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Thread: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

  1. #1
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    Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Creating my own rear strut bar out of L x 1-in W x 1-in hot rolled steel square tubing between today and tomorrow. The bar will connect both of the rear strut towers directly together. I will post pics of the finished product upon completion; should be plenty strong.

  2. #2
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    You will certainly notice a difference in hard cornering. If you are bolting it in straight across, I suggest using 2 bolts. While it's not a huge difference, it does help a bit. I also have a home made rear shock tower bar. I tested it in an '86 Daytona shell and it reduced the diagonal flex of the rear hatch opening by something like 5/8"! I don't know if I posted that test here, but you may be able to find it if you do a search.

  3. #3
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by Reaper1 View Post
    You will certainly notice a difference in hard cornering. If you are bolting it in straight across, I suggest using 2 bolts. While it's not a huge difference, it does help a bit. I also have a home made rear shock tower bar. I tested it in an '86 Daytona shell and it reduced the diagonal flex of the rear hatch opening by something like 5/8"! I don't know if I posted that test here, but you may be able to find it if you do a search.
    Nice! That definitely sounds awesome. I will be using 2 grade 8 bolts on each side.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I do have a quick question however, I was not planning on "flatening the edges" and using the bar as is would that have an adverse effect on the bar?

    Here is the bar I am using:

    I was just going to drill 2 holes on each side and bolt it up once done cutting it to fit.
    Last edited by Daytana; 08-22-2013 at 09:33 PM.

  4. #4
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Pretty much what I did, But I used 1 1/2" bar I believe. Are you bolting it above the shocks or above the springs. My setup attached at 6 places in the back and still had full use of the cargo area. Like Reaper said it makes a big difference.

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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Glhnslht2 can you post some pictures

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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    sorry can't. Hop in the hatch or back seat. There's 6 factory spots you can attach bars to and they're right above the springs.

  7. #7
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by GLHNSLHT2 View Post
    Pretty much what I did, But I used 1 1/2" bar I believe. Are you bolting it above the shocks or above the springs. My setup attached at 6 places in the back and still had full use of the cargo area. Like Reaper said it makes a big difference.
    Cool deal. Mine is getting bolted in the same areas like the bars in this thread below.

    http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ck-strut-brace

  8. #8
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    That's not where mine is bolted. I didn't have to drill any holes in the body. Those aren't bolted directly above the springs which is where all the pressure comes from to the body when you hit a bump

  9. #9
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by GLHNSLHT2 View Post
    That's not where mine is bolted. I didn't have to drill any holes in the body. Those aren't bolted directly above the springs which is where all the pressure comes from to the body when you hit a bump
    Then I have no idea what you are talking about lol. I would really like to see photos of your setup, sounds pretty nice.

  10. #10
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    If I'm not mistaken he is using the mounting points for the back seat latches and the seat belt latches down by the floor and triangulating them. If it fits well enough behind the rear seat, then it really is a good design. I've seen one like that before, but I don't think the car had a rear seat. When we designed ours, keeping the rear seat was part of the criteria. Otherwise, yes, that is going to work as well, if not better than just a simple bar across the rear. It is my opinion, however, that if you ran the bar across the towers like I have it, then also triangulated it to the floor that this would yield the best results as you would then be controlling the flex further away from the load point. The argument could be made that controlling the flex at the load point would prevent the flex further out from happening, but without testing it is hard to say, and the differences are probably negligible for our purposes.

  11. #11
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by Reaper1 View Post
    If I'm not mistaken he is using the mounting points for the back seat latches and the seat belt latches down by the floor and triangulating them. If it fits well enough behind the rear seat, then it really is a good design. I've seen one like that before, but I don't think the car had a rear seat. When we designed ours, keeping the rear seat was part of the criteria. Otherwise, yes, that is going to work as well, if not better than just a simple bar across the rear. It is my opinion, however, that if you ran the bar across the towers like I have it, then also triangulated it to the floor that this would yield the best results as you would then be controlling the flex further away from the load point. The argument could be made that controlling the flex at the load point would prevent the flex further out from happening, but without testing it is hard to say, and the differences are probably negligible for our purposes.
    Ah ok, that makes sense. I named it strut bar instead of shock brace too lol, my bust on that.

    Update: Well here it is, I can say it did wonders for NVH (Noise/Vibration/Harshness) and the car feels slightly more stiff around corners. For a $14.00 bar I would say it was well worth it.





    Top clears fine.


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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Sweet! Thx for posting picts, they tell a lot.

  13. #13
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by Reaper1 View Post
    If I'm not mistaken he is using the mounting points for the back seat latches and the seat belt latches down by the floor and triangulating them. If it fits well enough behind the rear seat, then it really is a good design. I've seen one like that before, but I don't think the car had a rear seat. When we designed ours, keeping the rear seat was part of the criteria. Otherwise, yes, that is going to work as well, if not better than just a simple bar across the rear. It is my opinion, however, that if you ran the bar across the towers like I have it, then also triangulated it to the floor that this would yield the best results as you would then be controlling the flex further away from the load point. The argument could be made that controlling the flex at the load point would prevent the flex further out from happening, but without testing it is hard to say, and the differences are probably negligible for our purposes.
    Well I finally tied the rear coil springs together using factory mounting points (no triangulation though). He wasn't joking; the car eats up bumps and vibration MUCH better now! The handling also further improved. I used a 95-99 Neon rear strut bar to tie the rear coil springs together.



