MustangMan1718

I was at work today doing a coolant flush on one bay when a customer with a Mustang pulled in on the other bay. I had previously talked to him on his last visit, and I was busy at this time, so I was unable to go over to talk to him.

It turns out that he actually recognized me and called me over by name and asked if my Mustang had a strut tower brace. I said that it didn't but I believed that the GTs may have came with one. I glanced under his hood and saw there wasn't one there, but there was many new painted surfaces that I didn't see last time.

To save you from a further story, he is basically offering his strut tower brace for to me for $50. I also ended up with it in my possession before he left even though I didn't have any cash on me. This is what is causing my dilemma.

1.) Do I keep the part? I know it is a pretty good value, and I love saving money on things.

2.) Do I return it to him? I really had no intention on buying one. In the last few weeks I have dropped about $700 between college tuition and the trip I had to take across the state for my grandparents' 60th anniversary.

I had a plan to research the price of the part both new and used to help me make my decision. However, my research isn't turning up as much as I thought it would, especially with how large of an aftermarket there is. I'm not even sure if it is OEM or not. My tech skills are failing me. It looks similar to a GT500 one from what I can tell, except not curved. It has 2 slots for bolts on each side, and a single bar. It is also a glossy black if that could help identify it.

I apologize for the wall of text, but I have attempted to shrink the story down as much as possible. I am just casting a wide net and looking for input from others that may know a thing or two more than me.

HxCGuitars

Not sure what brand it would be. I think the Bullitts came with one as well, but I can't recall what they looked like. For $50 I'd definitely keep it. It's one of those things where at over $100 it's not enough to actually make me want to spend that kind of money, but at $50 it helps in driving and looks pretty.

Shadow7874

if its a good looking brace id keep it for sure. If its not too pretty id probably give it back as ive read they dont actually do much. 50 is a good deal though.
I know the feeling though, I just paid $3700 for school.

MustangMan1718

Both of these posts reflect my initial thoughts. Thanks for such speedy replies. This has been running through my head for hours now.

I also contacted one of my buddies that I used to work with (he has a heavily modded 240SX) and it sounds like the brace is extremely easy to install. I was worried about having to use a spring compressor and all of that. So I think I will install it before going to work tomorrow, see how much of a difference I notice, and reevaluate my thoughts from there. I guess that on one hand him leaving it with me is a pressure to buy, but on the other, it is a great opportunity to learn something knew and see if it is worth the price before solidifying the deal.

fedfireman

If you decide you don't want it you could always pass the savings on to someone here. I'm sure someone would gladly cough up the $50 you might not want to spend on it. So maybe start an interest thread and see if you can't drum up a buyer now before you spend anything.

Mr. Ugly

$50 is a great price. I got mine for about that. Wouldn't pay more to get one though.

baddog671

If it's a nice bar, 50$ is awesome. If it's a cheapy EBay deal, meh, it's still cheaper than what it'd be on eBay.

As long as the finish is good and it looks nice on the car.

157dB

I would check fitment before dropping $50 on something
that you really didnt want or NEED.
Some GT STBs dont properly fit the V6es.

You could look at it like an investment
for future resale on eBay for more $$.

But not knowing who made it will
make selling it for high $s very hard.

I would be seeing if you have the factory
A-Arm brace and if not getting one of those
instead. STBs are worthless without the A-Arm brace.

baddog671

With AM's discount code their's is 51.70.

MustangMan1718

Looks like I will be returning it after all. I put it on for my drive to work to get an idea, and it just barely cleared the engine. Talking like a quarter inch. On my drive I did notice an improvement in handling, but couldn't tell if it was just a placebo effect or not.

On my ride home I heard a loud vibrating sound and just checked it out while waiting for my girlfriend to get off work. Popped the hood, and gave the bar a shake. It was still solid. Took the bar off and saw it had scrapes on it. The hood liner has been rubbed a tiny bit, but nothing you wouldn't notice if you weren't looking for it.

So I guess I will be either using some black nail polish to fill in the scrapes or seeing if i have any of my black wheel paint and clear coat left over. It's a shame I don't get to get both a cheap new part and bond with a customer, but I'm not heartbroken over it either.