[gto4evr]

Hey guys, I’ve got a question on the stabilizing brackets that run off the rear bow down to the hinge frames. I’ve got three top frames and was comparing them tonight when I noticed something on that bracket. The ones in my “frame 1” pictures are straight. The second set of pictures has frame 2 with the rear bow from frame 3 right next to it for comparison pics. Both brackets on the frame 3 bow are twisted up and I’m sure they must have started straight when they were born since the bends are all over the place. The right bracket on frame 2 initially appeared to be bent as well to me but when I look at the left side bracket on frame 2, it looks like sharp factory bends bringing the bracket center over the lower mounting point where the straight ones just drift over from that narrower bow section to the wider hinge knuckle section. When I look closer at the bends on the right side of that frame two, it no longer looks like just a simple bend from straight but rather a bulging over the top of the same kind of “factory” bend on the left side. Those two bends on the left of frame 2 look too sharp and uniform to be the bracket failing. Now my first problem is that it’s been too many years since I swapped all of these frames around. The one in pieces that’s all bent up (frame 3) that I think started as flat straight brackets is definitely the original top from my 69. The flat straight “frame 1” is most likely from a 71 and the frame 2 with the percieved factory bends is a swap meet purchase from who knows what year A-body 68-72. First question is if anyone can check their verts and tell me if their brackets are flat or have those angle bends? When I measure the distance between the pivot bolt/rivet holes between the flat one and the angled one, they appear to be the same (which means if I hammer the bracket flat it would become longer) Is this a slight difference in design across the 68-72 frames or a clever conspiracy to hold me up during my top swap!? So the question stands is the angled bracket (if it is indeed supposed to be) the old design that was corrected flat, or the new design that superceded the flat one (no proof of which one’s better since I’ve got a top that’s still straight, a straight top that’s all bent, and an angled bracket top with one good and one failed. I had big plans of getting this top frame all stripped blasted and painted by this weekend but now this is holding me up because I'm not sure which rear bow to use now.

Thanks!
Dennis