Unless you are drag racing or twisiting the car up constantly, it's
unnecessary. I regularly torque up my 70 and it's never had a frame
problem. Besides, the hardtop give the car much more rigidity than a ragtop
would have. Those rear braces were only on cars with 12 bolt rears. A
street driven cruiser will not have any noticeable benefits from it. As for
cracks at the roof/quarter seam, some cars (vinyl top cars mostly) used
plastic filler from the factory for that seam instead of lead.
Tom Rightler
MCC Newsletter Editor
Why would it be a waste of time?
It's not like they were super stiff frames even when new.
Chevy used a convertible frame for the 65 SS.
They had those braces for the rear in stick shift cars
(BB only?)
Why do some hardtops have fatigue cracks on quarter panels where roof B
pillar attaches.
