When I opened a post last month about B body suspension mods, I read every response and even go back to it every few days. I am curious about a few things.
Backing up a little: I was having an oversteer tendency in the Charger and found that the cure was to soften the rear roll stiffness by removing the 7/8" rear sway bar. The front was left as is. I wrote before that this one change DID make the car roll more in the turns but it also felt more stable and tractable. I may leave it this way for a while, but I want to know what parts are out there if I intend to get more aggressive later. I checked out the offerings from Firm Feel. They have 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" solid front sway bars. Hotchkis has a 1 1/4" tubular bar. How much larger in diameter does a tubular bar have to be to have equal strenth of a solid bar?
Does anyone know of a company that offers a 1 3/8" solid front bar? Thanks, Greg

A 1.375 front bar won't fit through the K member, at least not if the car is equipped with the skid plate... So you'd have to change the mounting...

My car isn't a genuine R/T. It was originally a 500 model and had a 318. The K member is the standard V8 unit. I have another K member that I have welded and gusseted. Its from a '70 Belvedere 318 car. I'm planning on swapping it in soon.
My 1 1/8" bar has at least 1/4" to 3/8" clearance inside the K member. I'm not sure what I'll choose, I just wanted to know what is out there. Thanks.

Yeah, but I'm referring to it making the turn to pass through, once it's in place I'm sure there is room but passing a 1.25 bar through you need to get the angle just right, I don't know if a 1.375 would make the bend even without a skid plate...

Ahhhh! Yes, I remember how difficult it can be to install these!
I modified a 1 1/4" sway bar from an '84 Chevy truck. I had it in the Charger for a couple of years before swapping in the 1 1/8" Addco bar. The 1 1/4" bar is now in my 67 Dart, which also has a 73 V8 k member. THAT was a tough install.....
Hmmmm, I think that I may have answered my own question on accident! Maybe I could reinstall the modified GM bar to see how I like it.
This reminds me of how "Think tanks" probably work.... Ideas get tossed around, creative juices inspire other ideas.... Pretty cool!

Creative works..

The Hotchkis bar is a 1 3/8" tubular. Slightly stiffer than the 1 1/4" solid, but much lighter. This bar fits with no mods. Your overrsteer issues result from too much roll in the front thus transferring weight off the opposite rear tire. You need to fix the front before you adjust the rear. Removing the rear bar is just a bandaid.

What bushing material are you using?
Whose sway bar?
How tight are the end link bushings. They should be tight.
Are they all in square, not deformed?
btw I had to unweld the skid plate to get the sway bar in. FF 1-1/8 is plenty of bar.

Wait to make any more changes unit the welded K frame is installed-be sure you gusseted the heck out of the steering box mount. The k frame will change your handling. Your torsion bar size needs to be at least 1.00 inches. Your tire choice and size affects handling too. There are no simple answers.

Remember the goal is to achieve a balance so the car rotates thru a turn and doe not rattle your teeth when driven as transportation

OK then, you are well on your way to a fine ride.
The K frame will be the best mod, wait and see before trying anything else

Frankenduster, I'd like to see the "K" Member when your finished. Do you have any pics of the one you did already?

That K member is in the final stages.... All that remains is paint. That might be better since the mods may me harder to see through the ocean of semi flat black.
I have it hanging on the wall. I can take several pictures and post them within a couple of days. When I do, please be gentle when reviewing the weld quality!

Cool. I'll keep a watch out for it.

I've always wanted to reinforce a K member myself as well. Are there target areas you reinforce, or is it a matter of fully welding the pieces together?

Sorry is this post isn't more congenial, my computer crashed and I lost my first in depth reply. I'll try again.

I know there are well respected members here who fervently promote K member welding reinforcement.

I am nor suggesting one bit that this causes any harm.

I am having a tough time getting on this bandwagon.

Hey somebody has to ask the tough questions.

So for years we have read seen 1/4's cut/notch/etc their factory k members to gain clearance for oil pans/etc. One would think that if simple welding to a k gave noticeable positive results, one would think that significant cutting to a k would at least inspire negative comments in handling. I know we are not comparing apples to apples, but i have never heard a drag racer say his car handles worse after chopping up his K member.

Additionally, there are a number of after market k members, that IMO are much less stiff then the OEM K member. The after markets TB/K's with tubing are lighter and provide bragging rights, but I have yet to see one stiffer then OEM. Do we hear a degrading in handing with them? We are not talking Alterk since with coils the loading is much different.

Another beauty of the mopar K, is the heaviest object in the car is connected directly over the load path to the lca sprung suspension point, a very stiff design.

My question here is not with the results noticed, its the analysis of what actually caused the results.

I will/have welded my K's when the situation presents itself, since I weld and the only real downside is dirty welds, and warpage from rushing the weld.

I don't know what forces the additional welding is resisting, and that a better more effective solution might be a "shock tower" brace.

I have never heard of the OEM K member spot welds failing from long term use, which kinda indicates to me they are not highly stressed in the first place, and addition welding may not offer much. I believe any weld that is flexed, will over time, eventually start to fail.

It might be most useful if one looks at the above opinion in its entirety, rather then focus on one specific point.

I'll agree to a point that I thought that the perimeter spotwelds appear top be adequate. Often times I defer to those that seem to have more experience, then occasionally second, and THIRD guess the decision.
One thing that makes total sense and I can't WAIT to prove it to my self is the benefit of the STEERING BOX MOUNT GUSSETS. I wrote in all caps to make sure it wasn't missed.
If Firm Feel thinks that it is important, I'd tend to follow their suggestion. It was an easy decision for me because I had a spare K member for my car. Its far easier to work on these things on a TABLE than under the car with the engine still in there. For me, I just looked over the steering box area and filled in all gaps with .125 wall steel plate. Pretty simple really. I also made sure to NOT encroach on any area that could interfere with the mounting of the steering chuck itself. I test fitted a PS chuck to be certain. Then I welded washers around the LCA pivot holes. I have personally seen these ripped out on cars that ran too long on bad LCA bushings or others that were involved in a collision. Imagine what them Duke boys did when they jumped the river at Seminole Canyon! Finally I added similar washers over the strut rod hole. This area I also have seen pushed in from collision damage.
All in all the modifications that I did cost me about $10 plus whever Argon and MIG wire I used. Oh yeah... the 220V electricity, the sawzall blades to cut materials and the grinder discs to hide my"less than stellar" welds. Lets call it $20.
My opinion of this mod? It MAY provide more precise steering response since I am running some pretty wide tires. Less deflection when I encounter a bump with one wheel too. The washers welded on? If it saves me from a damaged K member, thats great. All the perimeter welds may have been for nothing, but the other areas should provide some benefits. Opinions may vary, of that I'm certain.

Oh, I forgot to touch on this point:
Drag racers that do not complain about handling deficiencies? I would think that the straight line guys would be more concerned with how well the cars track at 120 mph on a smooth surface rather than take their cars on bumpy, twisty roads with 195-75-15 front drag tires. The skinny tires give up traction before the flimsy steering mounts see much stress. They may have never noticed any K member flex at all.