When I bought my 1971 Mach 1 it did not have the braces that go between the firewall and the top of the shock towers, they were missing. After some searching on Ebay I found a pair.

I have the suspension out of the car now doing upgrades and resto, so a perfect time to fit the braces. Unfortunately, they don't fit. Both are about half an inch too long. I cannot begin to get the holes to line up, so there is no way I can force them in. So I have come to two possible conclusions:

1. These braces I bought off Ebay are not the right ones for my car, or
2. My front end is warped and out of alignment from not having the braces installed for so many years and is now too "bent" to get them in.

Since the car seems straight, and the hood, fenders, and body all line up, I suspect that number 1 is my problem.

So two questions for the experienced here that could help me resolve this:

1. Could someone with a 1971-73 mustang please take some measurements of their braces and let me know the dimensions?
2. Does anyone know a source of information for body and chassis dimensions for 1971 Mustangs? I'm looking for drawings or schematics of the front end with acceptable dimensions and tolerances so I can check if my front is really bent.

Thanks for the help!

 

To install most of these braces the maf says to place jack stands under the front rails around the cowl area or farther back and leave it sit for a day or 2. I know my 67 need that and my 65 had to sit for a bit to get the brace to fit.

 

yep. the schocktowers of your car have probably fallen in. half inch is quite normal there. that's a very common problem
http://www.fly-ford.com/MM0105-How_T...Carlo_Bar.html

 

With the braces missing, I'd be surprised if the car was NOT bent. Put a jack under the frame rail at the front of the front seat, and install the brace on that side.

They should look like this:

 

I tried the above but it didn't help. I ended up using a hydraulic spreader to get mine to fit on the 69.

 

Really you sure u waited enough time for the car to flex i remember my 67 had to sit with the tires off the ground for almost a week.

 

Geese, I'd think if your off that much your fender to door gap should be visibly off as well.

 

Wow, thanks for the great information! I really liked the article from Mustang Monthly, thanks for posting the link.

Right now I have the car up on four jack stands as I am replacing all of the front and rear suspension components. The front stands are under the front cross member that the strut rods attach to, so the car is probably flexing more around the firewall and cowl and making the fit worse. Once I have all of the suspension back in I'll move the jack stands further aft and see if it helps.

I'll post the results and some pictures.

 

They can take some forcing in. The Ford unibody was pretty flimsy in the front, so shock towers out of place is pretty common. You'll notice a HUGE difference once they're in though.

 

I only have a couple days a week to work on it so it did sit for the week on the stands. It did move out a small amount but not enough to have an easy fit.