Boxerworks.com

The used center stand I recently got for $50 off eBay was de-tanged. The obvious & proper repair would’ve involved welding but I don’t have a welder, & I wasn’t interested in spending another $50 on welding, so I simply drilled a couple 3/16” holes through the lower crossbar & bolted on this dog-leg striker from a gate latch.

It won’t win any praise from concours judges, but it’s a cheap, simple, & reasonably tidy modification that functions as needed. It provides good clearance with the ground & the exhaust. The ball-end is a nice finishing touch that I actually prefer over the blunt end of the OEM tang.

Neat job.

Looks great. Got to wonder if the holes will create a weak spot.

Lick.

Zombie Master wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:27 pmGot to wonder if the holes will create a weak spot.

Great question that I spent quite a bit of time asking myself before I pulled out the drill.

No doubt there’s been some marginal reduction in strength, but nothing that appears to be of any practical consequence.

The cross members seem to have more structural redundancy built into them than the legs, which is why I opted to attach the tang there. Very little material was actually removed, & just like an open-web truss, overall rigidity depends more on the distribution of material rather than the amount of it.

Regardless, it’s still way sturdier than the old stand I took off!

You could have a welder repair your old stand and save it. When mine wore out I just used a stainless welding rod to build it back up. But your solution looks very good. Were your bushings in good shape?

Zombie Master wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:29 pmYou could have a welder repair your old stand and save it...Were your bushings in good shape?

Exactly what I was thinking. I’ll keep it on hand & repair it properly for that imaginary time in the future I do a concours restoration on it.

Surprisingly the bushings were still pretty snug. I replaced the bolts though because the threads were damaged.

I can't see the mounting holes causing problems. The stand is not really stressed in that direction much.

Chuey

I agree with Chuey.