menko-
no pics of early k that's been modded, only my '74 frame in the swinger. i did one years ago in my '63 dart vert and basically went over all the factory spotwelds with a solid bead, added big washers to the lca mounts and filled in all the openings around the steering box bracket. only real trick part was adding an idler bracket from a '75 dart partscar. if i had to do it again i think i would have just boxed in the stock idler and thru-bolted it.
i've looked at the firm feel units and 400 bucks is pretty steep for a day's worth of cleaning and welding, but i guess it's good work if you can get it!

-james

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Removing a K is not complicated....except for one thing...if the K mounting bolts are rusted you can really make a mess of the subframe....... and still not get the K out.

A lot of penetrating oil and patience is in order. I bet if I removed the K in the Valaint I could kill the car. A good clue for determining K mount bolt rust issues is the condition of the upper control arm mounts.( I always wish they mounted on the K as in B/F cars.)

You can weld the help out of the K and still have the worlds cheesiest subframe to bolt it to.

The K member is one huge part of unibody alignment and structural strength.....tread lightly.

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

That reminds me of the FSM advice in the k member removal section.
While the K is removed, one must be careful to not put weight on the
front sheet metal of the body.

I took it to mean :
With the placement of the stands and without the ridgidity of the K
member, you may be able to bend the front sheet metal.

Hey Menko if you need pics-- I have 1 62-66 k frame out of the car!!Lawrence

For the 62-66 k members, reinforce - reweld any poor quality factory welds. (You will know it when you see it)

Other weak places are around the strut rod bushing area. There is a big washer spot welded on to "doubles-up" the thickness, those tend to crack and pull thru. Look at a 67 and up K and you will see how the factory made that area a lot stronger. (they added a large plate of steel to replace the spot welded washer)

The other failure point are the sleeves where the lower control arm pins mounts. Again, poor welding around the sleeve and washer cause cracking and failures in that area. More weld fixes that.

The early idler arm is a weak design but the bracket can be changed to the later style. Doing this takes a high level metal fabrication skill so find an extra k frame to work on.
A different option is to shim the single post Idler Arm to reduce deflection. Clean and measure the gap between the top of the idler arm and the bottom of the mounting bracket and install a thick washer or shim pack to fill that space. You need to leave a "running fit", approx. .005 of clearence between the two faces. Doing this prevents the idler arm from deflecting off it's axis so it feels stiffer and lasts longer.
DD

Condran's book says you can "lay 2x4s along each fender lip and lay a 4x4 between them. Undo the motor mounts, jack up the engine, and hang it from the 4x4s."
With the steering box unhooked and also hung from the 4x4, the K-member can be unbolted and removed.
How can the body support the weight of the engine without the K-mmber supporting it?
Is the 4x4 placed far enough back not to put weight on the "front sheet metal"?

I have always stacked some blocks under the oil pan to suppoer the engine weight. I also keep my engine host on the engine or use a 4x4 on top for added safety.
I never liked swapping K frames while the engine & trans are in the car, there is no getting use to having that much weight just hanging there in freespace while you are working right under it.
Be Smart - Be Extra Safe when doing this type of work.
DD

doug-
you'd love the factory tool to support the engine in an odyssey van during a trans swap. basically a bent piece of pipe that sits on the hood latch and cowl across the engine bay with a piece of steel cable that loops around the throttle body area of the intake manifold! things get interesting when the motor swings the first time, then you get used to it.

-james

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