[flash]

ok - i finally go tmine and installed it - the new revisions are great - i'm very happy - the X brace came out great too - i'll snap a pic and post it later today



i'm going to make a couple of small adjustments to the instructions - i will repost them later today with REV 2 in the title



i believe there will be phone calls to everyone when their particular unit goes out, alerting them to the impending arrival, and what the final charges were - i will speak with him today to confirm the status of each unit - i don't know the order of shipping, though i know the base models were going out first, and then the street sport, and then the race units



i am hoping i don't have to drive down there again to handle this myself, but i want this closed before this weekend

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[flash]

ALL UNITS SHIPPED!!!



for those of you who ordered the kits for the windscreen, i'll wrap that up in the next couple of days and get them out to you myself



whew!

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[flash]

i have updated the install instructions - please note the folowing changes:



torque spec for mounting bolts

length of bolts



if you are retaining your storage boxes, the brackets are a bit fussy - take your time - you may need to finagle or bend them a bit more than in the photo, but they will go in

968_CHASSIS_BRACE_rev_2.pdf Size: 1.6 MB  Downloads: 46

if anybody has any questions, please feel free to contact me



and here is what the full version looks like in my car - bothe "x" brace and the harness bar are removeable - i will only have the x brace in for track days



   



   

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[Anchorman]

Almost makes me wish I had gone for the "race" version. Great work, and I'm delighted to have mine. Any progress on fitting the windscreen? I've had a few top-down days (spring will get here eventually) but my wife hasn't been in the car on those days. However, she'll undoubtedly notice that the windscreen is not installed, and then...well, you know.

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[flash]

as i said above, i am going to take car of thos epersonally in the next day or so and mail them out to those who ordered them (including yourself)



i've just been buried lately, but i have an event on the 1st, and NEED it installed for that, so you can be assured i'll have them done by then

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[Anchorman]

Sorry - I missed the note about the windscreen kits, not trying to be a pest. Looking forward to many happy, breeze-reduced, chassis-stiffened miles. Again, GREAT JOB!!!

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[flash]

thanks





again, apologies - just too much going on lately - no excuse though - i need to get these out



i may actually get to drive my car before the end of the month - woohoo



then of course, it's the next round of mods

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[patkeefe]

Sorry, but I haven't followed along on this topic for a year.

Flash, what is the status of the cab roll bars currently? I think I'd still like to get one so we can take the 968 to the occasional DE.



Thanks!

Pat

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[flash]

run completed - all remaining units shipped - arriving as we speak to their destinations - some people installing this weekend



there are no current plans to make more any time soon - perhaps late summer - it will take a minimum of another 10 people preordering to justify another run - when that stacks up, then we can do it



if we had to do a one-off, the price would be about double



the price will be higher on the second run, likely about $100 more, as we had to do a lot more work than originally thought - we stuck to our price on the first run though, regardless of the additional work



sorry if this is an inconvenience, and i don't want to sound like a jerk, but i did warn about this - the serious potential of it being a one time thing was always there



it's really up to the guys out there - if you all get together and gather up 10 orders, we'll do it again - the good news is that the development cycle won't be a prt of the process next go-round

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[patkeefe]

Thanks:

I understand. I believe my last involvement was just as you had gotten the original order filled for 10 units. Price increases are justified, since nothing is ever as straightforward in practice versus conception.



OK, so nine more cab guys...reply!! Preorder!!



Thanks!

Pat

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[SILVY968]

I just installed my "Chassis Brace".

Beautiful!

Worth the wait!

Worth the price!

By the way...THE DRIVE IS SPECTACULAR!!!

THE CORNERING IS AS IF THERE IS AN UNTWISTABLE BACKBONE RUNNING THE LENGTH OF THE CAR.

The car corners flatter and the rear follows the front with less effort, but does not seem to swing around as much as stock.

I can't wait to put back the W-I-D-E Dunlop 901's for the summer. It should handle even better.

I strongly reccomend this brace for ALL cab owners. Your enjoyment factor will increase considerably, even on a DD.

Thanks Flash!

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[SANDOVAL]

Wow the Race Version is SICK!!! This roll bar make the Auto RB look like it was designed in the 50's. I can't wait to see it in June!



Great Job... BTW I should have the info to Ayn tomorrow.

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[flash]

ok - everybody should have their units now - i can be reached via email with questions - i'd love to hear some input from the rest of the guys who ordered them - i know that some of the units did not ship the way i wanted - i'd like to hear how those worked out

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[MAryland968]

Well, I installed the brace this past weekend. Putting the cubby back in was a real pain - but it was do-able. I decided to reinstall the cubby because I have a sub and amp mounted in there and wanted to keep the nice sound. The brace bolts were a little bit of a pain to start - it took me 3.5 hours to install it.



But...



The end results were definitely worth the effort. I love how the car rides and corners. I can't get over how much better the suspension feels. This mod really kicked the car up a notch! I highly recommend this to anyone who has a cabriolet.



Phil

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[flash]

first, i'm glad you like it



which bolts were hard?



3.5 is not bad for a first timer - i'm only down to 2 if i have to do a box too, and i've done 6 now



how was the condition upon arrival?

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[MAryland968]

Starting the drivers side rear-most (under the box) and the drivers side shoulder harness bolt were the two that were most difficult. They were out of alignment by about 1/4". I suspect the bar was slightly twisted in shipping. I resorted to using a huge phillips screwdriver to twist the mounting holes in position, then getting the screws in.



The condition was pretty good. There's a 2" x 1" scuff on the back side that exposed the bar to bare metal. There were also a couple of scratches on the top side. Is there something you would recommend to cover the bare area?



I can't believe how close the bar and the top are. There can't be more than a 1/4 " clearance when the top goes up. Nice - really nice. With the top up, you don't even notice the bar in the car. Before I installed it, I was thinking that I could put some black foam (the stuff you insulate pipes with) on the bar to cover the scrated part, but there is no room. It would hit the top when raising or lowering. It would probably be best to at least primer the exposed area of the bar.



Thoughts?

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[flash]

Orchard Supply Satin Black spray paint is exactly the same color and finish - use "dusting' strokes to apply



on the subject of fitting the bolts, one of the brackets may have gotten bent in shipping this is happening, though so far only on units with no wood - did yours have wood? it's the nature of the beast really - the brackets are out there so far, with nothing to support them, they are subject ot impact bending - they straighten out easily enough, and i didn't want to add more material due to other potential fit issues



key tip though, and i cannot stress this enough, did you make sure not to tighten any of the bolts until all were started?



glad it worked out though - enjoy

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[MAryland968]

The unit was shipped without wood - just paper and bubble wrap.



Yes, I started all bolts before attempting to tighten them down. I know darn well if I hadn't there'd be no way for me to get the last 3 bolts in.



Thanks for the paint info.



Phil

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[flash]

arrrrgh - that really does not make me happy - they were all supposed to get wood to prevent bending - i know i was really pushing him to get them shipped, but that should not have meant without the proper and agreed upon preventative measures



and yes, because i designed in preload, starting them all first, and then folowing the sequence, is key to fitting the unit



the braces for the storage box are a real pain for sure - but i didn't want to have to create new ones, so a lot of finagling is often necessary to get things to line up so you can get the bolt in



lol - but hey, the good news is that if you do this a dozen or so times, like i did with mine, you get really good at it

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[Anchorman]

The weather is becoming spring-like - which means potential top-down driving. I say "potential" because (sob) I can't install my windscreen (hint! hint!) and so I can't put the top down when my wife is with me. Is help arriving soon?

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