It’s going to be similar to my current STB up front with the exception of being able to remove the bar for clearance when working on the car. attached are pictures of my current bar so you can get an idea of it.


Is there any Interest on here? The fab guy is going to make 5 of these for now. Bolts will be included.

IMG_4222.jpegIMG_4223.jpegIMG_4224.jpegIMG_4225.jpeg
 
Is that EMT tubing ?? 🤔
 
It’s 1” 1/8 thick steel, made this one a while back at a muffler shop. Next one will look alot nicer. testing waters since SCP isn’t making it any time soon. And I’ve seen people ask about it. Just trying to help out the community.
 
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That's not 1-1/8" solid steel. It's tubing with a wall thickness. Seamless ? 🤔
 
Yea it’s 1” tube 1/8” wall thickness. And I’m not sure i just grabbed it from a scrap pile at my local metal shop.
 
I see you had to cut the hood to fit it. That's something worth noting.

Cough, cough .... Oh, excuse me.

Do MN12's have Shocks or Struts?

Our cars have Shocks not Struts. The two are commonly confused. Struts are typically an integral part of the suspension; meaning they not only support weight, but control both caster and camber. A car that uses struts will have a lower control arm with a ball joint at the spindle mount. But at...
forum.birdcats.com forum.birdcats.com
 
Did you have to clearance the hood to fit this bar?
 
Yea I did have to make room up top, it’s a tight squeeze. You can see in the pictures where I chopped it a bit.

On the new ones we’re gonna angle the bars a bit more to avoid that. For sure the driver side will clear but the passenger looks like it still might need some clearancing.
 
Why not go with something that goes around the front like JL did with his, no issues with hood clearance either. ;)

Joe
 
Good eye there Zep!

Joe
 
Zep5.0 said:
I'd that a rag joint on the passenger side shock tower?
Click to expand...
That helps a lot in the corners.

Somewhere around here I have an original Kenny Brown shock tower brace. That design they aimed the tube forward so there is no interference with the hood. As a couple others have mentioned.
 
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@Rodeo Joe I didn’t go with the JL type because I’m not a fan of those bends. Mines not straight either by any means but a lil better than that. Plus I didn’t mind chopping my hood up.



@dDUBb thats fine the braces aren’t for everybody 👍, the one on my car was thrown together without much thought, paid about 60$ for metal and the welding.


Yea it’s my old rag joint before I switched to heim. I kept it because it had the cool lil ford logo on it haha
 
Chingon1 said:
@dDUBb thats fine the braces aren’t for everybody 👍, the one on my car was thrown together without much thought, paid about 60$ for metal and the welding.
Click to expand...

I've installed front shock tower braces on a few Tbirds over the years .. let's just say there is a HUGE difference in the rigid product JL was making and the garbage SCP sells.

20231103_165731.jpg


.. I saved a few lengths of scrap pipe from my last project.. the 1/2" has .147 wall and the 1" has .179 wall ( except it has a seam; the blue pipe is seamless ) .. will sell, cheap. 😉
 
@dDUBb godamn haha might aswell be solid pipe! I’m pretty sure the fabricator knows about metals so I’m not worried about it that much.

Why do you says the JL piece is much more rigid than the SCP? Are they the same design?? I don’t think I’ve seen the the JL before.

Do you like having a brace in this area?
 
The thing is, there’s a point of diminishing return when you’re mounting your .750” solid pipe or whatever to 0.025” stamped sheet metal. I’ve honestly never seen a STB mount for an MN12 that I felt added any benefit. Ideally they should curve down and mount directly to the top of the shock mount to most adequately secure one side to the other at the point of most solid mounting surface.
Like so:
IMG_2439.jpeg
Any perceived benefit is going to be a placebo effect. It’s also worth noting that a STB is only effective in very, very hard cornering like drifting. So, unless you’re really canyon carving or drifting the net benefit is ZERO except for the placebo effect on your butt accelerometer.
 
Chingon1 said:
Why do you says the JL piece is much more rigid than the SCP? Are they the same design?? I don’t think I’ve seen the the JL before.

Do you like having a brace in this area?
Click to expand...

The SCP brace is a lot more "flexible" .. same design, different materials used.

Not particularly. It requires additional removal time any time you need to work on the engine ( especially common amongst SCs ).
 
@Trunk Monkey the main reason I didn’t want to go with the mount right on top of the shock is because I have coils and I know most people use regular shocks and they have a lil stub that sticks out some, so i doubt the one I’d make would fit. Also I think the STB helps out on uneven surfaces aswell not just spirited driving.

@dDUBd ahh I see what you mean, well the design I wanted to make was removable. The end plates would get bolted down and then the actual bar would get bolted to the plate through tabs and 4 bolts tying it together. So when you do have to work on it, it’s not a bitch.

I got the appt tomorrow with the fabricator so I’ll shoot you guys some pictures of what I come up with. Hopefully the guy has time tho he has been really busy
 
Chingon1 said:
@Trunk Monkey the main reason I didn’t want to go with the mount right on top of the shock is because I have coils and I know most people use regular shocks and they have a lil stub that sticks out some, so i doubt the one I’d make would fit. Also I think the STB helps out on uneven surfaces aswell not just spirited driving.

@dDUBd ahh I see what you mean, well the design I wanted to make was removable. The end plates would get bolted down and then the actual bar would get bolted to the plate through tabs and 4 bolts tying it together. So when you do have to work on it, it’s not a bitch.

I got the appt tomorrow with the fabricator so I’ll shoot you guys some pictures of what I come up with. Hopefully the guy has time tho he has been really busy
Click to expand...

So, how'd it go with the fabricator? What did you guys come up with?
 
nothing yet brolio, he’s been trying to squeeze me in but his shops been so busy lately it’s not even funny.

I am on the list tho so I’ll keep y’all updated for sure. He already cut out the end plates on a laser CNC.

I don’t wanna rush him, the work I’m trying to give em pails in comparison to the jobs he gets so I gotta be patient with that. If it goes well I’m gonna try and get him to do some subframe connectors like the ones Rod made.
 
Hey guys quick question, the fabricator wants me to get the tubing, what material should the tube be? Not sure what’s a good strong metal to get. Will try and get that tube this weekend.
 
Thanks for the help! didnt have time today. But I’m on it. I’ll keep you guy updated.
 
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