C2 dash cross brace question..
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
C2 dash cross brace question..
So my car is all apart and the dash is out.
The dash brace that goes from side to side (where the VIN tag is riveted) looks good only a little surface rust. Original welds seem about as solid as could be expected however the brace is far from what I would call solid. I can easily twist it by hand. Just wondering there is any merit to trying to stiffen it up or is it really just a support for the glove box and pedals. Speaking of pedals I can imagine with my new heavy duty clutch or under hard braking the mount might be a flex point. If it would help to stiffen things (the car is a convertible so it can use all the help it can get) I am wondering what could be done. maybe complete the boxing of the brace. or put a plate in the back where the 'Z' weld is. How about at the anchor points what could be done there? Just looking for ideas here, maybe a few things that have been tired and worked or failed. Figure it is worth looking at as the car will hopefully never be this far apart again.....at least while I still own it.
Thanks
The dash brace that goes from side to side (where the VIN tag is riveted) looks good only a little surface rust. Original welds seem about as solid as could be expected however the brace is far from what I would call solid. I can easily twist it by hand. Just wondering there is any merit to trying to stiffen it up or is it really just a support for the glove box and pedals. Speaking of pedals I can imagine with my new heavy duty clutch or under hard braking the mount might be a flex point. If it would help to stiffen things (the car is a convertible so it can use all the help it can get) I am wondering what could be done. maybe complete the boxing of the brace. or put a plate in the back where the 'Z' weld is. How about at the anchor points what could be done there? Just looking for ideas here, maybe a few things that have been tired and worked or failed. Figure it is worth looking at as the car will hopefully never be this far apart again.....at least while I still own it.
Thanks
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26,118
Likes: 1,874
From: Greenville, Indiana
So my car is all apart and the dash is out.
The dash brace that goes from side to side (where the VIN tag is riveted) looks good only a little surface rust. Original welds seem about as solid as could be expected however the brace is far from what I would call solid. I can easily twist it by hand. Just wondering there is any merit to trying to stiffen it up or is it really just a support for the glove box and pedals. Speaking of pedals I can imagine with my new heavy duty clutch or under hard braking the mount might be a flex point. If it would help to stiffen things (the car is a convertible so it can use all the help it can get) I am wondering what could be done. maybe complete the boxing of the brace. or put a plate in the back where the 'Z' weld is. How about at the anchor points what could be done there? Just looking for ideas here, maybe a few things that have been tired and worked or failed. Figure it is worth looking at as the car will hopefully never be this far apart again.....at least while I still own it.
Thanks
The dash brace that goes from side to side (where the VIN tag is riveted) looks good only a little surface rust. Original welds seem about as solid as could be expected however the brace is far from what I would call solid. I can easily twist it by hand. Just wondering there is any merit to trying to stiffen it up or is it really just a support for the glove box and pedals. Speaking of pedals I can imagine with my new heavy duty clutch or under hard braking the mount might be a flex point. If it would help to stiffen things (the car is a convertible so it can use all the help it can get) I am wondering what could be done. maybe complete the boxing of the brace. or put a plate in the back where the 'Z' weld is. How about at the anchor points what could be done there? Just looking for ideas here, maybe a few things that have been tired and worked or failed. Figure it is worth looking at as the car will hopefully never be this far apart again.....at least while I still own it.
Thanks
The clutch wouldn't put a torsional twist on that part. It would act as a beam as far as the clutch goes. If the brace is solid and it doesn't have cold, broken welds where it welds to the A pillars, I wouldn't see any need to change anything.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 19
From: Ocean Springs, MS
St. Jude Donor '07
Just installed the dash in my '64. The cross brace is solid and shows no signs of flexing. Nevertheless, the pedal assembly bolts through the firewall and I believe that provides more support than the dash crossmember. JMO
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
MikeM you are probably right about the geometry of the pedals, I didn't really think about it much, I was just seeing how it can twist and thought hmmm could this be better?
64roadster....if you grabbed the brace at the Z and twisted, would it twist or is it like a solid unmovable part? Mine will twist, I assumed it was normal from looking at the construction but if yours is solid and inflexible maybe I have a problem.
Thanks
64roadster....if you grabbed the brace at the Z and twisted, would it twist or is it like a solid unmovable part? Mine will twist, I assumed it was normal from looking at the construction but if yours is solid and inflexible maybe I have a problem.
Thanks
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
I think Bubba was here.....so one of those braces bolts to the windshield header....where does the lower one bolt up, I can't think of anything solid down low....looks from the pic like it just goes to the body?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,142
Likes: 704
There is a small square ( or rectangle ? ) plate with a stud welded in the middle of it , riveted to the firewall. The lower brace attaches to this. The pic shows where it should be ( will be, when it gets put back in ).
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 19
From: Ocean Springs, MS
St. Jude Donor '07
MikeM you are probably right about the geometry of the pedals, I didn't really think about it much, I was just seeing how it can twist and thought hmmm could this be better?
64roadster....if you grabbed the brace at the Z and twisted, would it twist or is it like a solid unmovable part? Mine will twist, I assumed it was normal from looking at the construction but if yours is solid and inflexible maybe I have a problem.
Thanks
64roadster....if you grabbed the brace at the Z and twisted, would it twist or is it like a solid unmovable part? Mine will twist, I assumed it was normal from looking at the construction but if yours is solid and inflexible maybe I have a problem.
Thanks
Good luck with your car.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 6,808
Likes: 24
From: Westport CT
even if those two braces were missing from my 65 (now you got me wondering, you just never know with Bubba, got me looking later today) I could not see my cross brace twisting or deflecting much, if at all - that thing is solid.