Convertable X Brace
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 3,771
Likes: 0
From: MANDEVILLE, LA La
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,290
Likes: 6
From: St Marys GA
I have one sitting in my garage that I've been meaning to install on my '96 coupe, just haven't gotten around to it. I think it'll have to wait til it becomes a dedicated (mostly) track car, since it removes 1" of ground clearance, and I'm already lowered.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,768
Likes: 33
From: Van Steel Corvettes
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
The front mounting holes are there but there rears are not. You'd have to drill holes and install threaded inserts for the rear. You also lose almost 2" of ground clearance with the stock X-brace. I've heard of a few that modified them so they hug the floorpan better and it's around an inch of clearance lost. I thought about getting one for mine, but like Stealth, I'm lowered. Thinking about talking to my chassis guy and seeing what it'll cost me to have a tubular one built.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261
you'll scrape on streets with it for sure if it is lowered. This is why I did not lower this vert. I looked at it and realized what I would be getting in to around here.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,866
Likes: 60
From: Hellinois
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
I put one on my '85 coupe and I had to make the front mounts. The '84-'85 did not have the mounting area that started in '86. Anyway, I also boxed mine and it made it even better. My car is lowered too and yes, I do scrape on occasion but since I boxed the brace it acts like a skid plate now and just goes right over the high spots with no damage to the brace. Now I can jack up one corner of the car and bring 3 wheels off the ground.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,329
Likes: 17
From: woodbury new jersey
uh oh, i have one on my vert (obviously) and i wanted to lower my car about an inch in the spring. i take it slow and have never scraped it, but i wonder how careful ill have to be if i lower it
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261
It makes it so easy to jack them up, and yes one spot lifts the whole car up, I love mine, I would have it on a coupe also.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,060
Likes: 1
From: Tabernacle NJ
St. Jude Donor '10-'11-'12-'13
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261
The brace is not flat. It has angles on it that come down from bolting points and then the brace funs underneath the trans and stuff. I usually put the jack on the corner of the brace. My car has a body kit, so I have real low profile jacks, but they barely barely fit under the car.except from the rear. I am going to make ramps some day that will work. My standard ramps are too high, and too skinny.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,866
Likes: 60
From: Hellinois
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
I did a complete write up with pics some time back. I don't have those pics any more but maybe someone kept them ot has a link to that thread. Basically you just put flat stock on the "open" side of the brace leaving spaces for bolt access. Sorry I don't have the pics any more.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261
I did a complete write up with pics some time back. I don't have those pics any more but maybe someone kept them ot has a link to that thread. Basically you just put flat stock on the "open" side of the brace leaving spaces for bolt access. Sorry I don't have the pics any more.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...-85-coupe.html
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,866
Likes: 60
From: Hellinois
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
Type "boxing the x brace" into the search, it turns up some more info and a picture of another members car who also boxed his brace. It will give you an idea of what I did. I have no idea where those pics went here on the forum, a computer snafu took care of the files I had.
This thread has one pic of another members boxed brace, http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...ngthening.html
This thread has one pic of another members boxed brace, http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...ngthening.html
Last edited by Midnight 85; Jan 29, 2010 at 08:00 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
This one? Looks like a DIY R&D cross frame conversion. Pretty cool.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,768
Likes: 33
From: Van Steel Corvettes
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261