Hey guys. I just got off the phone with a Tech Rep from Global West. I was talking to him about their subframes and the possibility of them making seat braces for their subframes that are designed to fit our cars. He said that he could see that happening if there was enough interest in them. I told him about this forum and the other forum where guys with TBirds and Cougars hang out and the interest I've seen shown in these forums for GW seat braces. If I remember correctly, he said that if he could sell 10 to 20 braces, they could probably make them for us.
He expressed an interest in becoming a sponsor here. I'd like to direct him to this thread to show him that we'd like to be able to buy seat braces from them to go with their subframes. If you'd be interested in buying seat braces from Global West for their SFC's, this thread would be a good place to let it be known.
I'm gonna start this off by saying I'd buy a set! That's 1 set sold. Anyone else want to buy a set?
I will buy a set as I already have a set of their SFCs on the Bird and this would be a nice addition. Would the fine folks at GW be interested in offering a group buy on the 911 SFCs as well as the seat brackets? It would be nice to get a discount for purchasing both at the same time. Just an idea...
Darren
How much are they? Because you can basically just get flat square stock and weld it to the bottom of your car. They would probably make more selling just the seat braces, like chuck did a while ago. He used to sell subframes too.
i'd be interested in a set for the blue tc, which i still have yet to put the SFC's in.. sometime this year i'll get around to it.. i have other things to focus on first, but if they start making them, i'll definitely buy them to go along with the GW connectors i have for it..
and for the record, if it was any other company, i'd ignore this thread and build my own.. but GW has my heart after i installed the 1's in my capri
do they have a website? I might be interested in a set of sfc and possibly seat braces. or maybe even 2 sets..
The seat braces for Mustangs they make are $40.68. I can't see seat braces for our cars costing much more. The seat braces we're talking about in this thread wouldn't work on any other SFC's. They'd only work on Global West ones.
found their site, their subframe connecters are said to fit my 79 thunderbird... I beg to differ! no need for them on a full framed car ;)
They sure do. Go to Globalwest.net.
they probably thought the bird's fox era started in 79, like rustangs/capris lol cut em a little slack, at least they make em haha
So to date that would be five sets:
88 Blackbird 5.0 - 1 set
Aerocoupe - 1 set
Shadow - 2 sets
88turbo - 1 possibly 2 sets
88 Blackbird 5.0,
Can you give GW a shout and see what the cost would be on just the seat supports and then a price for a set of SFC's with seat supports? That might help some people make a decision.
Darren
actually, count me for 2.. the white TC could benefit from a set as well
Updated the number you wanted in my previous post.
Darren
so that's 5, possibly 6.. not including the guys who haven't chimed in OR are on other forums
hey guys, i have been thinking a while now about buying GW subframe but i dont understand the impact of seat braces is it an addition or it is to replace the stock ones, what are the benefits
thanx alot for the info
The seat brace is welded to the subframe connector underneath the car and it lines up with the rear bolt holes on the rear seat brackets. GW provides longer bolts for the rear of the seats which pass through the threaded nuts in the floor board and then pass through the seat braces. GW provided d nuts are then run up the new bolts to sandwich the floor board between the seat braces and the seat bracket. This allows the subframe connectors take part of the load imparted on the floor board from the weight of the driver. The original reason for doing this was on the Fox Mustangs as they had a real problem with the floor boards ripping out over the years and having to be welded up. They also provide an additional point that the subframes connect to the chassis which aids in stiffining up the car.
I know that on my '83 the seat brackets have studs on the rear and bolt through the front which is exactly opposite on the Mustangs. I am guessing to do the seat braces on the T-Birds the rear studs will have to be cut off with a cutting wheel and a hole drilled. Not 100% sure but hopefully we can come up with a practical mounting solution and pass that info on to GW.
Darren
Hey Darren. I sure will. I'll call them tomorrow and speak to my contact to find out. Sorry it took me so long to realize there were more responses to this thread. For some reason, I didn't get a notification email like I was supposed to get.
How much are the subframe connectors?
They're $200 Vinnie. That's obviously more than a pair of 5 ft box tubes would cost, but guys who've installed GW SFC's seem to think it's worth it. That's good enough for me. Tubular steel is supposed to be better at resisting torsional stress than box tubing is, so that would make sense that their SFC's would be so effective.
