Bobby,
Before you hammer the heck out of those carriage bolts double check this: I seem to remember that on my brace that those carriage bolts are pressed in so you don’t need an extra set of hands to tighten/loosen the nuts. Yours might simply be loose and sit in place but be careful. I hammered on mine and they wouldn’t budge. Brute force could equal extra metal work...
Yes, this brace is tight. I got mine out when I repaired all the stress cracks and holes at my steering mount. My brace was broken near the firewall and this aided in removal. I rewelded it and then put a small gusset on it near the firewall to prevent breakage in the future. I managed to get the brace in with the carriage bolts in place and still pressed in.
