Export Brace

I bought this Mustang export brace in the scratch and dent section and then I cut it down to fit a Maverick. I cut the arms off about half way down and attempted to start laying things out. Didn't take long to see the holes in one of the ends were drilled wrong for the shock mount to lay flat inside the brace. I welded the holes closed and drilled new ones. Now the shock mount will lay flat inside the brace. The other side fit with no problem.

On the firewall side the brace was flattened out at the ends. This was done because the brace will mount under the cowl lip instead on top like the Mustang. The bolt holes needed relocated so they were welded closed. The back lip was shaved 3/8 in. to gain a little extra clearance around the kick down lever. Then test fitted and marked for new bolt holes.

Once the back was bolted to the firewall lip we marked where the pieces overlapped and cut the arm making it about 2 inches shorter than it was originally. The arms were welded back together along with a section of round stock on the bottom side to help reinforce the seam. Another test fit will show a little tweaking with the hammer was needed with the angle at the shock tower ends. Couple minutes with a can of spray paint made the export brace look new again.