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Strut tower brace that will work with the Whipple?


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Got the KR brace today..........

 

I have a four-letter word to describe the way I felt after I put it on, but I'll save it.

 

It clears EVERYTHING, but seems to hit on the outside where it curves down. It clears beautifully the intake. It seems to have a VERY minute amount of clearance over the whipple and i'm not sure how much "lift" may occur under acceleration? It looked GREAT on there, but the hood just wouldn't close. I stuck painters tape upside down in the middle and the two outside edges leading down toward the towers. The tape would stick to the hood when closed on the right side. Aargghh!!!! It's a BEEFY brace though and I would love to have something like that!!!

 

Cliff reporting out from under the hood, back to you Chip....

 

 

WHAT A BUMMER CLIFF. I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. :banghead::banghead:

 

SCOTTY

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Gentlemen,

 

Even before putting those spacers on however that brace will not clear your stock hood. Use caution because if you slam your hood with that brace in place it will bend your hood upward and destroy it.

 

Chip

 

Got the KR brace today..........

 

I have a four-letter word to describe the way I felt after I put it on, but I'll save it.

 

It looked GREAT on there, but the hood just wouldn't close.

 

Cliff

 

Cliff,

 

I'm the same way, even when somebody tells me something won't work, I gotta see it for myself.

 

The Whipple I'm working with is the older 500HP version. The KR brace will clear neither the hood OR my supercharger. I'll keep you posted on progress.

 

Chip

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From what I saw, there needs to be these consideratoins:

 

The KR brace is very sturdy which I think most of us would like. It fulfills the "tough" factor, but adds some weight. I LOVE the design of it. A single bar that traverses the entire engine bay with a small intersectin that splits off into the mounting bracket. Very clean/Sturdy

 

It's more/less an oval shaped tube used which is actually "flattened" on the underside as it crosses over the top of th whipple. That flattened area only covers the whipple and not the intake tube itself. The clearance was extremely minimal if not at all. I was able to bolt it all the way down, but like I said, i'm not sure what would happen to the engine when it revs and moves. I would suspect that over time it would wear on the top of the whipple/underside of the bar. There should be some clearance there at least 1/4".

 

The rest of the clearances seemed ok. It sat directly over the oil dipstick, but since it's flexible it wouldn't be an issue. Everything on the sides was easy to get to.

 

Now, any new design I would think NEEDS to be VERY flat!!! I can't imagine that any "tube/oval" type material can be used. I think the brace itself would have to be some sort of "band" to provide clearances and a low profile.

 

It needs to stay somewhat flat (less arc) and carry over the top of the whipple and the inlet tube and THEN traverse down toward the mounting bracket. I can't imagine a 3-point working as it would be tight toward the rear of the whipple.

 

Anyway, just some random thoughts. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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I saw this yesterday and thinking this is EXACTLY how one could be done.

 

I like your depection on your car...but how much space is there with the stock hood? I know mine is pretty tight I can't tell exactly but I had to cut part of the insulation out to make it even close with the Whipple.

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I'm actually working with a fabricator now on that. I'm going to be taking clay molds shortly to determine just how much clearance there is. If you look at the previous pics on that Datsun, the cross-section is rather small, maybe 1/2". I expect that may be just how much i'm going to be able to use as well. We have to factor for torque/rise from the motor under acceleration, so it's going to be tough.

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