During my turbo build, we determined that that ladder brace was going to interfere with the piping. When we removed the brace, it showed a good bit of damage. I remember hitting a paint can on the highway once - I saw scratches on the brace at the time, but it wasn't until I cleaned up the brace and sanded all the paint dings and scratches that I saw how much abuse this thing took. Here are a bunch of photos with close-ups of the damage. I'm also showing how the brace was knocked off square in the last photos.
So the question is, did this thing act like a gaurd and save parts of the belly pan from taking abuse? Would I have hit this stuff at all if this brace wasn't there?
To make the brace usable again I think it would cost more than it would to just buy a new one. Would have to bend it back into shape and make welding repairs to the damaged material areas. Otherwise I just don't think this part will do it's job anymore. Probably scrap... or a souvenir for my garage. Maybe I'll make a shelf or a spare tire holder out of it or something, lol.
The other development during the turbo build is the front engine tie brace. The installation kit for this brace uses the collar nuts that press in to existing holes in the FX chassis. GTSpec includes an installer tool with the brace that requires brute strength (or a long breaker bar) to install correctly. The installer removed the brace in order to drop the engine and offered to weld in the two support brackets permanently. To remove the brace in the future, I'll have to pull the two hinge bolts that connect the cross member to the brackets. Photos to follow as they are available.
Finally, I'm watching the development of the new GTSpec chassis brace in development. If there is no interference with my turbo set-up, it might be a good product to replace the removal of the 4-pt ladder brace.
So the question is, did this thing act like a gaurd and save parts of the belly pan from taking abuse? Would I have hit this stuff at all if this brace wasn't there?
To make the brace usable again I think it would cost more than it would to just buy a new one. Would have to bend it back into shape and make welding repairs to the damaged material areas. Otherwise I just don't think this part will do it's job anymore. Probably scrap... or a souvenir for my garage. Maybe I'll make a shelf or a spare tire holder out of it or something, lol.
The other development during the turbo build is the front engine tie brace. The installation kit for this brace uses the collar nuts that press in to existing holes in the FX chassis. GTSpec includes an installer tool with the brace that requires brute strength (or a long breaker bar) to install correctly. The installer removed the brace in order to drop the engine and offered to weld in the two support brackets permanently. To remove the brace in the future, I'll have to pull the two hinge bolts that connect the cross member to the brackets. Photos to follow as they are available.
Finally, I'm watching the development of the new GTSpec chassis brace in development. If there is no interference with my turbo set-up, it might be a good product to replace the removal of the 4-pt ladder brace.
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