By the way, I'd like to add; there are "universal" "Gabriel-Brand" struts being sold on eBay, which are cheap and advertise as for B-13 REARS. Thinking they were a terrific deal, I over-looked that they arrived with 2 brake-line tabs, welded on either side of the inner-rear-struts.
The tubes we should be using, are supposed to have left and right rear-stabilizer-bar tabs, and a single brake-line-mounting bracket; not redundant brake-line-tabs. Stock struts are side specific, (and your rear cores should be too, if you are considering this mod).
These after-market brake tabs, may also rub the inside of the brake mount welded to the body, in the driver's side well; as the tabs are longer than need be to clear the brake-line-mount.
The stock torsion-bar, is able to be temporarily mounted to the forward brake-line-mount on the strut, but it's definitely not right and the RSB joints will not aligned vertically.
Really a let-down, to see there is such a discrepancy, between stock and what we need to use ANY stock or replacement bolt-on RSB, effectively.
Be aware, the stock tubes may be the best for this mod, and there are inter-change-able after-market models which are not side-specific.
These are deficient, for strong RSB bar mounting and should be avoided.
Rear, stock-style, side specific "RSB disk saddles" should be verified on rear struts to be used for this mod, so adding them afterwards doesn't make the job a PITA.
I'm going to have to grind the extra tabs off and re-weld the RSB mount or go with a NASCAR style torsion bar, altogether. Not so sure the Koni's will like that heat torture. I'm considering using ice or oil bath, in order to cool the replacement brackets, right after they are welded. However, fast cooling, or quenching with ice, might make the welds brittle.
The tubes' inner diameter were terrific for the mod, but the extra work that after-market cores add to the speed and effective-ness of the process, would be much easier to do, with reconditioned stock tubes; in my humble opinion.
There is a chance these eBay beauties were not all real Gabriel's and were merely re-packaged, and dumped in the boxes by the seller. Three of them all had stamped markings, (one had nothing), in the tubes. They all received the inserts O.K. (tight-fit). I did notice the drastically, undersized guts, on every stock after-market strut, had different amounts of oil in every tube.
The tubes we should be using, are supposed to have left and right rear-stabilizer-bar tabs, and a single brake-line-mounting bracket; not redundant brake-line-tabs. Stock struts are side specific, (and your rear cores should be too, if you are considering this mod).
These after-market brake tabs, may also rub the inside of the brake mount welded to the body, in the driver's side well; as the tabs are longer than need be to clear the brake-line-mount.
The stock torsion-bar, is able to be temporarily mounted to the forward brake-line-mount on the strut, but it's definitely not right and the RSB joints will not aligned vertically.
Really a let-down, to see there is such a discrepancy, between stock and what we need to use ANY stock or replacement bolt-on RSB, effectively.
Be aware, the stock tubes may be the best for this mod, and there are inter-change-able after-market models which are not side-specific.
These are deficient, for strong RSB bar mounting and should be avoided.
Rear, stock-style, side specific "RSB disk saddles" should be verified on rear struts to be used for this mod, so adding them afterwards doesn't make the job a PITA.
I'm going to have to grind the extra tabs off and re-weld the RSB mount or go with a NASCAR style torsion bar, altogether. Not so sure the Koni's will like that heat torture. I'm considering using ice or oil bath, in order to cool the replacement brackets, right after they are welded. However, fast cooling, or quenching with ice, might make the welds brittle.
The tubes' inner diameter were terrific for the mod, but the extra work that after-market cores add to the speed and effective-ness of the process, would be much easier to do, with reconditioned stock tubes; in my humble opinion.
There is a chance these eBay beauties were not all real Gabriel's and were merely re-packaged, and dumped in the boxes by the seller. Three of them all had stamped markings, (one had nothing), in the tubes. They all received the inserts O.K. (tight-fit). I did notice the drastically, undersized guts, on every stock after-market strut, had different amounts of oil in every tube.
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