Necessity IS the mother or invention, isn't it ? No luck for the last few months in finding a GTS (or simply a GTS strut bar) for my AE92 sedan....so, I decided to fabricate my own. GTS's are rare birds around here, for some reason. I haven't found many possibilities in the aftermarket, either (and what I found I didn't much care for). Anyway, I robbed a strut bar from an early '90's Celica, at my local "you pick it " junk yard ....but, of course it wouldn't fit. So, after some study, I found a solution. I cut the strut brackets from the Celica bar....and added a 1" square aluminum alloy tube in between. Two grade 5 U- bolts, through each bracket and through the tube, hold it all together. The tube nestles in right behind the tops of the strut towers, bolted on the bottom side of the Celica brackets....and clears all firewall- mounted bits nicely. It also runs just behind the brake resevoir, so no interference there. Best of all, the whole thing cost just over $20.....and some time. Not much time....as I spent far more on the planning and "design" than the actual fabrication. Anyway, all that's left is to clean up and prime & paint the (steel) brackets. The aluminum tube will stay just as is.
As my sedan is now running on 14" Honda Civic wheels....and has a Celica steering wheel and portions of a Celica strut bar.....I've decided that I no longer drive a "Corolla". I now drive a " Corocellivic" . I was calling it a "Corollica" before the Civic wheels, which has a better ring .....but now, I must add something for the Honda wheels.
Geez......I wasn't trying to create a DIY. Fine, I'll post some pics (I wasn't planning on taking any....but I guess I will now).....after the thing is painted and installed.
Ya id like to see some pictures too please. Its always nice to see what guys will come up to with custom work. (i will be posting up a build thread once I get my new digicam in the mail, and can post some pics)
Afterall, with this model most of the time some form of custom work is necessary, since parts are rare, and the ones that are available cost more than they should.
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CURRENT: 1990 Toyota Corolla SR5, 273,xxx kms - Track Car
History:
1994 Toyota Corolla Special Edition - RIP Old Age @ 454,986kms
1986.5 Toyota Supra NA mint condition - RIP Totalled during Police chase @ 115,112kms
2000 Toyota Corolla CE - Given to parents, since Insurance = $1000/mth approx
or just find a GTS bar.... I have at least one spare lying around... might have more... and I know the junkyards around here the GTS's aren't rare.
I built my own for the rear of my aw11 for about $20.... just bought a 3' section of U-channel and a 4"x12"x1/4" thick steel plate... used a bimetal 3 3/8" hole saw for the strut holes in the steel plate (x2), cut the plate in half, cut & grinded the edges down to about where I wanted it.... grinded down the u-channel ends to sit mostly flush with the plates when mounted in the car... then had a friend weld it together.
the metal was less than $20
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1) 2004 IS300 Manual/LSD/Sportdesign 2) 2010 Corolla S 5 speed 3) 1986 MR2 "MK1.22" 5sfe/s54 swap 3) 1995 Ford Explorer 4x4, TT/AAL/custom shackle lift, 31"s
I have a GT-S bar lying around that I could have sold you
I have a whiteline strut bar on my SR5 that I like. I think it looks a lot less flimsy than the GT-S one. but I lot of people like the GT-S one better because it mounts to the firewall.
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'01 Impreza 2.5 RS - Mud flaps, skid plates, Gravel Dampers
'89 RX-7 TurboII - Megasquirt-3 - 270 rwhp
'89 Corolla SR5 - 4AGE ST 20V 6spd LSD, Megasquirt II, Koni Race Dampers + GroundControls + camber plates F/R, GT-S Rear brakes
'81 BMW R65 For Sale: GT-S strut bar + Front GT-S koni yellows
I have a GT-S bar lying around that I could have sold you
I have a whiteline strut bar on my SR5 that I like. I think it looks a lot less flimsy than the GT-S one. but I lot of people like the GT-S one better because it mounts to the firewall.
did you use this as an excuse to show off your sweet engine?
My car would probably faint from fright....if I installed a nice, new bit like your Whiteline strut bar. It is a true "junkyard special"..... with junkyard parts everywhere.
Regardless, my home-made bar is now installed on the car. It seems to stiffen the front end, just as it should. I'll post a couple of pics when I get a chance, as requested.
no... I posted it because I think I'm the only one on the board with a whiteline sway bar
showing off my engine was just an added bonus
I used to have a different brand that looked almost identical, except the bar was anodized blue. I think it was even a little beefier where the mounts were welded together.
I have since put the gt-s bar on and like it better. The trick to those "screw" style bars is to install it and then really tighten it down....
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1) 2004 IS300 Manual/LSD/Sportdesign 2) 2010 Corolla S 5 speed 3) 1986 MR2 "MK1.22" 5sfe/s54 swap 3) 1995 Ford Explorer 4x4, TT/AAL/custom shackle lift, 31"s
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1993 Toyota Corolla
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