K-FRAME STITCH WELDING......THOUGHTS?

Swinger 340 said

Great idea, check the welds!!!! Steering gear box mounts seems to be the weakest point in the steering. The radial tires of today seems to be the main problem of the gear box mount cracking. Larger tires in the front also cause an issue. These cars of the day were not designed for these upgrades. Had a B-300 Van that had these same problems after I installed M50's on the front. Drag racers only, should not have this problem, with the small tires in the front, but I careful look should be done at the rest of the K member, especially at the motor mounts and lower control arms. Note: Many aftermarket apps. use a 6 cly. K member which may not be as durable as a HP V-8.

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Honestly, the steering box welds can be a problem even with bias ply tires. Just depends on the K member, some received some really poor welds. Adding radials of any kind though can definitely increase the stress on those welds.

As for the /6 K vs the V8 K, I’ve seen absolutely nothing from a structural standpoint to suggest that the /6 K’s would be weaker. Their main construction is identical. The engine mount layout is the only difference, but the impact of that on the overall strength of the K is really minor. Like probably not worth thinking about minor. It’s only one example, but of the two 1974 K’s I have the V8 K was the one with the cracked steering mount, the /6 K I pulled to swap to a V8 was fine.