After I pulled out my rear seats this weekend, i noticed that the factory rear seatbelt bolts that sit right above the rear passengers head, would make a darn good spot for a chassis reinforcment bar. So, i pulled off the seat belts and exposed the threads on either side. I then went to Lowe's and purchased a 1" x 1" 6ft long galvinized steel girder. I made the measurements and hacksawed away. Then, the drill came out to make holes for the bolt-on. I used a dremel to cut away some metal so the thread would be long enough. I then went to my local hardware store and got some smaller diameter nuts to fit in the brace (stock nuts were too big). Then i bolted it to the thread, cleaned it up alittle and tada...finished. If your F-body is for the track, and you decide to cut weight for the track...but still want some added rigidity, look no farther. It cost no more than $14 totol, looks super trick and grealty improves the flexy rear. Just thought i would let you know...

 

Interesting... Got a pic?

 

i will be using my friends digital camera at some point and then i will post some pics...

 

Sounds intertesting, get some pics and keep us informed. Did you notice a difference in rigidity? Maybe you should write up a tech article on it...

 

actually thats not a bad idea. you could really stiffen it up if you cleanly TIG welded a 'moly rod in there.

 

i have not tested it yet....tommorow i will and ill let you know.

 

After some neighborhood testing, I have concluded that the rear brace does in fact help stiffen the rear. The difference is very noticable at higher speeds and less at slower speeds. All my buddies agree that it looks trick and for $13 it cant be beat. Ill post pics ASAP.

 

definately would love to see some pics of that.

 

It may look trick... But one downside U cant fill ur car with hot *** women now.. only 2 seats? can we do anything AND keep the back seats???

 

o hwell no backs seats.... the women can sit on me and my buddys laps..... hahaha

 

damn, i wouldn't mind seeing a pic. I've been running with ONE seat in the car the last 1 1/2. $14 is totally in my price range

 

Yeah this sounds totally tight altho i dont quite understand someone wanna draw up a diagram er sumthing possibly a tech article on this cuz 14$ its worth it .. thanks

 

you really cant do it without removing the backseats, because you need acess to the seatbelt bolts and the whole mechanism and plastic has to be romoved...let me see if i can write a tech article on it....

 

thanks man, maybe some ****ty *** sketch of what it looks like too .. thanks

 

thanks man, maybe some ****ty *** sketch of what it looks like too .. thanks

 

Ya know, I had thought of putting some kind of upper shock brace back there, but decided it wouldn't help handling... I never thought to brace the actual frame! That's cool!

You mean the shoulder belt bolts? I have an '86, and there were no shoulder belts back then. Also, for the guys that want to keep their seats- could a hole be drilled in the regular plastic, a few inches away from the retractors, to acheive the same effect? I have no problems drilling a neat little hole in the back plastic!

 

plastic = flex

no support.

if you really want to tighten up your car, put in a roll cage and sub frames. then your car would be tighter than a 15 year old virgin.

 

No kidding! I was talking about drilling a hole in the plastic to get to the metal behind it! I thought that was obvious? I guess not.

 

i mustve overlooked the words "through the plastic to the metal" in there. crazy me.

 

No prob; I'll have to be more clear next time! Thanks!

 

Thanx for pointing that out, I guess i overlooked the lack of rear shoulder belts from the earlier models. But i dont see why the same affect couldn't be duplicated by drilling through the plastic to the metal, it might just be a little more involved.

 

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i'm still waitin to see some pics....

Eric

 

Indeed Some picture's are a must and maybe we can all think up a way to keep the seat's and just make it real squishy for them B ITCHES..hehehe

 

relax relax....i got other stuff to do...im working on it..aight??

 

I'm glued dude!

 

Alright Guys...I sent in the Tech Article, so if they decide to post it, it should be up soon. It is not terribly in depth, simply due to how easy this mod is. And at the same time, I have no pics yet...no word on when i can get them. But If you have any questions about how it works or are unclear on the directions..drop me an email at Treview1@hotmail.com

 

Well, i got ansy today to do something to the car so i decided to try this and figure it out as i go being that i don't have rear shoulder belts i decided on using the bolt holes where the hatch struts connect to the body (this also retains the use of the back seat). i went out and got a 5 foot tube, and some 1/4" thick metal plates and went at it. I just finished welding the first bracket to the bar, so far so good... I'm taking lots of pics along the way so in the next day or so i'll show everyone how I did it....

Eric

 

Treview1:- Did you ever get around to posting pics anywhere of your set-up. Sounds like a killer modification; I just wouldn't want to lose the rear seats.

Has anyone looked into Tom P's idea for doing it whilst retaining the rear seats?

 

You don't have to get rid of the rear seats to stiffen the rear. This also works, but you lose some safety I guess.

 

i would like to see some pics of this!! i havea feeling my back seats wont stay for long.

 

Here is the tech article:

https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/t...amebrace.shtml

I don't think you will be hearing from Treview though, he hasn't posted on thirdgen for a year now You might try emailing him and see if you get a response.

 

what about going from the rear seat bolts to the front seat bolts? cant that be done?

 

That would be strengthening the length of the car not the width and you don't really need any for the length. Throw on some SFC's and you should be good.

 

I would like to see a pic of this also i was thinking of doin this. I think it could possibly get rid of some of the squeeks in the back i get sometimes.

 

I Would like to see a pic of this

 

I'm not buying the Idea, sorry. Flex up top is not going to help/hurt suspension geometry or grip. As long as the suspension section of the car is not flexing, the who cares about the upper body. All you are doing is adding more upper roll weight.

Your crucial rear points are the front LCA mounts which are strengthened by SFC's (not Alston types-thats why I say they are not good for roadrace setups), and the panhard rod frame bracket & PHR Brace. Strengthen them and them only and you are in great shape. Personally I haven't done anything to mine- don't feel its necessary to bother with yet unless I put some racing rubber on the car. Its good and strong back there stock even with my good street tires and g-loading. Most of your tires will give and slip LONG before your chassis will flex hard enough to matter.

 

hmm, could it reduce squeeks and stuff from the hatch and stuff wiggling, or is that unavoidable.

 

That it could help- My car doesn't squeak or rattle back there- but if someones does, this could help, I would check for rust damage.

 

That area will flex A LOT if you take off the rear impact beam. My hatch has rub marks on the edges.

 

Cool idea, CheezX. I wonder, if after all these years, the rear bumper nuts might've worked loose. If they're the only thing tying the rear together to make it sturdy... I'll have to climb under the back of my car "when I get some free time"

 

well that answers why mine squeeks back there then, my rear impact beam was rotted in half so replacing it with a good one should solve it?

 

mine does it sometimes and my rear impact bar is new and i have sfc's

 

ok it's been a year or two. i know somone else has done this, post some pics, e-mail them to me if they are to big and i will post them on my car domain site and post them here. anything. the tony requires a picture before cutting things. ugg...