I called my contact at Global West today and asked about pricing on seat braces for our cars. He said he spoke to the owner about them starting to make seat braces and to make a long story short, they want to know if any of our memnbers live close to their offices/shop in San Bernadino, CA. They want to bring in one of our cars and put it up on the rack, so they can take the measurements they'd need to start making seat braces for us. DOES ANYYONE LIVE NEAR THERE? :)
He said they'd need to see one of our cars up close to be able to offer a firm price on how much seat braces would cost. If no one does live close enough to run their car down there, there might be another way they can get an AeroBird down there.
I really want these braces so I am going to get the fire lite under this thread again. Any word on someone being able to make the trip to GW?
Darren
maybe PM some of the cali residents? none of them seem to be chiming in :\
Yea. I didn't get any PM's from Cali members at all. I was hoping someone close would be willing to do that. :(
Count me in for a set. Will they work with MM's torque arm?
I have the Global West full length subframe connectors with the seat braces in my Coupe and it is a full Maximum car. You just have to let them know which subframes you have in the car.
Darren
Darren,
I am getting ready to do my car w/the full MM setup. I called about the k-member and the salesman was no help. Can I PM you with questions?
Absolutely.
Darren
I'm hoping those of you who already have Global West SFC's could clear something up for me. I know at the front of the car, their subframes run along the outside of the front frame rails (hugging the floor pan) towards the back, but do they also run along the outside of the rear frame rails too while hugging the floor pan before attaching to the torque boxes? If they do, you can't get any lower profile than that!
Vic,
They run the entire length of the car on the outside of the factory subframes. I am pretty sure you can see them in the thread I posted months ago when I was building the exhaust on my car.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?31210-Custom-Exhaust-for-the-351W/page3
Darren
You sure have a clean set up Darren. Those subframes look better than I thought they would on your car.
Any more progress on the seat braces? Just think of me as the guy that likes to poke a bear or throw aerosol cans on a fire...gotta keep things stirred up.
Darren
I emailed the guy I had been talking to at Global about 3 weeks ago and asked if there were any updates, but I didn't hear back from him. I'll give him a call and see what the deal is today.
I just wanted to update you guys. I just got off the phone with Paul from Global West about the seat braces. I told him that I saw interest here in having at least 10 pairs of seat braces made. He said if there was an interest in buying 15 to 18 seat braces, they'd definitely be able to make a run of them. Right now, it's not clear whether they'd be willing to have a run of them made, because their laser cutter makes a minimum of 25 per run. Paul said if he knew we'd buy 15, to 18 sets of them, he could sell the rest to other people.
If we can drum up interest in having a few more sets made, we should be good to go guys!
Add me to the list . I want some .
Sets
How much for a set?
Edit: Sorry see it on first page
If they are under 50 - shipping I'd be in.
just looked into the thread and was wondering if they still needed some 1 to go to San Bernadino i live in east la and am only about an hour away
oh and does the car have to have SFC already?
Hey Base,
Yea. That would be great if you could do that. That would be a huge help. The fact that your car doesn't have subframes is probably a plus actually. If you are able to make the trip, the person with Global to contact is Paul. His phone number is 1-877-470-2975..
Thanks for any help with this!
Is Paul (Global West) interested in making any package deals for SFC's and seat brace kits for those that do not have either? This may spark a little more interest. Maybe Chuck could help out by sending out a mass email or something to draw more attention to this thread as any vendor that is willing to make something for our cars we need to support.
Darren
That's a good idea. I'll ask Paul about that today.
i would be interested in the package deal 4 sure
just hope the shipping to mtl wouldnt be humongus
x2 on the Subframes I don't have a set and if that plus seat brace is decent would definitly be interested.
There you go, two more sets if GW will come off with some kind of package deal pricing.
