Problem? Not any more..

[Insomniac912]

I have an 87 cabrio, this is a sparco strut bar for an e30. It does not fit. Are my towers sagging? Is this reparable? Help?

Pictures for your viewing pleasure, or displeasure..

[Eecen]

Does the car have a clean title?

Looks like the passenger side strut tower is cock-eyed...Is that strut brace sappost to fit vert's?

Is the brace new, or used?

[Insomniac912]

Does the car have a clean title?

Looks like the passenger side strut tower is cock-eyed...Is that strut brace sappost to fit vert's?

Yes to clean title. Have no clue if it is for verts. I bought it second hand and wanted to test it out on a vert. I'm a noob, so feel free to treat me as such lol. If it is indeed not meant to be on a vert, I have now available, a non-vert strut bar!

[Eecen]

I'm vert illiterate so idk if the front towers are any different than a coupes (save for those reinforcing wings).


If the car has a clean title, and the frame doesn't show any signs of damage I'd put my money on that brace having come out a car that was in an "incident," which bent it.


But I'm also slightly intoxicated, so take that opinion with a grain of salt, just like everything else you see on this forum.

[bernzpeed]

try to jack up the car, then see if it lines up. i had to work on mine as well (my car is lowered), but not as much as yours does.

[Robotin]

Yes to clean title. Have no clue if it is for verts. I bought it second hand and wanted to test it out on a vert. I'm a noob, so feel free to treat me as such lol. If it is indeed not meant to be on a vert, I have now available, a non-vert strut bar!

how much??

[Ceeker]

it's not even close to fitment. You're better off getting an adjustable strut brace. find someone with a coupe and try it on that. Even jacking the car up wouldn't put that much flex on the body to make it fit. Or as mentioned the strut brace may have been a victim to an accident.

[bmwguy325is]

Its not shown in a manual. BUT there are two different E30 front ends. It even says so in IEs catalog when ordering a brace."IMPORTANT! The BMW factory published body specification shows the distance between the strut towers should be 1002.2mm +/-2mm (39.5"), measured from center to center at the strut bearing opening in the inner fenders. The bar we manufacture is 1002.2mm, the published spec. However; we have found many cars (ranged across all years and models) measure about 980mm (38.75")... there is no published factory documentation of any difference in the body dimensions. We suggest you measure to ensure our brace will work without modification. We no long make the shorter 980mm bar."

[Insomniac912]

Thanks for the advice guys. Btw im pretty positive that the strut bar has no damage to it. It doesn't seem warped or anything. I'll try jacking the car up and see what happens. I'll take pics. If the case is where i need to get a smaller brace, does anyone have any suggestions as far as manufacturer?

[RobertC]

That is a pretty extreme misfit.

Either that strut brace is severely tweaked, or your E30 needs to go to a frame shop to get straightened.

Check all around the shock tower for signs cracked/ripped seam sealer, look underneath around the front for signs of warped/bent sheetmetal.

Measure from a constant point on the cowl to the center of the strut mount, measure wheel base on both sides to see if one side or the other is off.

Basically try to square up on the engine bay to see if the shock towers are misaligned.

Take Care,
Robert

[e30vert]

OK. I have a sparco strut bar on my vert so I may be able to help.

I measured the distance from the inner 2 mounting bolts that come up through the strut towers and I get 36 3/4 " between them. Are yours even close to this?

Drew two lines on your picture to illustrate where I measured. Also, if you get this Sparco strut bar to fit it would be a good idea to do the bending of the throttle cable and cruise control bracket mod or you will get some rubbing and chaffing of the paint on the strut bar where they contact.

[SkiFree]

That is a pretty extreme misfit.

Either that strut brace is severely tweaked, or your E30 needs to go to a frame shop to get straightened.

While there is a chance of your (OP) frame being tweaked, etc. To take that extreme of an assumption is presumptuous.

While IE lists that they (we) have made two length's in the past. The length between the strut tower can vary quite a lot. I've measured enough to see up to 1.25" (and some alleged higher than that) of variation on an otherwise pristine car. This is not based on differences made due to chassis year or model changes, there have considerable differences on cars within a few vin numbers from each other (let alone same year build dates). I can only assume that when the cars were built there was something about their construction that allowed for the differences (perhaps different assembly lines?).

Yes there can be sagging, etc. but this is beyond that.

Hope that helps clarify things a little bit.

[Insomniac912]

E30VERT, the distance between inner two mounting bolts is 36".

[Insomniac912]

So I decided to fix my problem a different way..

Chopped the brackets...



Mounted them...



Tacked the bar into place, slightly more angled back to prevent rubbing on some pieces..



Gave it a proper weld..



Did away with that pesky powdercoat..



Boom. Le strut bar fits.

[jlevie]

While that "fix" worked, it didn't address the underlying cause. The car has suffered damage in the past and the shock towers have moved. I wouldn't be surprised if there is some frame damage and I'll bet on the caster & camber being off one on or both sides.