FABRICATING A CUSTOM 1/4" STAINLESS STEEL BRACKET TO ADAPT AN NRG TORQUE DAMPER TO A 1994 TO 2003 SAAB
I have gone through more than a few motor mounts since tuning the car. Even though I am at a relatively modest 293 whp, this increase has apparently been enough to work a hardship on the stock mounts. I currently have the GenuineSaab solid polyurethane front and right hand side mounts as upgrades and the stock rubber mount in the rear. I decided to use an NRG engine torque damper I snagged off an Acura in a junkyard and to manufacture custom stainless steel brackets to adapt it to my Saab, for the purpose of arresting, or at least lessening, the amount of upper engine travel.
Here is the torque damper:
These are top views of the chassis bracket (cut from 1/4" stainless steel using a 4" DeWalt angle grinder). They are in differing stages of underhood beautification, so the engine will look different, but it is the same car. Some of the color schemes you see here are failed experiments with various acrylic polyurethanes. The left picture is the original installation, the right is after re-alignment and the bottom is as it is installed today:
Here is a rough rendering of the outline of the bracket with distances and measurements:
Here is a top view of the bracket without the strut tower bar obscuring any of it:
Here it is flipped so you can see the underside with the damper bracket affixed to it:
This final shot is of the bracket made from two plys of 3/16th" stainless steel and bolted to the two predrilled and tapped engine bosses (in the 9000, an upper engine mount was attached here via a large bracket):
Member of the Cardomain Club: Underground Tuner
