Front End Falling Off

[Face]

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Originally Posted by sydneysprint Thanks for pic. Do you have any clearer pics that show more iof the supports? Are they custom made or off another car etc? Cheers Dean

[sydneysprint]

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The supports are the factory ones from the 1994 1.4ie 33 Imola donor car.This is not my car, but I will try to source some pics in the near future.I wasn't there when it was made, but as far as I know they were installed the same way as they were installed in the 33.

[alfasprinter]

Interesting my sprint Veloce had no cracks And had never been repaired either But we seam welded the front now and are adding the 16v reinforcing bars. on my dads s2 33 we made some reinforcing bars out of steel tube and plate. and the tubes are straight rather than the curved ones that are on s3 cars. Hey Dave 33 i saw you racing on tv today Awesome. do you know if they are going to put anymore rounds on tv? it was pretty cool turning on the tv and seeing Eddie's sud sideways on the hill!!!

[getagrip]

Thanks guys for all the helpfull advice. I've cleaned it up and looked around and it doesnt seem too bad. The bottom rails are not showing any further cracks, but I can see where the other side bottom rail looks as though it has had a previous repair.

I have tried to get some photo's of the braces from my '92 16V, but there is so much going on under the hood there, it is hard to get a good shot of them.

The photo that Face has posted, minus the inlet plumbing shows the braces much more clearly.

The brace itself has compound curves and changes in section to clear various lines and cables, so it would not be a simple fabrication. I will be keeping my eye out for someone wrecking a series 3. The factory solution is very nicely executed.

Having had the opportunity to put a few more miles on the series 3 over the last couple of days, the difference in the front end rigidity is becoming more obvious. The Series 3 has a much harsher ride which I originaly put down to different springs and damping but is probably contibuted to by the stiffer chassis. It certainly feels much more planted on my favourite twisty bits! I'm looking forward to putting some decent tyres on it so I'm trying as hard as I can to wear out the current set!

I've got heaps of work to do on both cars over the next few weeks, so I am sure I will be back with more questions.

Sincere thanks to those who contributed words of advice.