FX45 front strut tower brace install

L

larrys project

Member
Location
kansas
I recently purchased the GTSpec front strut tower brace but after delivery learned that the engine cover is too tall to let the cross brace went ahead & cut up my engine cover to allow installation of my recent purchase of the GTSpec strut tower brace. I dont like the look of the cut up engine cover though. Didn't know how it was gonna look untill I tried it. I will post some pictures to let anyone else with a FX45 deside if it's worth the visual change to the engine cover. For those who want to cut the cover, I used a drill / 3/16" drill bits for pilot holes for the "spot facers. 2 sizes of spot facers, 3/8" & 9/16" to maintain radius corners. & a cut off wheel to cut the strait runs between corners, then cleaned up the cuts with a file. A rotary file comes in handy also.

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Hey Larry, now that you have cut it up it might be nice to see what it would look like if you sanded a slight radius on the cut edges and painted them silver with a tight roller. Might look more finished/intentional than a hard edge. Overall it looks pretty tight, the side shots look great, the over head shots where you can see inside the casing bugs me a bit but what can you do unless you built new plastic walls around the brace.....and you did a really nice job mapping it all out and the bar fits well. The quality look of the GT Spec pulls it together......Visually I just like the GT more than my Stillen STB. I may end up doing the same fix on my cover, thanks for "Guinea pigging" it man.
 
yep, the brace must come off to remove the cover. 2 bolts & it's gone.
Good idea Logan, about adding some wall behind the brace to fill in the void. Thats the part I don't like either. I want to paint the brace mounts also, but it was starting to rain before I finished. Maybe next weekend I can make some room in the garage so I can work on the cover some more.
 
Sorry man didn't want to add more to your fab schedule but if you glue in walls and give it a hair more room it will look like it was truly meant to be there. The more I look at it the more I like what you did. What about the mounts, color matched to the compartment? Satin black?
 
Not sure if the engine covers were the same height for all the years besides design but with the stillen no need to take the brace off to remove the cover it slides right off.
 
06+ are taller. I think we figured this out with the NRG strut bar when it first came out, I had to take one of them back when it wouldn't clear the engine cover.

This is not to say the Stillen STB would get in the way of the 06+ but, the 06+ is taller. :wink:
 
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