Darren
I just talked to Paul about visiting this thread. I also told him about the interest in a package deal. He said he'd be by.
i bet some interest could be drawn from nato and turboford as well.. just putting that out there.. lol
I do not have accounts on those two sites but I put a post out on Four Eyed Pride here:
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?p=1372682#post1372682
Darren
i'm on NATO, so i'll copy and paste it there.. will supply the link here, so it can be found easily
http://natomessageboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=024534#000000
I started a thread on NATO about this months ago. :)
don't think i ever saw it.. lol
That's no biggie. :)
did anyone show any interest on your thread? most guys over there seem super hardcore into the motors.. i never see much of anything to do with the rest of the cars.. except PRC failures LOL
sorry havent been able to contact your contact from GW have been busy these past couple of days but will try to make it out there within these next couple of days
Thanks Base. A lot of us appreciate what you're doing.
i'd kiss your feet for doing something so great for the fox bird/cat world.. but i hate feet.. lol
Base do you have any update on the package deal?
thanx
From talking to Paul, I get the impression that he'll need to see one of our cars in person before Global is going to be willing to make any decisive comments on whether they would be willing to even make a run of 25 seat braces for our cars, or not. If they don't decide to make the seat braces, which they haven't even committed to do yet, package deals become a moot point. I asked Paul about the possibility of doing a package deal when I spoke to him last time. I think it was putting the cart before the horse though. I've called Paul AND emailed him quite a few times, trying to see this whole thing through. I sure hope all this effort wasn't wasted.
The last time I spoke to Paul, he said his Boss's brother had an SN95 T Bird and that they were going to try and get that car in their shop so they could see what our cars would require. I explained to him that the floor pan on an SN95 car is different than the floor pan on our cars. That's why Base being able to take his car to their shop would be huge. I don't think Base has been able to make it down there yet though.
just got off the phone with Paul he said he has to speak with Doug and his son and he will let me know when to take my bird up so now just waiting on a time n date :D
Cool, it should have read mn-12, not sn-95 bird though.
Remind him its just a straight peice of square stock. Nothing special would be equired.
Oops! Yea. MN12 is a T Bird chassis. SN95 is a Stang chassis. I actually told Paul that it was an MN12 and just had a brain fart last night. :)
Thanks again for doing this Brian. A lot of us appreciate it!
Thanx alot Brian it is true we appreciate your effort
havent herd from Paul so i will be calling him tomorrow and see if he has spoken with the owners or something to set up a date will keep you guys posted
Just a note that GW builds round tube full length sub-frame connectors and the seat braces are made from angle iron or at least that is how they build the ones on my Coupe.
Darren
talked with Paul at global west said they're swamped at the moment so it might be a few days till they give me a call
hey Darren, is angle iron good or bad?
The way they use it to brace the rear mounting point of the seat brackets in the Mustangs loads the angle iron in a manner that plays into the strength of the angle iron. Always a plus when a manufacturer actually utilizes the design of materials to their benefit.
If you want I can get a shot of them installed on my Coupe so you can see how they are installed. Granted it will be different with the T-Birds or at least on the 83-86 cars (I have no idea how the seats are attached at the rear mounting points on the 87-88 cars) as there are mounting studs versus the Mustangs which utilize bolts. My best guess is that we will have to cut the studs off with a cutting wheel or the like and then center punch the studs and drill them out to convert over to the bolted style to make use of the seat brackets.
Darren
I've removed the studs with a little head and a stud extractor (they're just screwed in). You could weld a nut to the upper part of the stud and remove it that way too. Then replace with bolts. One is an M8x1.25 and the other an M12x1.75 (vs the M10x1.5 in the Mustangs).
Problem solved and learn something new every day. Thanks for the info Chuck! This info needs to be passed on to GW if they come around and hook us up with the seat braces.
Darren
any update on this one guys?
If it is still possible, could ya'll count me in on this one. I could use a set of SFC and seat braces.
No updates yet. Last I heard, Base was waiting to hear back from Paul at Global West on a date to take his car to them.
You're not too late Edgar. We're all waiting to find out what Global is gonna say about making the seat braces still.
Should we start call GW and inquiring about this?
Darren
I'd say the more of us that call Global (ask for Paul) and tell them we want seat braces, the better. 1-877-470-2975. Call him!
Base... Has Global told you when to stop by yet?
no i havent goten any calls from GW or Paul
Alright men. I just got off the phone with Paul. I asked why it was taking so long for him to call Base and have him bring his car by. He said his Boss has been out with a health issue and that his Boss will be a major part in seeing this through. Paul said that they WILL make a run of seat braces for us. His Boss wants to be there when Base brings his car by, so he too can see what's gonna need to be done.
Base, Paul said if he doesn't call you by mid June to call him about stopping by. He thinks his Boss will be back to work by then. Thanks again for your help on this.
