Chassis_Brace

Another owner has chosen to use a tube fitted with heim joints. The ends are threaded to give the ability to adjust tension. I have not seen this particular style available from the vendors.

Please ignore that this car has the distributor in the �wrong� spot. The image is not backwards. What is worthy of note is that two additional supports have been added to the spreader bar, attaching to the upper A-arm points. It was necessary to add brackets to the body. If you notice a slight bend to the main bar, I believe this is not an affect of the photo, but how the support is.

Even with a 6 or 8-point roll cage a spreader bar is necessary. This unusual custom fabrication fully integrates the roll cage with the upper shock towers. Below, the A-arms are also treated with a brace with a turnbuckle. I would not expect this chassis to flex much at all.

But a tube frame is overkill for a street car. Also, adding this much weight to a street-bodied car would be very heavy, and make it non-competitive. This car wears a fiberglass body, which offsets the weight of the tubing.

Some years ago, Hall Pantera, (www.HallPantera.com) and perhaps other vendors, began offering a chassis-stiffening kit that consisted of 4 steel parts. There is a square support that is installed between the frame rails in the front and rear, referred to as the lower supports. There is a triangular support that goes into the front trunk, and an upper support brace that attaches to the rear upper shock tower pockets and the upper rear A-arm points. The installation of this kit is not a fast, bolt-in effort. Here is an advertisement from Precision Proformance, (www.precisionproformance.com), which shows the four major parts.

The early version had no turnbuckle as part of the front trunk piece. This image was taken at the 1997 Monterey Concourso Italiano. Later kits have the turnbuckle, as seen in the following images.

To see how this enhancement looks once installed, I have included some images of the Hall product (installation by Hall Pantera) in Walter Villere�s Euro GTS. First is the front trunk piece. Please ignore the show-quality presentation of his trunk. Walter has been taking his Pantera to the track often, and really loves the benefits of these supports.

Looking all the way rearward from the front, you can see how the lower rear support fits into the frame rails and below the oil pan. The close-up shows the two turnbuckles and the clearance to the oil pan. The third image, although dark, shows the alignment of the support to the front and rear lower A-arm. The last image details a close-up of one mounting attachment.

Finally the upper rear support is shown. I have seen the small connecting tubes that run from the shock tower support to the upper A-arm support attached different ways. Seen here they make a �V� shape. I have also seen them formed to make an �A� shape. In Hall�s kit these two tubes are supplied unattached, and are welded in place by the owner/installer. Careful placement is necessary so as not to block access to the clutch slave cylinder. In this car, the shock tower support appears to bow down slightly while the A-arm support appears to arch upwards slightly. The lower turnbuckle does not make contact with the ZF case.

This next image is of Terry Aultman�s car, built by Steve Mooney. This rear support received additional cross braces between the A-arm and shock tower braces. This car does not have the lower box supports between the frame rails.

A competing product, of a completely different design is available from Pantera Parts Connection. This kit consists of two pieces, both lower supports. The shorter unit is the rear, and it attaches to the motor mounts, and back to the A-arm mounting points. The longer unit mounts in the front, and may attach to the body where the front of the seat bolts down. I have only seen this product installed in a car owned by Larry $tock, owner of Pantera Parts Connection.

In reviewing the chassis I believe most of the benefit is achieved with the upper support braces. Although some benefit may be gained with the lower components adding strength to the frame, I am not yet convinced that any benefit from the lower braces outweighs the weight gain and cost. I�d like to install the upper half of the kit, and makes some tests before installing the lower portion of the frame support. Thus, I believe the kit offered by Hall, Precision ProFormance, and possibly other vendors is a worthy upgrade for anyone wanting to strengthen and stiffen their suspension and chassis. I believe the upper rear section will provide the most benefit, followed by the upper front support. As the parts are available individually, I suggest adding the upper supports first, and evaluating the result before installing the lower (frame) components.