OH NO! Not another Ghetto Mod: Engine Torque Brace! PIX!
 

I just can't help myself.

This one cost $30.04. Broke the durned bank again.

I could never do it at Home Depot, but a good ACE....... yeah baby........is the place!

It is adjustable for a perfect neutral fit, and is hard rubber mounted at both ends to minimize transient vibrations. It's also light (aluminum body and bracket).
With a little Simichrome polish (my fav) it is also almost pretty.

I have to admit, I thought ETB's were bullshit, however having driven around for a couple of days I like it alot.

1. The car feels more "linear", it accelerates in a straighter line under hard throttle without correction. Straight lines and low ET's go together like white on rice. Virtually eliminates P factor. (engine induced frame "twist")

2. The shifting is dramatically improved. After 76K miles it was getting sloppy. It now "snicks" into gear. Each shift is more positive. Up and down.

3. The whole vehicle feels tighter.

4. The shifter is dead calm at all times - it does not vibrate at all.

Granted, these are very esoteric interpretations, but provide a very noticeable and tangible improvement.

The only negative is a small amount of frame vibration at very low rpm just moving the car around while parking. Nothing that bothers me at all. At cruise it is even smoother. We are talking harmonics here folks.

If you guys are nice to me and don't make me cry I MIGHT even provide a how to and parts list.:tear: :tool:

Happy New Year to all you forum members with more brains than money!:D (And you know who you are...)

And another view:

Looks pretty damn good to me, ghetto my ass. Nice work. :D

I'll definetly have to get one of these...how do they affect racing (such as dragging or road racing)?

Hmmm. I don't know. I'm a decrepit old fart and only go cruising for teenage chicks in my car.

The guys on the single turbo forum can lead you to the truth.

HOWEVER, like I said: straight lines and low ET's go together like white on rice!:D

If you want to do away with all the work and running around for parts I put into it you should get one from kmaot@yahoo.ca. For $100 you get a really well made professional brace that bolts in place in 30 minutes. She also makes awesome rotor clocks....:angel:

Rotor clocks? :D

Wow Ron, that Brace looks pretty damn nice! What kind of camera did you use though?;)

Yep, perfect for the bar.

Not to be confused with "clocking" an alternator!:D

A POS Casio that I bought for $450.00 four years ago when digis first came out! It sucks the big wazoo, no?

I really need to upgrade my camera next...........:cool:

I'm willing to do all the work and running around for parts...

Can you please name all the parts and item numbers? :D

Yes you do old man...get that camera upgraded!

...and get these people a parts list!

I've been meaning to do this for a while, now. Please, hook it up with a parts list.

Ron is my hero...
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... Seriously.

i have out-ghettoed ron before.. :D :tool: ;)

Very nice... Now I see why "Ace is the place"....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Yeah yeah yeah... I did actually have to BUY some stuff this time. And the hand polishing with the Simichrome was totally uncalled for. I'm losing my touch.:D

:rofl: :D

Ok, here we go:

I used an aluminum turnbuckle for the body, ($9.99) and the LEFT HAND eye bolt that came with it. The "heim joints" are hard rubber hole plugs ($3.20 X 2) that you can insert in the end of a pipe, you'll find them in the plumbing section. It has a bolt and nut through the middle with thick washers on either side. It fits in the middle of the "eye", and when you turn it the rubber compresses against both sides and interior of the eye and holds it firmly in place. I did buy some larger grade 8 washers so that they would match the diameter of the bushing, that way when you tighten it down the rubber is completely compressed inside the eye and can't squeeze out the sides.

In order to clear the ABS I bought another 8" eye bolt so that the end of the turnbuckle sits just above it. It clears it by 1/8". I did need to grind the "frame" eye bolt "eye" flat, and mill a flat spot on the outside of the "motor" eye bolt so that it would not contact the UIM. The motor mount joint additionally has a rubber hood bumper (.80) that sits inside the oval eye on the engine hoist bracket. When you tighten it down it makes a sandwich front to rear: 1&1/2 inch long 3/8 hex head stainless bolt (for looks only), grade 8 washer, rubber bushing, grade 8 washer, rubber fender bumper inside the bracket oval, large grade 8 washer, lock nut. To a degree you can even adjust the firmness of the joint by leaving it relatively loose or clamping it down really hard. I tightened it enough to hold the eye bolt firmly, but that's all. I opted for a larger diameter bolt than the one that came with the hole plug, you need it longer anyway in order to make the sandwich fit to the bracket and to fill up the space inside the bracket oval. You'll need to drill out the washers and rubber bushing to accomodate the larger bolt.

The "frame attachment bracket" is a piece of 2 X 2 aluminum angle, cut, drilled and milled by hand with 3 6mm bolts holding it in the factory holes.

You'll need to buy a couple of additional matching nuts to fit the eye bolts - one LEFT hand and one RIGHT hand - and two small bushings to compress the body onto itself and make the whole assembly rigid. The turnbuckle threads will not support the compression alone - you need to transfer the load to the outside of the turnbuckle by compressing these nuts, or you will strip the interior turnbuckle threads. You don't need to tighten these all that much. Easy does it. Put some permanent thread locker on before tightening it down for the last time.

Parts list:

1, 6&1/2" aluminum turnbuckle with eye bolts. It's the biggest one on the shelf. You'll be tossing the RIGHT HAND eye bolt.

1, 8" long eye bolt, to screw back into the turnbuckle.

2, rubber hole plugs with washers, bolt and nut - in the plumbing section. You want the rubber bushing to fit inside the "eye" of the eye bolt.

4, Grade 8 washers that match the diameter of the bushing. You'll be using these washers to squash down the bushing inside the eye bolt and will need the extra strength of grade 8 so they don't distort.

1, rubber hood rest bumper. You may need to cut this down a little to fit inside the bracket oval properly.

1, large grade 8 washer, to fit on the rear of the bracket for the motor side "heim joint'.

1, 1&1/2 ss 3/8" hex bolt as described above.

2, matching nuts, one RIGHT hand and one LEFT hand as described above to fit the eye bolts.

2, metal bushings for the above nuts.

1 piece of 2 X 2 aluminum angle, cut to 5" long for bracket. (warning - expensive...)

3, 6mm 1" long flange bolts to attach bracket to frame.

1, 3/8" lock nut, for motor joint bolt.

1, 1/2" lock nut, for frame joint bolt.

1, large grade 8 washer for the top of the frame joint.
you need this to distribute load so the hole does not
elongate.

Locktite permanent thread locker.

Simichrome metal polish.

ONE HUGE PRECAUTION: The brace must not contact the ABS at all - if you damage it you are talking $4,000 to replace it. It needs to clear it by AT LEAST 1/8". If not, grind more material off the frame eye bolt so that you can raise it higher.

Double check all clearances several times for a week after you install this contraption to make sure everything is staying put. Keep an eye on the clearance above the ABS every time you open the hood.

GHETTO MODS RULE!

Bolt it up!;) :D

You amaze me ron. That looks really nice!

Thanks! Just wait until you see my new leather interior.
It ain't ghetto....

A quality ghetto mod with parts list...

Great job, RonK!

What color is your FD? I really like the color from what I have seen, can you post exterior pics of the car, thanks.

Nice work on the tourqe brace too, I might have to make a trip to Lowes here soon.

Vintage Red, stock. My camera makes it look orange..

I don't think Loews will have what you need, find the biggest, baddest ACE hardware around and go for it. One stop shopping!:cool:

Nice work and excellent writeup.

I have an idea to to check for clearance between the brace and ABS unit. Put a wad of aluminum foil or other compressable material in there and inspect it after a few hard runs.

Chris