Guys; if you want a pair of Global West subframes, or seat braces, but haven't announced it in this thread, now would be a good time to do so.
ok will do
seat braces plus subframes for me
thanx guys
I'm in for seat braces and subframes as well!
hey guys i am new to this site but I just wanted to add another person to the list of people that would want these! they sound really sweet and i need some good SFC's for my car. Let me know when these will be available and i will hop on it. Thanks!
Welcome to the forum man.
When Paul is ready to make our run of seat braces, I'm going to PM all of you that said you wanted seat braces and/or subframes to confirm that you still want to place the order. I'll also look into the possibility of Global offering a package deal if you buy both subframes and seat braces from them.
Here's a running tally of who has committed to what parts from GW. Please let me know if you want more than 1 set of subframe connectors and/or seat braces. Also, if you want to change your status on this list, please let me know so I can correct it. Thanks!
Wants Subframe Connectors & Seat Braces:
88 Blackbird 5.0
lakenheath24
ricktjr?
1986Elan
edgar_g1
bduly
man64
ThunderbirdSport302
Wants Seat Braces only:
Aerocoupe
Soul
If you want be added to the list, let me know. Thanks!
Put me down for a set of Thunderbird SFC and seat braces, please. :)
Updated :)
I'm in Los Angeles, so I woulnd't mind being a back-up for Base if the situation arises where they need a bird and Base isn't available. How long would they need the car?
Hey thanks for the offer. From talking to Paul, I don't think they would need the car too long. I think they'd want to bring it in and put it up on their lift so they could take measurements. The main thing I think they'd need to be able to see, is how the measurements on our cars differs from the measurements on Fox Stangs. They already make seat braces for Fox Stangs, so they shouldn't need to gather all that much info to be able to make seat braces for our cars.
It's good news to hear you'd be willing to take your car to them if Base can't go. Thanks!
Base just notified me that he won't be able to take his car to Global West whenever they're ready to look at one of our cars. If you're still willing to take your car to them when they're ready to look at it, that would be great! Supposedly, they'll be ready to look at it in about a week. I don't think they'd need to look at the car very long to do what they needed to do.
Well... Supposedly, Paul's Boss at Global West is off sick leave now. I'm gonna call Paul this week and verify he's back to work and finally ready to look at one of our cars.
Due to unfortunate cirspoogestances, Base is either selling his T Bird, or has already sold it. As a result, someone else would need to take their car to Global so they can look at it and see what needs to be done. Bduly volunteered to take his car to them a while back, so hopefully he'll still be willing and able to do it. I'm gonna check with him to find out.
When do you think this will take place? Any chance of it happening on a Saturday? I just need a little heads up so I can schedule the trip over there (just over an hour away).
I'm pretty sure the guys at Global could meet you on a Saturday. I'm gonna call Paul tomorrow and ask about that.
I've gotta tell you guys; after all the bullshiznit I've gone through, trying to get this deal done with Global, I'm sure as hell NOT impressed by them at all! I called in today and asked for Paul to see what the story was now with his Boss. The Receptionist said that Paul had already gone home for the day. So... I asked her if the Boss had gotten back off sick leave and she said he had. I asked to speak to him. When Doug came on the phone, I identified myself and asked him about bduly being able to bring his car by on a Saturday. He said it would be a while before they would be ready for that on a Saturday. I asked if they'd be avaliable on another day if bduly could work it into his scedule. He said that both their lifts are tied up and that they wouldn't be free for at least another 2 weeks. WTF!
I asked what I should do to coordinate this and Doug said I could use email to keep in touch with Paul to check for an opening. That's when I laughed and told Doug that Paul doesn't answer his emails. What a joke! At this point, I'm about ready to Global to screw themselves and go buy all Maximum Motorsport parts! I HATE dealing with Global West! I'm tired of getting the run-around from them. If they don't want to make the braces, say so!
Vic,
I will call Global West tomorrow and see what I can do. I have dealt with Doug in the past on my UCA's for the rear of my '83. Not saying it will change anything but at least he will know we are serious about this part being made and offered by them.
If that falls through I know one of the engineers at Maximum and I can email him and see if there is any chance in hell they would be interested in making full length subframe connectors and seat braces. I kinda doubt it as they are moving towards the newer Mustangs as the older Fox cars are getting to be less and less of their business.
Darren
Good luck Darren. I hope you hgave better luck than I did.
I didn't think you'd have any luck with Global West Darren. If you guys check out the other thread about subframes in this forum, you'll see that there's another company who makes T-Bird/Cougar specific subframes and they're more than willing to make seat braces for us.
