80mirada
Well-Known Member
I would not put frame connectors on until the frame is straightened.
You might want to talk to the body shop who is going to be pulling the frame for their opinion, first. They might recommend installing the sub-frame connectors first – but then again, they might recommend it afterwards (which would be my guess).probably a good idea to install them before I send my Aspen for front frame pulling.
A good plan. What I hear, the ’88-89 are the best ones, with ’86-87 the next best (which are all small blocks). If you plan on driving the car hard, it would be best to take the K-frame and get all welds completed, reinforced and gusseted. Once done, give it a good paint job (powder coat, or whatever) and you will have a long lasting and solid part (and easy to keep clean). There is no such thing as an “over-done” K-frame. Posted below are some pictures I took of the ’84 police K-frame that I gave to @moparmike. I don’t think these are factory welds (but might be). I’ve worked on numerous police cars but not seen any with welds like these – but I could have been inattentive before.If I can get my hands on a Kframe cheap that's solid, I'll start rebuilding all the components on that and swap them over while the engine is in the air
Mine has the dreaded flex and resulting negative camber and worn tires (to be fixed this winter with the "TSB" shim plates) and it's a late '79 and the vast majority of roads and highways around here are really smooth, so they may have made them better but, not better enough. I fully welded all the seams when building the car but neglected to reinforce the upper control arm bracket stands (kick, kick, kick).i thought i remember reading that the early k frames had problems and that was addressed in later years. thought it was that the early ones twisted or flexed and would throw off the alignment. was mostly a fleet thing like taxis or cop cars that were driven hard. might explain the extra plates and welds
Shouldn't negative camber wear all the blocks at the same angle? That looks more like some negative camber + toe out.
I say embrace that extra camber up to about -1.5 deg. Especially with that big block anchor you got in the nose. Those tires were going to turn to marbles before you wore them evenly anyway.