Our Pro Touring 1970 Super Bee flexes a little more than we would like it to. The good news is uni-body cars tend to be stiffer than frame on body. The bad news is that is was built over 50 years ago and not designed like todays muscle cars.

We wanted to get our Super Bee stiff and we turned to the one an only US Car Tool for some help. The Super Bee is already been equipped with the US Car Tool stage 2 stiffing kit. The kit includes a pair of sub frame connectors, torque boxes, inner fender braces, and lower core support braces.

This year we are planning on pushing the car harder and doing more road course events like Daytona and Road America. With events like these in mind, we want to make sure that our Super Bee is rigid and not going to twist up like a pretzel.

While we were at SEMA racing with Optima’s Search for the Ultimate Streetcar Invitational, we met up with US Car Tool to figure out a way to stiffen the upper core support area while making it look good too.

Fast forward 3 months later, the guys designed an Upper Radiator Core Support Brace. After 3D scanning a car in their shop, they got to work cutting 12 gage sheet metal and adding dimple died formed holes to add strength.

When we received the upper core support brace, we went to do a rough fit and it fit perfectly. US Car Tool thought ahead and cut out a notch to fit around the brace for the hood latch, so no modifying of the part was needed.

The Super Bee was already getting some engine bay modifications such as triangulating the frame rails to fire wall and relocating the wiper motor under the dash, so it was the perfect time to install the front core support brace.

The hardest part was grinding the paint off so we could get a good weld. After welding it in place and grinding the welds to be less noticeable, it was done. Even with the large holes that we have yet to repair, the core support no longer flexes and really changed the look of the engine bay.

Mounting the brace flush with the front of the core support left room behind the brace to route the head light wiring. This was a nice bonus to clean up some of our engine bay wiring. Once the other modifications are finished, we will throw a new coat of paint on the engine bay and ready to roll.

We are happy to say that US Car Tool now lists this part on their web site, part number #USCT1M1307 for B-Body and #USCT1M1308 for E-Body. If you are restoring or doing some winter upgrades, the Upper Radiator Core Support Brace is a great way to help stiffen up your Mopar while giving it an awesome custom look.

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