Custom Strut Bar Project

[blndweasel]

Hey all,

Some of you may have read my other post M44 Replacement / Strut Tower Reinforcement. I had cracked my stock strut towers while running L/R swapped M3 struts and strut guide plates.

The last step in this project was to finish cross-bracing the new beefy strut towers with a bar.

Once again, I worked with Scott a couple of afternoons and finished this project in a few weeks time (lots of other stuff going on!). He did the fabrication, I just held things and watched.



I didn't have my camera with me during the fabrication, I just took some shots after I finished painting yesterday.



Mounting location. Two tabs cut from 3/16" steel.



The bar was cut from stock and MIG welded using a few simple make-shift forms to keep the piece straight and the angles correct.

(Scott, if you would like to add more info about the design, let me know and I will paste it here)

A few markings were made in the engine bay on blue painter's tape, one to indicate centerline of the vehicle, and a few more to indicate the centerline of the bar where it attaches at the towers.

The height was checked as well by closing the hood on a locked-out measuring tape nestled into a nook next to the fuse box / driver's shock tower area.

Afterwards, it needed painting, so I cleaned it up a bit with sandpaper, primered it with Krylon rust-tough spray can, and finished it with an air brush.

I had a lot of hobby paint lying around (why yes, I hobby) and used some Testors Model Master Metalizer -- Magnesium. Transitions to Burnt Metal, then transitions again to "Burnt Iron" at the ends. The metalizer paints can be polished, and I did this briefly with some flannel to fair results.

I finished it off with a little german flair, inspired surely by the World Cup.