Suspension Brakes Most liked posts in thread: Fungo Squiggly Gets Braces

Oh yeah.... I have plans for an underbody brace as well, but that's a later project.

 

I spent a little time at the shop this weekend working on the strut brace mounts. They both are partially finished with the integral gusset bent in place. The second attachment point gussets still need to be made and welded onto the plates. Here's the result of Sunday's effort.

 

Well...... today I finally got around to finishing up the strut brace I started some time ago. It's all T304 stainless steel.

I figured it would be nice to have this done in time for my trip to MSSD. Here are some pics. I changed the end plates slightly from my last post. I was going to make it so it could be quickly disassembled, but felt the one piece construction was much stronger. So I eliminated the adjustment feature some bars have. There are a couple other changes I am thinking about and if I go with them I'll post additional pics.

 

Thanks for all the comments.....
This is just one of those projects where I had some left over scrap from a job. Spent a little time taking careful point to point measurements and transferring it over to an auto-cad program. This allowed me to run off full size 1:1 paper plots and with scissors and tape making quick mockups for verification. Made some thin gauge metal templates that then allowed me to take accurate strut to strut measurements. Transferred everything over to 11 gage (1/8") stainless thereby adding extra strength to counter "Mushrooming" (although this problem may have already been resolved with the R56 design, as I don't seem to find this as an issue anymore???). Grabbed some 1" x 16 gage SS tubing for the cross bar. Put it all together today when I had some extra time (yes, all the welds are Tig welds). Was a little worried about under bonnet clearance. Solved this with a can of "Great Stuff" shot in a plastic baggy (sealed the open end) and laid the growing blob on top of the bar at the highest point. Closed the hood and let the polyurethane do its stuff. After it hardened, I cut through the thinnest cross section and got an accurate clearance dimension.

At this point, I have no plans to make any more of these or sell them.

It was just fun doing.

 

I found some nice matt finish black nylon snap in hole covers that fit the 2-1/2" holes on top of the strut towers. Rated at 250F. Good for preventing critters from nesting in my strut towers.

 

Well...... here's the thing, they only sell in bulk, so get with your local MINI club and find 12 other people that want them also. I paid $12.52 + shipping for a bag of 25 caps. You need at least 1/2" under the top surface to leave room below the cap for it to lock under the rim of the strut tower top. There are little spring tabs. The ones I ordered are P/N 85985K35. Look on the same page for a different cap that appears to be a lower profile P/N 9750K35. The temperature rating is less so make your own decision. I suppose you could trim down the nylon one's I got if there is interference with your Vorschlag plates. The R56 has a 2-1/2" hole.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#85985k35/=9qfor9