Which K member is better?

Which K member to use for smallblock conversion?

  • /6 pancake style

    Votes: 7 11.7%

  • smallblock v8 spool style

    Votes: 53 88.3%
  • Total voters
    60
  • Poll closed .
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J

jeremy2146

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Ok, so I have a spool type V8 and a pancake style slant 6 kmember, which one should I use? For some reason a guy I got the car from said the slant 6 one is lighter and he was gonna run adapters for a big block. I'm only going to be running a smallblock, so I just wanted to see what your guys' insight was.
 
I agree 100%. The spool mounts are very nice.
 
The spool mount isn't lighter, or better. In fact, the early style K member is a better piece. The spool mount was designed for faster production at the plant.

That is all.
 
The spool mounts are better as they are a "fail safe" design. It was very common with the old biscuits to have the drivers side mount fail allowing the engine to lift up and the air cleaner smack the hood (although there are now aftermarket fail safe biscuits) . I would choose the spool mount k frame over the older one any day.

Faster production at the plant? How does that work, the k frame and engine went in from below as an assembly? I would guess that they were changed to spool mounts as it is a better design, which is why they are used to this day in modern vehicles.
 
madscientist said:
The spool mount isn't lighter, or better. In fact, the early style K member is a better piece. The spool mount was designed for faster production at the plant.

That is all.
Click to expand...

What on earth are you talking about?
 
madscientist said:
The spool mount isn't lighter, or better. In fact, the early style K member is a better piece. The spool mount was designed for faster production at the plant.

That is all.
Click to expand...

I can certainly see where you may have a point, as through time factories usually try to cut costs. But, likewise, they usually improved things as well.

I am no expert on k members, so I honestly don't know for sure. I said the spool mount version is better, simply because the mounting system is failsafe with a through bolt through the mounts, so they cannot fail completely like the biscuit mounts can.

I would appreciate you expounding on your assertion that the early k member is superior. I always want to learn, so please, can you tell me and the others here exactly why you say that?
 
madscientist said:
The spool mount isn't lighter, or better. In fact, the early style K member is a better piece. The spool mount was designed for faster production at the plant.

That is all.
Click to expand...

Careful throwing the BS flag. The 73+ K frames were known for coming apart in a real good handling car. I've replaced a few myself with the 67--72 style. Never the other way around. I'd still use one over the /6 K-frame though. I am running a 73+ in the 67 Barracuda, but it has been reinforced by Firm Feel.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I can certainly see where you may have a point, as through time factories usually try to cut costs. But, likewise, they usually improved things as well.

I am no expert on k members, so I honestly don't know for sure. I said the spool mount version is better, simply because the mounting system is failsafe with a through bolt through the mounts, so they cannot fail completely like the biscuit mounts can.

I would appreciate you expounding on your assertion that the early k member is superior. I always want to learn, so please, can you tell me and the others here exactly why you say that?
Click to expand...

Actually they are NOT failsafe. Unless you mean the mount won't seperate into two pieces. But you can be sure the junky assed later style DO fail. I have a set in my shop that failed. A motor mount failure is just that. Don't matter if it seperates into two pieces or lets the motor sag and shift in the mounts, it is still FAILED.

The 73 and later K members are know "breakers". If I sat down and counted, I would guess I have welded/repaired between 45-50 K members, all of them spool mounts. In fact, I had to reair my own 73 spool mount this winter. If I was charging a custmer the repair would have billed out at 7.5 hours. Here, where I live, that is $85.00/hr or $637.50. Plus, it is impossible to get solid mounts for the spool type mount. I was looking into making some from aluminum with a steel sleeve, but from what feedback I have had, no one would buy them.

The spool type mount was to speed up production time. Hell, I could argue (I can't really because I don't road race) that the road race guys claim the earlier K members drive better.

One more time....the spool type mount was used because it simplified assembly and sped up production at the plant.

They are more prone to breakage, less rigid and are harder to get solid mounts for (impossible).

But those who would argue with a sign post will continue to do so, either from lack of experience, ignorance or both.

Use what you want. FWIW...the 64-66 K members were different where the mount and frame meet. They changed the angle in 67 (IIRC they flattened out the 67-72). Was it a performance issue? Not at all. It was driven by production rates. That is all. Same thing for the change made in 73. Obviously, the factory didn't want to tell everyone that the reason for changing a good system was purely financial so they added the "fail safe" detail.

