Total Control Products Export Brace Adjustable Aluminum Mustang 1965-1970

We recently showed you how to install Total Control Products bolt-on coil over conversion kit using our 70 Mach 1. When we did the installation we had to remove the factory export brace. We explained that the factor export brace would not work with the mounting brackets provided for the coil overs for the TCP setup. So, today we're going to install the Total Control Product adjustable export brace that will work with those brackets as well as the stock setup.

The shock tower place provided in the TCP kit have three holes so they'll work with either the brackets we're using for our coil overs or your stock shock tower tops. From there they go through these adjustable bars with rod ends to the plate that's going to mount on the firewall itself. Unlike the original one which just goes to the pinch weld, this will go the pinch weld, have three additional holes that go through the firewall and sandwich in for additional strength.

For this installation if you have coil overs you'll need a jack and jack stands. If you have stock suspension you will not need them. You'll need a 3/8 ratchet, 7/32 Allen key, short extension, 14 millimeter wrench, drill, 3/8 drill bit and safety glasses.

To run the coil over conversion like we are, you have two different options as far as mounting the plate. You can mount it on top of the factory plate or you can mount it below it. If you mount it below it, it's going to raise this up and it's going to lower your ride height. If you're looking to keep the standard ride height, you will mount it on top which is what we're going to do with our car. If you're working on an original suspension Mustang, you can actually do this installation on the ground. You're going to unbolt your shock, unbolt the shock top and put the plate on and you're finished. In the case of car because of that coil overs this now has weight on it, so the car has to go up in the air so we can remove these to install the plate. Once we get the wheel off, we're going to start the installation by supporting the front suspension with a jack. Now we can unbolt the mounting plate for the coil over.

You can hold the nuts and remove the bolts. Like I said before, you have two options here. If you want to go underneath, you ought to unbolt the coil over to get it in place. That'll give you a little bit lower ride height. Since we're trying to stay with the stock pipe we have now, we're going to bolt it on top. Make sure the plate is seated where it was originally, everything's straight. Now we can reinstall the plate on the bottom and reinstall the nuts to hold it on. And repeat the process on the other side. Now move on to the place on the pinch wall of the firewall. We're going to start by popping off our air cleaner, just to give us a little more room to work. I'm going to make sure the area down here is clean and there's this little stud for a wiring harness poking through, I'm going to push that through out of the way.

Now the plate TCP piece is going to mount underneath the stock pinch weld. I'm going to put a bolt through with a washer from the top and then nuts on the bottom to hold it in place. You should get these all started before you even try to tighten one down. Then we call tighten them down. With the plate bolt through our pinch weld, now we can actually drill the holes through our firewall for this court plate. To do this, basically just drill a hole for each one of these holes right here and then put a nut and bolt on there. If we do that, though, go to the interior, make sure there's nothing on the other side you're going drill into, wires, hoses, anything like that you could damage. We checked, everything's clear. We can drill our holes. This plates' going to mount on the other side of the firewall and sandwich the firewall to hold the bracket in place. What you're going to do is take the three bolts with washers, put them through, this plate's going to go on the other side with some of these locks nuts on each side. You really need someone to help you with this part because someone's going to have to be inside holding it while you hold the bolts on this side as well. I recommend somebody of a smaller stature because it is very tight underneath the dashboard.

We're going to start with the center bolt, probably be the easier one to locate and I'll have Jeff put the bracket in place on the other side while I hold the bolt. Now we're going to assemble the rods with the ends. One's going to be left thread, one's going to a right thread, but a dab of anti-seize on both sides that will fully thread the metal. Actually don't forget the lock nut. If you ever installed a rod, there's a bevel that's going to go on this side and you use the longer bolt down here. Now we're just going to thread it by hand to get it close. Now you put nuts on them and tighten then down. I'm going to adjust the bar so that it's spins fairly free so there's no real pre-load on it and tighten down the lock nuts. Repeat the process on the other side and your installation's finished.

The Total Control Products adjustable export brace can do a great job with our car, making it much stronger than the factory one and ties in perfectly with our coil over conversation system. You might be wondering about this front whole here. They actually have expandable pieces. There's a Monte Carlo bar available and then a truss brace that would go from here to the Monte Carlo bar for even more support. The installation on stocks suspension, figure around two hours, coil overs like ours probably around three and you'll be back on the road in no time.