Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ron Allen Carpenter

Steve William Gallagher

Philip John Leonetti

A wheelhouse reinforcement bracket provides increased torsional rigidity for the rear wheelhouses of an automotive vehicle. The wheelhouse bracket is positioned in alignment with the location on the vehicle body where the shock absorber is located, and in alignment with the rear suspension cross frame member to create a structural ring formed by the wheelhouse bracket, the C-pillar and the rear suspension cross frame member. The wheelhouse bracket is formed with a mounting flange positionable within the inside of the U-shaped rear side frame rail to facilitate welding thereto instead of being welded to the top of the underbody floor structure. The mounting flange has a first portion configured to be mated against a first generally vertically extending wall of the rear side frame rail and a second portion configured to be mated against a generally horizontally extending wall of the rear side frame rail.

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Grosse Ile, MI, United States of America

Ron Allen Carpenter