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 The last thing we need to...  The last thing we need to address is the engine bay. Without the factory shock towers we’ve lost most of the unibody’s upper strength, so loads would be mostly carried by the framerails.  Just like that, we’ve got...  Just like that, we’ve got an extra 6 inches of headroom, plenty for Kertz to lay a strong TIG bead all the way around the joint.  Here’s the completed door...  Here’s the completed door bars on the driver side. The gussets don’t add much strength, but they add a ton of style! The killer ovals were made by a Rad Rides oval punch set. They’re currently pondering a new production run; email or call Troy and the boys now, and tell ’em they gotta make more of these things!  To solve that issue and create...  To solve that issue and create a far more rigid frontend, Kertz ran a bar through the firewall that ties the A-pillar bar and dash into the front suspension’s mini tower and then the framerail itself. The two shorter bars make a geometry that Trojanek found to be beneficial to overall rigidity in his testing.  Our door bars will be a basic...  Our door bars will be a basic X-style for maximum strength and safety, as well as meeting standards for many race classes. We still want functioning standard latches and regulators, however, so some minor adjustments were necessary. Kertz used a tape measure to determine where the intersection of the X should occur.  To strengthen the cowl section...  To strengthen the cowl section of the unibody, Kertz ran a straight bar behind the dash tying the two lower bends of the A-pillar tubes together. There’s still plenty of room to reassemble the dash to stock, but it’s a good thing we had no plans of running A/C or stock vents.  Here’s the view from inside...  Here’s the view from inside the engine bay. We weren’t building to any specific road race class or NHRA specs since Max is mostly an open track car, but we will technically be legal for the American V8 Super Car Series.  Those measurements were then...  Those measurements were then transferred into tape to double-check clearance and placement.  To wrap up the triangulation...  To wrap up the triangulation of the cab section, Kertz ran a down bar from the back of the main hoop, again tying into the upper bend for triangulation. The diagonal follows the same theory and ties into the bottom of the passenger-side down bar at the mounting plate. We got lucky; the optimum angle for the bars just barely missed the package tray. Obviously, we won’t be running a rear seat.
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