There is no such thing as fail safe. Ever.
 
66fs said:
Careful throwing the BS flag. The 73+ K frames were known for coming apart in a real good handling car. I've replaced a few myself with the 67--72 style. Never the other way around. I'd still use one over the /6 K-frame though. I am running a 73+ in the 67 Barracuda, but it has been reinforced by Firm Feel.
Click to expand...

just read this and had to laugh. Didn't know Firm Feel was reinforcing spool type K members. That makes two of us (that I know of).

Classic.
 
Thanks for the explanation. I think you understood what I meant by fail safe.

There is a company, btw that does make poly inserts for the spool type mounts.
 
There is a company, btw that does make poly inserts for the spool type mounts.[/QUOTE]


A couple of places have poly inserts, which are better than OE rubber but I'm still a fan of solid mounts. More than once I have went quicker with solid mounts than rubber. Obviously, a 13 second car won't gain as much as a high 9 second car (quicker than that and you SHOULD be using plate mounts) but it's still an improvement.

The cars also drove better with solid mounts. I know someone will get on here and complain about solid mounts buzzing, making noise etc. 99% of the time, solid mounts only exaggerate something already there (like a header touching the Tbar etc). Just for honesty and the record, I have been called a cave man (and other things) before, so consider the source.

I'll probably just suck it up and buy Schumacher mounts because I found a SMOKIN' deal on a brand new, never used, still rough bored, never-had-a-bolt-screwed-in-it, with the original paper work and Direct Connection box X block, and that thing uses a 318 drivers side mount, which I don't have. By the time a scrounge up aq used one, buy the poly inserts, I could just get all new from Schumacher.

So......to all you guys in the Idaho/Washington?Oregon area who looked on CL and passed on the X block from Idaho...............YOUR LOSS MY GAIN. I got the thing for a song and dance. Mmmm Mmmmm good (for all you old timers out there).
 
Well no it wasn't my loss because I don't need can't afford to build it, and frankly, for what I'm doing, a complete waste of money. So "by the way."

so far as your K member I disagree on the spool mounts. YESSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss I'm forced to agree that rubber failure is "technically" failure

But the spool mounts are X100 far less likely to fail in a way that even approaches the breakage of a pillow mount. They remain captured, and at least keep the engine tied down.

So far as the weakness of the K I cannot argue one way or another. If mine breaks, I'll take the spare and do some welding on it. See? easy.

An' no, I ain' usin' solid mounts. And by that I mean "refuse to do so"
 
67Dart273 said:
Well no it wasn't my loss because I don't need can't afford to build it, and frankly, for what I'm doing, a complete waste of money. So "by the way."

so far as your K member I disagree on the spool mounts. YESSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss I'm forced to agree that rubber failure is "technically" failure

But the spool mounts are X100 far less likely to fail in a way that even approaches the breakage of a pillow mount. They remain captured, and at least keep the engine tied down.

So far as the weakness of the K I cannot argue one way or another. If mine breaks, I'll take the spare and do some welding on it. See? easy.

An' no, I ain' usin' solid mounts. And by that I mean "refuse to do so"
Click to expand...

So what, it stays captured? They get loose enough to let the fan hit the shroud so what the diff?


I don't care if you use solid mounts. Have you ever tried them? Or are you contrary just because? Ignorant stubbornness has been the downfall of many great men (Lincoln, McClellan come to mind right now...I could name many more...myself included). If the blind follow the blind what happens? They all end in the ditch.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
^ Yeah, first time I've heard that one too. I call BS.
Click to expand...

So just because it was the first time YOU heard this, it makes me wrong?

I'd love to see what you have to prove me incorrect.

As I posted...the spool system is not "fail proof". They are known to be weak (there are several people/companies that fix/repair/reinforce spool type K members), but I, personally, have never had to repair the eairlier K. That is not to say it never happens, just that I have never had to do it.

So BS to your BS.
 
Rubber Biscuit...

[ame]https://youtu.be/jYyBZE0kBtE[/ame]
 
What ever you use, check the welds while it is out.
I think that the welds could have been hit or miss.
Not that they would come apart, but I've seen some that could have been better.
Back then quality control wasn't what it is today.
What was the saying? Don't buy a car made on Monday or Friday?
They are good for other things too.
 

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if you want to split hairs,the early sway bar is better because it is longer.
for the same amount of wheel travel the later 73' sway bar will deflect less
and provide less resistance to body roll
 
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