When many of our classic cars were designed, the goal was to give a comfortable ride that didn’t transfer all the harshness of the street. One way to accomplish that was to use front and rear sub-frames, making them work independently of each other: as the front flexed the body absorbed that torsional flex and the rear was unaffected, for the most part.

That unibody construction allowed for a better ride for these bigger cars, but the torsional rigidity of these cars was not very good. Even some full frame cars lacked torsional strength, and this lack of rigidity takes it’s toll on unibody cars after several decades. This is why sometimes new parts will fit on one car, but not fit another exactly the same – this flexing could have a negative affect on body alignment.

As we drive our cars more, and harder, the flexing can be even more detrimental to the strength of an older car, and that’s where US Car Tool comes it to provide chassis stiffening kits for many classic musclecars. Whether you’re drag racing, road racing, or a weekend warrior at the autocross, these chassis stiffening kits will provide the structural strength needed to push you classic harder than ever before.

US Car Tool has been in business for over ten years, providing the Mopar community with chassis stiffening and restoration tools – including car rotisseries and car moving tools for your project. But they are also expanding to offer ktis for many other classic musclecars, as well. Mustang owners can now benefit from these products, such as 1965-’66 Mustang subframe connectors, torque boxes and chassis stiffening kits, as well as subframe connectors for the 1979-’04 Mustang as seen in the video below.

To strengthen up the Mustang suspension is a pair of strut rod braces for the 1965-’70 Mustang front suspension. They’re also planning to bring in the first gen F-body GM cars with stiffening components, so keep an eye out for those parts as well.

If you’ve ever thought about relocating the leaf springs and mini-tubbing your early Mopar, check out the kits available from US Car Tool. Their spring relocation kits offer additional strength with an outboard bracket that bolts directly to the factory front spring hanger. Mini-tub kits include the parts you need without having to hit a scrap metal yard.

For chassis stiffening, the 12 gauge steel subframe connectors are CNC cut and bent for a precision fit to follow the shape of the floor pan for ultimate strength. This requires no cutting of the floor pan, and provides a  boxed in frame rail connector that is stronger than the factory. Included in the chassis kit are four torque boxes for torsional strength, apron rail reinforcements. If you’re a Mopar owner you know the core support has proven to be a weak point on the car, so US Car Tool includes a lower radiator support reinforcement to help strengthen up that area of the car. Check out the difference on this E body in the video below.

Body In White Program

More than just a parts source for chassis stiffening, US Car Tool also has a restoration process called the Body in White Program. If you’re in the process of doing a full restoration for your car and want it to get back to an all metal state with no body filler, this is the program for your car. You don’t have to worry about tracing down body sheet metal or patch panels, because US Car Tool takes your car in and they do all the work for you.

What they return to you is an all metal car with no hidden rust or body filler. The prices are available on their web site and they’ll provide you with a complete photographic and written documentation of every step of the process. No more pulling back the carpet only to find that the prior owner hid a bunch of rust with carpeting. All of the old paint and body filler is stripped from the car and the car is restored to original with rust inhibitive coatings and exterior panels refinished in primer.

We’ll be doing some installations with components from US Car Tool in the near future, so keep an eye out for an upcoming article on chassis stiffening. To find out more about the Body in White Program or to see their extensive list of parts and tools for your classic Ford Mustang or Mopar, check out their website. You’ll see some of their projects on their Facebook page, too – give them a Like! They offer several services that appeal to the musclecar enthusiast, including custom fabrication, chassis building, rollcage fabrication, custom suspension, rear end shortening, custom brakes – even 4×4 and offroad vehicle construction, to name a few. It’s a good contact to have, so keep them in your list of favorites.