XV lower radiator support brace

[xpbprox]

Does anyone know  if there is another company that makes a similar brace like XV does. They are all sold out right now and i need one soon, they said they would have more in 2-3 weeks.

[Mr.Woolery]

Take that 2-3 weeks statement with a grain of salt.  They told me that twice for an order of parts I have with them, and have been waiting nearly a year now.

[RamZCharger]

I've had pretty good luck with those guys, seems I may be the exception.  I find them responsive and when I have someone on the phone they typically can field any questions.  No issue with ship time.  I've purchased the Rad support, inner fender braces, sub-frame connectors, power window kit, and radiator.  My only complaint is when they build the rad, they do not polish or brush the aluminum at all - you can see scratches where they bend it to shape.  Surface scratches that can be buffed out, but for the $ I'd expect it to arrive in perfect shape.

[Hemidog]

I was going to buy radiator and fender braces from them a year ago, but they were out of the fender braces. 6 months later they were in stock again, but they were out of the radiator brace 

Still waiting...

[HPP]

I don't know of anyone else who markets such a piece. However, if you have a picture of it with dimensions, odds are any local shop tha fabs up stock cars, drag cars, or sports cars could whip one up with a tube bender. It ain't a very complex piece to be sure. Heck for that matter, if you don't mind right angles, you can make one yourself out of square tube.

[xpbprox]

wow thanks for all the responses guys, i have been reading around and most people claim the shipping takes long. ill see if i could get a shop to bend it, i dont feel like waiting a year for something i need in a week haha. now all i would need would be the dimensions of the brace?

[Rolling_Thunder]

I can measure tonight - I have their lower brace mounted on my 68...      the only rocket science part is that it is square tubing...    so as long as you find a place that can bend that you're golden.   

[xpbprox]

I can measure tonight - I have their lower brace mounted on my 68...      the only rocket science part is that it is square tubing...    so as long as you find a place that can bend that you're golden.   

ok cool, idk if it matters but i have a 71.

[Rolling_Thunder]

oh - well the width might be different but the cross section of the tube will be the same.

[six-tee-nine]

I'd like to order the chassis stiffenink stuff from them also (except for the engine compartment brace) and a hydra boost setup. however they seem to mess people around lately when it comes to delivery dates.....

I am waiting also for the lower rad brace, but I will only buy  if they can ship the whole bunch at once.....

So we're all in the same picture here

[Big Sugar]

John at "US CAR TOOL" Makes inner fender draces as well as lower rad support braces, He's in North Carolina . http://store.uscartool.com/
Dave at"Autorust tech" will also make you a 11 gauge lower rad sopport that may fit in as a direct replacement or add on. You'll need  to phone and ask.


Ron

[xpbprox]

oh - well the width might be different but the cross section of the tube will be the same.

Yeah if you can just give me all the measurements, I can just cross reference them and change the ones I need to.
I'm probably just gonna have the machine shop make it one solid piece instead of having those extra two little blocks, see any problem with that?

[Rolling_Thunder]

nope - no problem with having it made in one piece

[TexasStroker]

Glad I found this, I e-mailed about a 5 weeks ago and was told they were indeed out of stock, the guy who responded told me to check back the first week of May.  I was on Wed night and it still said out-of-stock, didn't call, but I'd assume they would update the site pretty quick.

I planned to pick one up in conjunction with pulling the front valance etc.

I asked for him to e-mail when they were in stock, so if I get the reply I will post up to let everyone know.

[RamZCharger]

Hey guys, quick update for anyone still watching this thread.  My builder installed my XV brace and I am very pleased.  He trimmed the lower edge of the original brace so we could still use it for appearance.  The original meets the XV piece nicely, and in the attached photo is tacked in place, it since has been fully welded and ground down so at first glance you don't know the XV part is there.  Slick.

[Darkman]

What are the dimensions of the tubing (external) and the wall thickness?

I just made some friends in a fabrication shop, showed them the Charger and they love it (they are all Mopar freaks themselves!). They could fabricate this with no problems

[rickster]

What are the dimensions of the tubing (external) and the wall thickness?

I just made some friends in a fabrication shop, showed them the Charger and they love it (they are all Mopar freaks themselves!). They could fabricate this with no problems

a good metal guy should be able to make one in about a hour mine did

[Chatt69chgr]

I'm wondering just how important it is to install a lower radiator support brace like XV Motorsports makes?  On my 69 Charger, the K member bolts to the front frame rails directly--------there are no isolation rubber parts in between.  So you have a huge "X" shaped component that is tying the two front frame rails together at four points and the front bolts on each side are not that far back from where the XV brace welds in.  So for normal driving is something like this really necessary? 

[FLG]

I'm wondering just how important it is to install a lower radiator support brace like XV Motorsports makes?  On my 69 Charger, the K member bolts to the front frame rails directly--------there are no isolation rubber parts in between.  So you have a huge "X" shaped component that is tying the two front frame rails together at four points and the front bolts on each side are not that far back from where the XV brace welds in.  So for normal driving is something like this really necessary? 

Normal driving? Probably wont make a bit of difference (though frame connectors sure do!)

[HPP]

Read through some of the XV Motorsports Engineering topics about increasing torsional rigidity in a unibody car.  In a mopar, the area in front of the firewall is the weakest area of the car. Is it required to safely operate the vehicle, no. Will it help in average driving, yes. The unibody of a classic mopar is the foundation the car is built on. Reducing deflection in this structure yields dividends in even average usage. By reducing flex, you allow the suspension to work more repcisely and perform the way it was intended. Additional, you reduce creaks, rattles, and minimize body panel gap changes. Just driving into a driveway can cause body flex to a degree that can make doors hard to open/close and windows to not seal properly.

[Chatt69chgr]

Has anyone installed the lower core support that Auto Rust Technicians makes.  i just talked to Dave and he told me that his piece is just a replacement for the existing piece that forms the lower core support.  Except----his is made out of 11 gauge metal.  He said the original is .065. or about 16 gauge.  His is .120 or 11 gauge.  You grind down the spot welds, air chisel yours out, and put his in.  Costs $100 less 10% to dodgecharger.com folks.  Mines actually perfect.  Should I go to all this trouble for whatever additional strength this would add to the rigidity of the front end?  I have the XV Motorsports piece and I really don't like how it would install although it would be stronger.  If you want to use an original radiator then you have to install it low.  It would work fine for an aftermarket smaller aluminum radiator as detailed in the pictures in the previous posts.