Rear seat braces

[GrndNatnl]

Will that make a difference on the bracing effect? Or does it work just as well?

 

[Sinful6]

It would work just as well, if not better(in theory). Although, if you have backseat passengers... they may not enjoy it.


-DC

 

[turbowrenchhead]

One question. Why do you have to have the rear end jacked up. I would think it would have to unload the rear end? So jack up on the frame?

 

[GrndNatnl]

I think thats what they mean actually... just jack up the "rear" of the car. Not rear as in the differential axle itself.

 

[DJay]

This sound / looks really neat. Also looks like something i could tackle myself!

Keep the info flowing! Its rare to find a mod that people rave about that is inexpensive and do-able by myself! Heh heh

 

[GrndNatnl]

I thought the same thing, but its a pain in the @ss making the braces right. Especially without any kind of tubing bender, which I'm lacking. I still havent finished the project yet!

 

[Squirley87]

just a suggestion on bending the conduit without a bender. take your piece of conduit and position it in the vise where you want the bend. Tighten the vise JUST enough to hold the tube from falling out. Then just use some good old arm muscle to bend it to where you want it. For the amount of angle you will need you will not have to worry about creasing the tube to the point of making it useless. If you can't bend it by hand, find something with a larger inside Diameter to use as leverage. Hope this helps.

It only took me a couple hrs to install the braces. And that was with the back seat in the car.

 

[GrndNatnl]

I dont have that kinda muscle!

I'm afriad to kink it though. I dont want to crease the tubing if possible, since it would probably take away from the bracing effect if it were to flex any.

 

[IrvJr]

You should have enough bolt to actually get the nuts started before you would start needing that bend. So just get all the nuts started and let them bend the conduit. Thay arent that hard to bend by the way.

Scott

 

[GrndNatnl]

I tried putting body weight on both ends, hand on each end, pushing down on it, and hopping, on the end of the bench vise in the center. It still wouldnt bend. I must have some pretty strong conduit here...

 

[IrvJr]

What kind did you buy?

Scott

 

[Sinful6]

Yes, the appropriate would be 3/4in. thin wall conduit. If you are adamant on using what you have(if it is not thin wall) then take a torch or like device, and heat up the middle, and bend it.

-DC

 

[wallyp]

Made up a set, painted them black, leveled car on stands,
removed back seat. Took about 3 hours to make and install.
Car does feel better ( t-tops).

 

[1000MileStylez]

does it work just as well as a hardtop car that has this mod?

 

[GrndNatnl]

I would assume I got the thin-wall kind. I mean it looks pretty thin, but its very strong. I got it at Home Depot. It's the only metal conduit they had; sold in 10 ft. lengths. 3/4" inch.

I tried heating it up with a small blowtorch, and heated it for a good while, but it still wouldnt flex. I'm just plain stuck! If I cant bend them somehow, that $70 bucks for the already made braces is going to look easier and easier. I hate to spend that kinda money on something so simple though.

 

[ALBERTAN]

Heh, you guys are sure creating a lot of work for yourselves. Intuitively, it seemed to me that bending the braces would weaken their rigidity as someone mentioned....so I didn't. You just need to attach them in the right place and neither needs to be bent. After looking at all the pictures you guys probably have last year when I made mine, I had the same problem. Looking at those pics, they need to be bent to form a nice "X" between the upper and lower. So I made them a less than perfect "X". I don't think rigidity was compromised at all. In fact, I think my setup may even be stronger since nothing is bent. I just hammered the ends, measured carefully and bolted it all up. It made a noticable improvement first time out and my sub 30K mile GN was tight to begin with.

My setup is pictured here. Have fun and remember to keep it simple.

P.S. I painted them black after this trial fit.

 

[granitestategn]

Find an electrician!

Borrow a conduit bender from an electrician if you can. You may be able to buy one for around $30 if you can't borrow one. The conduit you want is thin walled. Usually called EMT. You could probably use aluminium conduit, too. You could try to rent a bender from a tool rental place. Check the Yellow Pages. Good luck with it. I still have a 10' piece of EMT in my basement waiting for me to tackle this job. I like the flat stock idea. I just want an "X". I never have understood why everyone does the double "X". It introduces more slop. I guess I'll find out when I try it.

 

[fireberd350]

Originally posted by ALBERTAN
I made them a less than perfect "X".

cheater

 

[1000MileStylez]

EMT

Can you use the alluminum conduit for "under the hood" braces, just as if you used them for the back seats? Or would you need something else that is stronger?

 

[BADINBLACK6]

I've been reading this post and was wondering why it seemed so hard to make these so I made them last night at my work and installed them. It took about 3 hours start to finish. I put two braces on the inside of car 2 on the truck side, worked perfect. I will post pics as soon as possible.HTH