Underside brace damage - best fix?

[slipshot]

Hi all

Mrs Slipshot decided to enjoy the car too much (2003 NB) and went over a metal spike in a water eroded road and did some nice damage to the bottom of the car. You can see the bent area and although there is a rattle now, which this has caused, I need to see what I can do about sorting this. What parts are there that you know of that would b worth seeing as a replacement to this section. I'm not sure what to call it...

https://ibb.co/55k7HWm

https://ibb.co/GFFYS5m

https://ibb.co/9Tz7Gp5

https://ibb.co/GMfjTkv

Thanks - bit of a loss with this one!

[project.r.racing]

The rattle would be the exhaust touching it.

Take it off and hammer it back into shape.

[RS2000]

The brace is against the ppf (power plant frame). If you can't bend it back into shape, & it's a road car, then leave that piece off. It wasn't fitted on NB8A cars.

[KevGoat]

It's just part of the chassis bracing, not critical. As mentioned, just remove it. If you think you feel a change there's better aftermarket bracing available, but I doubt it'll be noticed.

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[The American]

The bent cross part is welded to the rest of the brace. The easiest fix would be to pick up that whole brace from a car that is being parted out and swap it.

Beating it back into shape could be done, but it’s pretty solid - given how bent that is, it will take quite some beating!

[slipshot]

Thanks all.

I removed the part today and had a good look - it's taken quite a whack. Going to take it into work (a racing team with fabrication facilities) and get their view as to how easy it is to straighten it out. They build roll cages so this ;-) But if it needs a replacement I shall get one.

I also need to find the centre brace bar too - that also took a whack and only now can i see it. Funnily enough when told Mrs P that something else took a whack, she said "I thought I heard two bumps!"

[lonesailor]

Looks to me like it would straighten out OK, probably will need a bit of heat, any decent metal tradesman with access to an oxy set and an anvill should have it sorted in an hour or so, so you wouldn't see that anything had happened. The way it is now may be pulling the PPF out of line somewhat

[Gladiator]

As we used to say in the Navy, “If at first you don’t succeed, get a bigger effing hammer”.


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[slipshot]

Once I had the unit off, have taken it to our fabrication shop (working in a racing team helps, as some of the MX5 Vic members know having had the tour), and they reckon they can have a go at making it better! We shall see....