1974 to 1991 Interior Roof Rack Braces
It is pretty obvious to most folks that the factory roof racks are
really not intended to support significant weight and are not very
securely attached. While we can not make the factory rack stronger
we can attach it to the roof more securely.
The factory rack is attached with tapered 1/4-20 torx screws using well nuts.
It's pretty common to find them deteriorated like this along with
some dirt and possible corrosion you will want to clean up.
If you just want to replace the well nuts you can buy them here,
I have also found them in hardware stores but it's hit and miss
that they will have 12 in stock.
You will not need or be using any well nuts if your are installing
these interior braces.
What the interior roof rack braces do is provide a much larger surface
area with a welded 1/4-20 nut as a mounting point, the center and front
brackets also drop down and attach to the upper body above the headliner
using a #10 3/4" self taping TEK screw.
Front
Center
Rear
In the rear there is nothing to attach to so the brace is just flat.
This can be problematic if you need to remove the headliner at
some point (several sets have been lost in the rear body area over
the years) so I have started including two sections of double sided
3M sheet tape.
After fitting up the braces and before the headliner goes back up
simply remove the rear braces, install the tape sheet then reinstall
the rear braces, this should hold them in place if you need to remove
the rack later.
You will reuse your existing rack screws and roof gaskets.
If you need new screws they are here.
If you need new gaskets those are here.
The installation instructions are pretty basic and are located here.
One thing I do caution folks about when removing and installing
the headliner is be careful with the plastic pieces, the visor cups,
plastic corner pieces and center visor clip become brittle with age
as do parts of the interior lighting.
The only other item I can think to add is ordering.
These are a lot like the steering box braces I make, I make them
in batches as it requires setting up different equipment so please
plan ahead, I do a batch of 5-6 sets about every 4-6 weeks.
If you have questions please use this email link.