    - - - Updated - - -

    Decided to post a pic of my front bar as well.


  14. #14
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    guess I never got back to this thread. I had no idea you were putting it in a Lebaron Vert. Figured with your Nick it was going in a Gbody. A couple questions now since I have a friend with a 91 GTC. Are you still able to have the rear seat bolted in? What did you notice with just the original rear bar across the wheel wells? What improvement if any was there with the lower rear neon bar? Top still functions fully with both bars?

    Thanks, and looks awesome.

  15. #15
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    That is cool to know that tying the spring perches made a significant difference even after having the shock tower bar. Of course a 'vert is probably the absolute worst case, so maybe it shouldn't suprose me all that much.

  16. #16
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by GLHNSLHT2 View Post
    guess I never got back to this thread. I had no idea you were putting it in a Lebaron Vert. Figured with your Nick it was going in a Gbody. A couple questions now since I have a friend with a 91 GTC. Are you still able to have the rear seat bolted in? What did you notice with just the original rear bar across the wheel wells? What improvement if any was there with the lower rear neon bar? Top still functions fully with both bars?

    Thanks, and looks awesome.
    Yeah I used to own several Daytonas, I had to let them go for various reasons. Since then I got a V6 Lebaron as I wanted to play around in the 3.0 segment but kept the "Daytana" name lol. The rear seats are not going back in (and for good reason). Unlike the Gbodies the rear Lebaron seats and brackets weigh a ton. However if you want the rear seats the shock tower bar can still be in place however the lower bar probably cannot. I noticed the car feeling more planted going around corners with the rear bar across the wheel wells; it is not just merely across the wheel wells but ties both shock towers directly together (similar to the CS Racer bar from back in the day but I used two bolts as Reaper1 suggested versus one). You can actually feel/hear it working when making hard corners (probably since it is hollow). The lower bar further suppliments handling but seems to have done more for better ride quality by absorbing more vibration, especially when traversing over bumps. The top functions fully with both bars in place.


    That is cool to know that tying the spring perches made a significant difference even after having the shock tower bar. Of course a 'vert is probably the absolute worst case, so maybe it shouldn't suprose me all that much.
    Yeah convertibles are flex city. It took a giant Johnny Spiva end link front sway bar, new Kyb excel g's, poly sway bar bushings, front strut bar, and rear shock and coil spring bars to finally get this thing to handle like a modern car and feel planted when coming off an off ramp. You have no idea how much flex I had with the stock setup when cornering, now even with stock ride height the car handles like rails. I was afraid that I could never get this thing to handle decent, I didn't give up because I have rode in a fully loaded/ full interior GTC turbo that handled like a dream with just KYB gas adjusts and Eibachs; so I knew the potential was there. I am going to wrap things up with a Johnny Spiva adjustable panhard bar to seal the deal in the suspension segment. Seems like a vert can never have too much stiffness compared to the other cars.
    Last edited by Daytana; 09-30-2013 at 03:19 AM.

  17. #17
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    I owned an '89 'vert 'Baron for a bit. I only got to drive it a *total* of 1 year, but man that was a fun total!! LOL It was broke more than it ran. I remember the rear seat in that car having a massive plastic backing to it. I wonder if that acts as a structural brace when it's bolted in the car? I never thought about it. Then again, I don't remember how it attaches either.

  18. #18
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by Reaper1 View Post
    I owned an '89 'vert 'Baron for a bit. I only got to drive it a *total* of 1 year, but man that was a fun total!! LOL It was broke more than it ran. I remember the rear seat in that car having a massive plastic backing to it. I wonder if that acts as a structural brace when it's bolted in the car? I never thought about it. Then again, I don't remember how it attaches either.
    Hehe nice, sounds like my VNT Daytona I used to own. The later Lebaron convertibles added even more bracing (and this time steel) in the back compared to what was offered in your 89' Lebaron. There probably was close to 100 lbs of brackets back there. I do know that once that stuff was gone the rear end went up dramatically (a good thing for a fwd car). There was a heavy bracket that connected the two wheel wells together however I believe my much lighter shock bar I put back there does the same thing (if not better) without adding that much weight and in a better spot.

  19. #19
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    what year is the vert Daytana? 92? 93? 94? the 91 still had the hidden headlights.

  20. #20
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    Re: Making my own rear strut bar this evening...

    Quote Originally Posted by GLHNSLHT2 View Post
    what year is the vert Daytana? 92? 93? 94? the 91 still had the hidden headlights.
    1994 Lebaron LX (A trim that sounds like it belonged on a cloud car moreso than a J body) lol.

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