Targa brace

[Isphius]

Mk3s dont have struts, so your twisting doesnt lie there, And strut bars are completely useless on these cars. But yah anything connecting the windshield to the rest will def help out. Even just a little bar, In the middle, Like a t-top, as weezl suggested.

[theWeezL]

Got my bar...Im not 100% happy with it, but its nothing that cant be fixed. Im going to go with what he made me for now and see how I like it. When I picked it up from him we talked about a few options. I can definately see where we can improve it. Tomorrow I will prep it and paint it and take some pictures...should have those up around lunch time.

[SupraSaver87]

Well I have a targa top on my 1987 Turbo, and well for all your Non-Targa people...well bow down to us...JK, naw....the targa top, when removed makes the car ENTIRELY flexible....like you take a corner and you can see it flex...well I guess at least when >I< corner you can see the flex....and that is why I only cruise with the top off.

A couple weeks back I made the mistake of taking the top off, and then racing with the car. The next time I put the top back on (Later on that night) I noticed a MAJOR marked change in how easy (Or I should say hard) it was to bolt down the targa top.

NOTE: The Supra targa top has four "bolts" that hold it down, they are more like big screws that anything else. These bolts when fastened down completely, and correctly, will make the whole targe top a "structural" peice, and MAJORLY reduces body twist, and improves handling.

I have bent/twisted my frame now because I decided to race with the top off, and now I just have to live with a hard-to-bolt-down targa top. However with that all said, I don't think that your option would work for me, not for the fact that I have body flex, and damage to the chassis, its the fact that I hate the t-top look, and honestly the FULL open roof was a selling feature for me.

I have a question to ask off of that...Are the lower mid body stabilizers able to do the same as your brace, or would a combo of both, help me the most. (I think I know the answer to this one)

Well again, I do love the fact that you have designed a part FOR the supra. I want to think up creative, and effective ways to improve the temp of the supra intake, and also ease of flow. My brother builds custom exhaust systems, and manifolds....anyways, he does all my piping needs, and he is damn good at it too. So I basically have a product engineer...and I have the ideas.

Great job to all who have created custom parts to better their supra.

[theWeezL]

If your talking about the do-luck center bar, (the one that follows the floor just in front of the rear seat) from what I read it wont do alot for twist, its just not designed for that. It does have some resistance to twist thought so long as you actually use both bolt positions (alot of people dont) because then the bar acts a little like a torsion bar. Would both work? yeah, in combination they would be great for stiffening up out Targas.

The targa bar is meant to do two things:
First of all, look at your car from a profile. Essentially its a big flat triangle. When you remove the top you are basically chopping the top off a triangle, making it no longer a strong structural shape. The front and back sides of the triangle are going to want to come together to complete the shape again and the only thing stopping them is the rigidity of the bottom side. So, Im filling that gap again.
Second, take a box with a lid on it...a nice flat rectangular one works well for this demonstration. Apply a twisting force on it from corner to corner. It should be pretty resistant to that force. Now take the lid off of it and try it again...not as resistant. Thats because a rectangle is basically just two triangles. So your lid is resisting the torsional load.
Side note: if you fabricate a bar that crosses the center line of your box...just how much do you think its going to do to resist either of these forces?

And dont be too quick to condemn the bar because it approaches T-top...give me a few hours to clean it up, prep for paint, and get a couple coats on it...I WILL have pics today sometime

[Isphius]

Cool. I wana see it! And yes you are totally right about the flex theory, There is nothing you can do to make the car as strong as when it has a roof.

[theWeezL]

Originally Posted by Isphius

There is nothing you can do to make the car as strong as when it has a roof.

I dont know about that...lol wait till ya see what I got, this thing is friggin stout!


ok first picture...but its too soft to take down and put on the car yet so use your imagination hehe

[Isphius]

looks nice, But it doesnt look like very stiff, How thick is that tubing? the ends are good but i dunno about that square

[sportriderseattle]

thanks for sharing your creation with all of us! that's a great idea you came up with. Can you answer a couple issues about the design? 1) how much does the entire brace weigh? 2) where the brace sits and touches the existing rubber gasket weather stripping on the front and back parts of the roof, is there additional weather stripping on the underside of the brace to make contact with the original weather stripping? (concern about the bare metal damaging the existing weather stripping).

thanks in advance for your clarification