Even if a part already exists in the aftermarket, it's still more fun to make it yourself, and perhaps one of the easier fabrication projects is making an export brace. Sometimes called a shock tower brace, these are pieces of steel tubing that connect the underhood shock/strut towers to each other and also to the firewall to stiffen the front end of a unibody-construction car. They are most often seen on early Mustangs, but there are kits for a number of cars. Handing is becoming more of a priority with hot rodders, but there are still models out there with no aftermarket support in this area. So the answer is to make your own.
With all the underhood hardware in place (accessories, fan shroud, and so on), lay some 11/4-diameter mild steel tubing between the strut towers to see what clearance issues there may be. The tube may need to be bent or cut and welded to clear the engine.
We visited Jeff Lilly Restorations in Texas to find out how the company fabricates a custom export brace, in this case on an '86 Camaro. You will need to know how to weld, or at least tack-weld, to build this part, but then with the affordability and portability of today's welders, that shouldn't be an issue.
