Front STB

[GTP091]

I found a factory strut tower brace on a 92 cutlass conv. today at the local pick n' pull. I test fit it on several different 1st gen W's at the yard before buying it. On a 92 sedan GP it fit perfectly like it did on the cutlass i took it off. On a 91 GP SE coupe it was 1/8 to long. On a 90 regal it was a bit to short but would have went on with some effort. On a 93 Z34 it was 1/8 to short. When I got it home and cleaned it up it was again 1/8 to short on my 91GTP. Do you guys think our strut towers flex so much that over time they stay permanently out of wack?? If this is the case no wonder alignments are such a big business. I've been trying to think of a way to squeeze my towers together a bit to get the bar on. Maybe driving one front wheel up a ramp will flex it in a bit from taking more weight off the back tire. If you're wondering the bar was ten bucks; Score! I'm getting it powder coated before it goes on permanently. Any thoughts on the differing tower distances??

[digitaloutsider]

My theory is that the bars themselves were welded on top of the strut caps when they were actually on the cars. This would have made up for any possible production tolerance issues. I had to heavily modify the one to go on my TGP and the one on my Z put up a pretty good fight as well.

[GP1138]

I've never had a bar simply refuse to go on, I've had ones where I've had to put one side on first and then the other, or rotate the bar a certain way to get it to slide on properly, but never failed to put it on. Maybe drive it around the block once or park it on a different surface and see if that helps.

[Euro]

Yeah I had to give a fight to get my Lumina's on. I had to put 1 side in first, then try to stretch it to get the rest of the bolts to line up to the holes. Getting it off was a whole lot easier

[SrMichi]

same thing when I put my bar on.

[3pt1lumina]

I have them on all of my cars, and the only one I fought was my white Lumina. I had a 3.1 and a 3.4 bar and neither would go on. So I just elongated the holes in the 3.1 bar a little bit and I was all good.

[GTP091]

Thanks for the replies. Good to know I'm not an anomaly here. Once I get the bar powder coated I'm sure I'll be able to get it on. It would be nice to get it on without enlarging the holes on it. What color should I go? I was thinking black initially but maybe silver so it stands out? My existing tower caps are powder coated silver and look pretty good.

[jeremy]

Thanks for the replies. Good to know I'm not an anomaly here. Once I get the bar powder coated I'm sure I'll be able to get it on. It would be nice to get it on without enlarging the holes on it. What color should I go? I was thinking black initially but maybe silver so it stands out? My existing tower caps are powder coated silver and look pretty good.

 

gunmetal.....along with the fender braces....

[GTP091]

I'm not thinking my powder coater does much gunmetal. I have the parts going in this week to be done in black. I'll have pictures up in my site garage in a few weeks/

[tornado_735]

My STB went on like it belonged there.