I was up under the '64 Valiant wagon today, deciding what needs replacing in the front suspension. Turns out, surprisingly little for now; a couple deteriorated tie rod end boots, but everything feels solid. The car had been sitting for about 20 years when I bought it, and it looks like many of the common wear items had been replaced at some point.

I did notice something I'd never noticed before, though. Looks like a previous owner had a little adventure with a high curb, or something.



That's not how this brace was originally shaped...



The K-frame is cracked next to where the passenger side strut rod goes through. How hard did they have to hit to do that?



My plan is to remove the bushing, clean up the damaged area, get it good and hot with a torch, hammer the damaged area flat, drill-stop the cracks, and weld the piss out of it.

I don't see any other damage, which is nice if a little surprising. I haven't driven the car more than about 25 mph, but I didn't notice any terrible handling characteristics at least.

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

Not uncommon.....you have a good plan.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Yep, good to fix before it gets worse! My 68 Dart front brace looked like that for about 30 yrs. I made a new one recently out of 3/4" round tubing, flattened and welded shut on either end to bolt on.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

That crack could be a relic resulting from worn or age rotted bushing allowing radius rod to pound forward and backward while under way. Those old stile bushings looked like little rubber cones with much less surface area contacting K frame. Your plan to repair will work just fine, and the so called H. D (B body) bushings will distribute the forces much better.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC