Update time - just finished my lower stress bar so here’s a few photos on how I made mine,
First I used a spare section of MDF as a work surface and marked out the dimensions (needs to be 683mm between mounting centre holes) I also decided to build mine with a bend in the bar to give a little clearance.
Materials used were 50x50x5 mm mild steel angle and 20NB medium black pipe (NB stands for nominal bore in pipe talk – measures around 27mm outside dimensions),
I ended up cutting the angle iron in to 2 pieces at around 38mm wide by 38mm deep as this was a better size for the brace. I then measured and cut 2 x sections of pipe at 155mm and welded them to the end of the angle iron brackets after I’d drilled a 12.5mm hole in the brackets for mounting the completed strut brace.
Next step is to mount the end pieces to the MDF work surface and check that your short pipe pieces are parallel and equally spaced (both need to be in the same relative position so the main section of pipe has the correct orientation once welded to the two end sections – the key is to tack weld every thing and check then re-check BEFORE final welding, it’s easier to cut a tack weld and reposition rather than cut a completed weld because the bracket is in the wrong position (trust me I’ve done this in the past!).
Once you have checked all your dimensions and checked that all the strut brace components are lined up correctly you can fully weld up the brace. With that done you can clean up the welds (if you need to) and paint it what ever colour suits your car.
Cheers
Chris
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Originally Posted by foc64
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