Can a 92-94 strut tower bar be modified to fit a 1986 Cimarron?
The short answer is probably not.The primary reason is the bolt pattern on the 1st to late 2nd is way off.I have both versions and I can double check this week to double verify this with picture's if necessary.Being I have several extra's I can take a pic of both one above the other to show the spread difference in the bolt pattern's.I will say on recall the 2nd late version which is 92 and some early 92's might have been the Old design (but doubt that).Let me dig and pop a old pic that is not up close but so,you can see the spread difference going around the strut towers.The 1st gen is short and the 2nd late edtion is more spread out.At least one pic I think I still have is next.I do want to do a Up close pic so you can see the real deal tho.R
I do believe this pic shows the big variation in the bolt pattern and bar fit over the strut tower.The 1st gen has a longer fit as the bolt pattern is further apart over the late 2nd gen version which clearly is closer and less metal.In the picture shown the top bar is a late 2nd gen the Middle is a true 1st gen bar and the bottom strut bar is a late 2nd gen or 1992 to be period correct.No mod would work as the metal is contoured too much and drilling holes in the wrong spot and a misalignment would happen.I will say I have some back stock of parts(However) I am not selling anything in my inventory at this point,unless I find something in the junkyard in the future.This year has been really dry on parts and I have been checking and just 0.In the off mow season I might try checking some odd junk yards to find some at this point really hard to find items.
Good info Ron.
As my 1st gen is tucked away for the winter I cannot get to it to check fitment.
I have a spare 92-94 bar that I offered to a fellow j-body member and he mentioned that he wanted to put it on an 86. I really did not think that the 92-94 bar could be modified to fit.
No problem at all.I do have extra parts that I would sell being there not for my ride or wrong fitment.While I scored big for orlen it mostly was bird specific and finding any decent first gens around here is dry as dirt.However on a positive side the odd junkyards tend to keep our stuff forever and I seldomly get the time to venture to them.Who knows maybe I will luck up over the winter and find some good resources to assist others and add more inventory for me to save as most of us are in the 30year age and the junkyards crush our beloved js fast as the wind blows these days.Todays driving was a bit annoying Tons of traffic and just tired (stress) but,a new day changes all that.
Yes it can be made to fit. You have to extend the the inner face, where it attaches to the strut tower and if I remember correctly the hole on the outer edge has to be relocated. I have done it before, when all I could get was the later bar, and if you look closely at the picture the top and bottom ones are the same as the middle, but with the inner ear cut shorter. Somewhere I have the one I modified, before I got the correct ones. The bar only works for the V6 or the 4cyl without cruise control, because on the 4cyl with cruise control the mounting bracket for the servo is in the way of where the bar mounts.
