Everything Frame Rail Brace Related

Alex 2550 · Postby **Alex 2550** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:07 am

all my stuff arrived yesterday arvo

rails are almost too pretty to hide under the car lol

KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:01 pm

yeah I kinda felt I should be wearing gloves while I fitted them.

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noisymime · Postby **noisymime** » Sun Oct 01, 2017 6:10 pm

Well I'm finally all done with the rails from the group buy

20171001_112041.jpg

Did the side with the fuel lines first as I knew it would be the painful one due to a huge knock that it had taken before I bought the car. Was the best part of 4 hours to get it back to a box like shape that the brace would fit over, but I got there in the end.

I forgot to take a start picture, but basically one small section of this rail was smashed up flat against the floor, which was a huge pain to get started on. This was after about an hour of work:

20170927_125810.jpg

Not going to say I'm proud of my methods, but it got the job done in the end :lol:

20170927_155131.jpg

LiteIsRite · Postby **LiteIsRite** » Sun Oct 01, 2017 11:02 pm

noisymime wrote:Well I'm finally all done with the rails from the group buy

Not going to say I'm proud of my methods, but it got the job done in the end

Interesting application of a vice :shock:

, noisy, and glad I didn't have an issue like that to deal with. Let us know your impressions after you have a decent drive.

jko · Postby **jko** » Mon Oct 02, 2017 2:28 am

I'm still trying to fix the drivers side rails and didn't think of using a vice to straighten them back into place.

If anyone has some other helpful tips on what I could do to fix them up, please let me know because I've been dying to fix these already

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Mon Oct 02, 2017 1:21 pm

The Oem frame is easy to straighten if you have a welder. Weld some tabs to the bottom edges (or the crease that is supposed to be the bottom corners) and pull down on them with a slide hammer. Then cut the tabs back off. Clean it up with a grinder and paint it.

noisymime · Postby **noisymime** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:20 am

LiteIsRite wrote:
noisymime wrote:Well I'm finally all done with the rails from the group buy

Not going to say I'm proud of my methods, but it got the job done in the end

Interesting application of a vice , noisy, and glad I didn't have an issue like that to deal with. Let us know your impressions after you have a decent drive.

Car is currently out of action for another week or 2 with other work (Took the opportunity to pull the carpet out and redo bits of the interior at the same time), but I'm hanging out to drive it as well!

The vice was a massive pain to work with (It's bloody heavy) but it did work really well. I couldn't get anywhere near enough force with clamps and things, but the vice helped a lot once I'd reach the point of having some room between the floor and the crease.

Dehamsta · Postby **Dehamsta** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:43 am

jko wrote:I'm still trying to fix the drivers side rails and didn't think of using a vice to straighten them back into place.

If anyone has some other helpful tips on what I could do to fix them up, please let me know because I've been dying to fix these already

Bash them with a small sledge hammer. That’s what I did and it works and works fast as the metal is quite ductile.

jko · Postby **jko** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:45 pm

Dehamsta wrote:
jko wrote:I'm still trying to fix the drivers side rails and didn't think of using a vice to straighten them back into place.

If anyone has some other helpful tips on what I could do to fix them up, please let me know because I've been dying to fix these already

Bash them with a small sledge hammer. That’s what I did and it works and works fast as the metal is quite ductile.

it's quite difficult to do from the inside and there are fuel lines that are kind of in the way. I think I'll have to resort to some sort of clamping force to bend them back into shape again.

bruce · Postby **bruce** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 1:43 pm

That squashed rail was really squashed.
My rails were only 10% as bad as those and the roadworthy guy wouldn't pass my car. I suspect my car had gone over too many ripple strips.

Alex 2550 · Postby **Alex 2550** » Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:26 am

wow guys!!
there is some ugly pics there, what a pain to fix but i love the use of the vice!
my rails are as new not even a mark on the underbody coating so i guess im lucky, hoping to do mine on the weekend if work doesn't get in the way :roll:

.
ill also get the extra 2 short (m8x16mm) bolts LiteIsRite mentioned on friday

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Sun Nov 05, 2017 2:55 pm

I got started on mine today. Only got the passenger side done though due to V8s being on.

Out of the box, everything was very well packed, & all components were there.

My rails weren’t too badly bent, so a few taps with a sledgehammer was all it took.

After that it was all pretty straight forward.
I have to say that I strongly disagree with the pilot hole idea, because if your pilot hole is off centre, so will be the 8mm hole. With good a quality drill bit, 8mm is not a big hole to drill. Spend the time getting the rail held in the correct position, then just drill one hole at each end & insert the bolts & nip up. Then you can just drill all the other 8mm holes.

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KevGoat · Postby **KevGoat** » Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:21 pm

Yeah I did pilot holes and it was a stupid idea - had to drill out a number of holes, not by much but enough the bolts wouldn't go through ..... and damn!! just seeing your photo has jolted my memory that I didn't re-spray/seal those freshly drilled holes grrrrrrrr .......

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