Greetings everybody

[journey force]

Hello there,

My name is Leon and I come to you from the world of Carbureted G-Bodies. I was referred here by one of your members(who also owns a Cutlass) and hope you guys can help and answer my question. I am on a quest to remove the “old Man” wallow of my Cutlass sedan(I own a 1987) and have gathered up the various sway bars,tie in bars and braces to do the job. Heres what I have:

I have the two bars that go from the engine cradle to the frame in a long V shape(all cutlass’s have them) I got the Grand Prix under Radiator bar to complete the under car triangle. I have a regular front sway bar and a rear sway bar from a better equipped cutlass. I just got the upper fender to frame braces on my car. My first question is this,

1. on all 1978-1988 RWD Cutlass’s there is what I call upper fender to radiator support Braces. There are two of them(one on each side) that run diagonally across the battery(cant remove the battery until you unbolt the bar first) and the other one is across the coolant overflow tank. On the 1978-80 versions of Cutlass the braces were big solid things, but from 1981-88 the braces were a puny wire like thing. I was told by a good friend that in a junk yard I go to every once in a while(it is about 30 miles from me) there are two 1978-1979 Buick Regal’s and one of which is a Turbo 3.8 model. Now my I wanted to know did the 1978-87 Buick Regal (RWD) have these two braces or not?? I am trying to save myself the trip for no reason. See this link for a few pictures(thanks Betsy of Oldspower.com)

Add the www to the bottom link as this will not let me add a link until I post 4 posts
oldspower.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20628&highlight=braces]DIY fender-braces. - OldsPower.com[/url]

2. I keep reading about how Buick regals have this X brace in front of the Radiator. Is this true and is it welded or held on by screws???

Thanks for your help

Cheers
Leon

 

[turbofish38]

No model of Regal used those upper diagonal braces. All models of Regals used the two cross braces across the radiator opening. They are held on by bolts and thread into J-nuts on the radiator support. BTW those braces will do nothing as far as handling go. They just stiffen up the sheet metal. You might eliminate a few squeeks but than you might create a few too. Total waste of time IMO. Concentrate on the frame and not the body if you want it to handle. Remember the body is attached to the frame with 12 rubber bushings so unless you eliminate the point of flex between the body and frame your just treading water by stiffening up the body with band aids like those braces.