I don't see getting the run around from these guys the way I did with Global. Check out the thread guys.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?34005-Somebody-else-makes-sub-frame-connectors-for-our-cars!
hey blackbird, where u from in Columbus? I grew up off weber rd, went to skool at McGuffey. Too Bad about the subframes. I think I will hit up MM when it comes time to do the back half.
Small world. I grew up in Berwick on the far east side and bought a house close to Cbuttstuff Winchester.
Not to worry about the subframes. I found another place to buy my subframes and seat braces from.
that is cool. I remember going to a certain x-rated theater as a teenager near you somewhere....whitehall maybe? Good times. LOL
I definitely passed you on the way to National trails though!
Go Bucks!!!!!!!!!!!
I like your avatar, I went in the Air Force in 87 to hopefully be a mechanic on the SR-71. I ended up working on ICBM's in Montana, then spent 20 years working on fighter jets around the world. in fact I am heading for Dubai in 3 weeks for a year...or so.
You mean the X-rated drive in that used to be on Main St.? Why no. I didn't know it used to be there. :P
Good luck on the job in Dubai by the way!
yeah, well....yeah, THAT one. I miss columbus sometimes.
I never got the chance to call with work, some vacation, and more work. I just called and Paul is no longer with GW and has not been there for over two weeks. I talked to Doug and he was not too happy after I explained to him what went down. He would like to have a car there to do the seat braces as he said they can most likely modify their jig for the Mustang unit and come up with an easily produced bracket. They are in the middle of a TV show shooting some footage at their shop but he said they would definitely be interested in providing the brackets for their subframes for our cars. They would need a car and said that Los Angeles is about an hour and half from his shop and they would need it for a couple of hours to make sure they get all the dimensions they need.
Vic I know you are mildly upset with them but I have to stress that we really cannot afford to let one person (Paul) ruin an opportunity to have a vender with GW's back ground make a part for our cars. I know another vendor is lined up but competition is healthy. Anyhow, Doug ask that whomever can bring their car up to the shop to call or email him and he will get it arranged.
Sales & Tech: 909-890-0759 or 877-470-2975
doug@globalwest.net
I do apologize for not keeping up with my commitment to the group to call them earlier.
Darren
What really torques me about this situation Darren, is that I HAD 2 guys lined up at different times, who were willing to take their cars to Global so they could see what needed to be done to make seat braces for our cars. Everything was in place for them. All they needed to do was to let me know when they were ready for the guy to stop by their shop. I called Doug a month ago and spoke to him. Not Paul. Doug gave me the B.S. story about how their lifts had cars on them and they wouldn't be free for weeks on end.
I've made who knows how many phone calls to Global, sent I don't know how many unanswered emails and don't have squat to show for it. What a waste of time. I hope you have better luck than I did.
So what you are saying then is that you are done with them and are going to move forward with the other vendor?
Darren
That's right.
Unfortunately I do not have the time to devote to this with my work load. If anyone else can make the call or email Doug and get a car up there please post up. If not I will call him and let him know so that there is some kind of closure with this after I talked with him yesterday.
Darren
I were you Darren, I wouldn't worry about following up with Doug. He made it clear to me that he doesn't have any interest in making seat braces for our cars. I'd recommend just moving on.
Ok guys, I just got off the phone with the company who made the suspension parts for my Tbird, Mike at TRZ Motorsports said he would be more than happy to custom make whatever you guys need for your cars. All he would need is someone to take their car to them so he can take measurements. The number is 407-933-7385 and they are out of Kissimmee, Florida. When I was at MIR last year and needed some suspension parts Mike came over and took a look at my car and put some stuff together for me out of his trailer to fit my car (double adjustable upper arms). I then ordered a set off double adj. rear lower control arms and front coil-over springs. The car went from a 1.47 60' too a 1.42 60' and was picking the front tires off the ground. You can see them on facebook or also on yellowbullet.com forums.
Any updates on this one?
Hey Edgar,
On my end, I gave up on hopes of a group buy due to the run around I got from Global West. I tried setting something up with Ashton, but noone was close enough to their shop to take their car down there for a mock up Buddy. I decided to make my own sfc's and seat braces.
Good luck!
Got it, thanks for the reply.
i know this a old post, so did anything ever come from this?