early mustang tourque box frame connector question

this fastback i have , im pretty sure im putting to the side and getting somthing a little more ahead for now but we will see

My question is my front tourque boxes are not the best , i can replace but if im going to run 2x3 thru floor frameconnectors to the front there would be no need for the tourque boxes correct ?

how are your guys setup ?

I'm not a chassis builder but,I would think the Torque boxes would need to be in good shape,and the frame connectors tied to them.

On a uni-body style setup the front & rear torque boxes/rocker boxes tie the front & back frame rail sections to the outer rocker panel sections to in effect form a single sheetmetal frame rail structure. Think of them as short crossmember stubs. Without them there would be no direct transfer of load from the front/rear frame sections out to the rocker panel sections in a uni-body type car.

Only uni-body car setup I would not worry about completely removing all the torque box/rocker box structures from the car would be a race only full chassis drag car since in that application the body is no longer a structural component of the car. On a car that's getting some extra chassis structure/bracing from what amounts to some form of a subframe connector (like in a true stock suspension/floor setup, or a mini-tub type deal) the torque boxes still really need to be there.

A back half setup will usually loose the rear torque boxes (most of the time anyway). But a back half might or might not keep the front torque boxes depending on how extensive, or how far forward, the "back half" chassis/cage work extends.

different but on the fox i had we did 2x3 frame connectors with outriggers to were the cage comes to , mything is the front tourque boxes are in the same area the front outrigger would go , i would assume a 2x3 outrigger is stronger than the box

If I understand what you're saying you want to put the front cage foot bars/outriggers (aka SFI #6 outer bars that the windshield bars sit on) so far forward that the outriggers will sit where the factory front torque box/rocker box is now? If so I can't see the benefit of doing it that way. In fact moving the front outriggers/foot bars that far forward will most likely make it harder to weld all the way around some of the bottom cage weld joints in that area. For example where the bottom of the door bar attaches to the lower part of the windshield bar. The deeper/farther forward you bury that particular attachment point into the foot well area, that harder it is to weld all the way around that joint without having to cut an access hole to weld the back side of the joint. It's a different story on a full chassis car (or some high dollar SFI back half deals) where you can put the weld joints wherever you want to because during the build process you can remove the body to weld them.


I installed a cage in a 69 Mustang a few years ago & the front outriggers/foot bars/#6 bars didn't interfere with the front torque boxes/rocker boxes at all. The outriggers sat behind the torque boxes (closer to the door jamb opening) so that the lower part of the windshield bars ended up sitting real close to the door jamb opening. This made it much easier to weld all the way around that front door bar/lower windshield bar attachment point.

Thanks for that info that makes sense , i was looking at it and wondering it would be far forward but wasnt sure .

It will be alot easy for welding acess as well

I'm not at home but I believe mine is almost directly under the parking brake pedal or just behind the pivot on it.. I still have the factory dash and the bar going down fits right up to it. I can post a pic tonight if you need it.