Who make the best body reinforcement kit?

[juicersr]

Hey guys, did a search, but didn't seem to find much. Want to do some body reinforcing on my 914-6 project, but don't know were to find the body reinforcing kit i have read about in 'Excellence' a while back in the ongoing 914-3.6 conversion series articles. Who sells them, or who sell the best one. Thanks

[Tobra]

Check this out
http://engmanparts.com/

Matter of opinion, some go on outside of longitudinals, under rocker covers, some go on inside, and across back of interior. A cage will stiffen it up a lot too.

Tangerine/Chris Foley Racing would be another good place to look

[juicersr]

Thanks Tobra. I also found this kit from Patrick Motorsports

http://www.patrickmotorsports.com/part/586/

However, am a little confused as to what i actually need for decent structrual reinforcement. How extensive should i get? Do i need the 'longitudinals' in the engman kit, or just the plate pieces in the Patrick kit? Does the 'hell-hole' kit in the engman kit add to reinforcement, or just cosmetic. Thanks

Justin

[rfuerst911sc]

I have been doing these structural upgrades on my /6 conversion. After doing internet searches on this forum,914world,914club etc. I decided to do the GT kit which consists of 10 pieces courtesy of Rich Johnson. I also purchased his swing arm stiffening kit. Those pieces are all installed on my 75 chassis. I will also be adding the Engman kit that boxes in both longs and the bottom of the firewall. I also installed the swing arm " ear " stiffener which welds onto the inner pivot ear. In my opinion this is enough for my 3.0 to be used for AX and daily driver.

[juicersr]

Thanks. Does Rich Johnson have a web site for the 'GT' kit?

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by juicersr

Thanks. Does Rich Johnson have a web site for the 'GT' kit?

No website that I'm aware of but his email address is : a914guy@aol.com
Great guy to deal with and he makes quite a few items for /6 conversions. High quality to.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Rich's kit is pretty much the same as Patrick's, which is also the same as the one we sell. It reinforces the inner rear wheel wells.

As I said in the other thread, doubling up the metal is OK, but for real stiffness you want distance between the pieces of metal. The more distance the better!

--DD

[J P Stein]

The "best" is the guy that will build you a cage (or partial cage) that ties together the front & rear suspension towers. Use your imagination.....design something that will do that & still allow you "reasonable" access to the interior.

[Tobra]

Dave makes a good point, why cardboard with those double layers and the corrugation between is so strong. Sort of how they make the Corvette chassis if I understand it right.

[juicersr]

Thanks to all. Looks like i'm headed towards engman's kit. That, plus the front roll bar bracing, should suffice.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Dave at Pelican Parts

Rich's kit is pretty much the same as Patrick's, which is also the same as the one we sell. It reinforces the inner rear wheel wells.

As I said in the other thread, doubling up the metal is OK, but for real stiffness you want distance between the pieces of metal. The more distance the better!

--DD

Dave I apologize for posting another persons website When I posted I didn't think that Pelican sold that item. Sorry

[Arizona_928]

pelican sells front fenders too but is cost 7 times then of what i paid for my teener.... so those are gonna have to wait

[Clay Perrine]

I have looked at the Engman kit and it is good, but for pure structural integrity I would recommend the Brad Mauyer kit. It goes on the outside of the longs, and goes from the rear suspension pickup point all the way forward to just inside the front fender. It takes the corrugated metal under the rocker panel and adds an outside piece to it, making it like corrugated cardboard in design. Much stiffer than just welding a plate to another flat plate on the inside of the long.