<p><span style="color: #99cc00;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">BCB 4x4's <em>&rdquo;IMPROVED</em>&nbsp;Steer Straight Frame Brace" for all 1972-1980 International Harvester Scout 2, Terra, and Traveler models. In 1998 we found that the original model "Straight Steer" brace that multiple manufacturers were manufacturing and selling was lacking in a few key design areas. It was made from 3/8" steel with bent corners and some measured short of the actual inside frame dimension specs. When installing these "brand X" braces, it was noted that the frame tended to suck in to tighten up the gaps left. This causes side pressure on the leaf spring bushings and esentially BENDS the frame to match up tight to the brace. In many pictures on the web you can see this crushing effect on the outside of the passenger side frame rail where the bolts go through to mounts it. Also spotted was the stress zone created where the corners were bent 90 degrees. Any time you bend steel you introduce stress that over time can fatigue and crack causing failure. The last thing that annoyed us was that in most of them that we installed the lower radiator hose would hit and rub against the sharp edge of the brace. Over time this leads to a failure in the lower hose causing antifreeze to leak out. If that occurred while you were driving to work or wheeling on the trail and did not notice, serious damage to the motor could occur. To correct that during installation, the radiator must be drained, the lower hose removed and cut shorter, reinstall the hose, refill the radiator, bleed the air out, ...just a ton of extra work. This is wasted work and time that could be spent out enjoying your new found crisp steering ride!</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffcc00;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #99cc00;">So with that in mind, a new improved steering brace that solved these flaws was created at BCB 4x4. The three major improvements that can be seen are: the 1/2" thick steel used in construction to beef it up, the patented and exclusive to our product&nbsp; lower radiator hose cutout that eliminate most of the extra installation work, and the welded corners that minimize stress zones. To assure that you receive a quality original BCB 4x4 made product we manufacturer and brand mark these in house at our shop.</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #ffff00;"><strong>All Braces will come raw steel with a little bit of brush down and weld bb removal. Final sanding and deburing the edge to accept paint will be up to the purchaser. While we painted them for 20 years, its just impossible to paint them 1-2 units at a time and seeing as how we no longer have a full time welder thats only job is this and a few products where he could setup and paint 5-10 sets at a time making it feasable time wise, i just can not spend 30-40 minutes painting a set when I could be working on a customer rig for the hourly shop rate. Its all about making a living and survival. Rising rent cost, operationg expenses, permits, and fees have forced us to really take a close look at how our time is best spent.&nbsp; Besides i need extra time to bring all the new products to market that i have been designing over the past 20 years :).&nbsp; Thanks for understanding.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffcc00;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: #000000;">Ask for it by name "BCB Improved Steer Straight Frame Brace" .... Don&rsquo;t cut corners and try to save a few bucks on inferior copies when your safety and ride quality depend on it.&nbsp;<span style="color: #ffffff; background-color: #000000;"><em>And in keeping with our motto of "High quality parts at reasonable prices", we offer it to you.</em></span><br /></span></span></strong></span></p> Learn More