Intentionally, I haven't a clue.

As a human, there are many possibilities.

I am to assume then 12 guage is indeed correct?

I'd be more interested in the debate if we were all sitting around the CAD station designing a new car. In that situation it would be a worthwhile discussion. However, when we're working on 50 year old cars and have limited options I think it is better to focus on what can be done given the choices.

I'm lucky enough to have a bigger budget, bigger shop and more tools than most guys but I still don't have unlimited time, money, tools, talent, etc. So if I'm going to get a project done I have to work with what I can buy, make, modify, etc. in the budget and time that I have.

If I was designing a new core support from scratch I wouldn't use 12 ga steel but I don't have the time to design my own part and I don't have a big enough brake to bend it. So yeah, maybe it is overkill but so what. I don't really care if there is an extra 5 lbs on the front of the car. It solved a bunch of other problems for me so it was worth it.

I don't think there is anyone on this board who has the ability to fabricate every part they need. I have the tools and resources to fabricate a lot of parts, but it would cost a fortune to custom build every single part so I have to be very strategic about what I custom build vs. what I buy.

...

Shock tower braces work, but must be huge and triangulated back to the firewall. Again...reality check.

^Awesome insights there, Rick. It's always amazing to hear how "right" Mopar got a lot of things back in the day. The front suspension design in particular is apparently standing the test of time admirably.



It seems like this could take some of the stress off of the K-member and if so, this might be a much cheaper/easier/less intrusive process than having the K-Member seam-welded...and it might provide at least some of the benefits.

Does anyone make a bolt-in shock tower brace like this or are we talking about fabbing our own?

If so, where on the firewall would be the right place to mount?

wow
Andy your the best. I blow people way in work with your math,, I call it. A good friend of mine says did you do the MATH ? I love that saying. DO THE MATH. He said it all the time when we were TAFC racing. I wonder What makes a pro ? There are guys on here that build amazing stuff in there garage. I sold retail and whole sale used auto parts for over 10 years at a very large salvage operation. Talk about stupid people. on both sides. I just bought US car tool spring relocation kit. I did have a problem rite out of the box, one pocket was NOT SQUARE . I was told it happened in shipping I guess They think I am stupid. They were super nice on phone. but the time it took to replace it was terrible. The directions are useless. website has some smoke and mirrors. Front pockets are in. I have 2 Miller welders a bead roller a 4 foot brake a 4 foot roller. etc and not harbor freight, but I do love the xt gun I bought on black sunday better than my snap on. And at my home I just installed a quincy 5 horse 80 gallon compressor wow its awesome. Got a AMD 1/4 panel from jegs all kinds of bent they were great on the customer service. I did the xv radiator support brace and all the auto rust tech guys in RI 13 years ago. what a difference. I had them bend me up 1/8 inch plate inner rockers too. nice people. The only mopar people to screw me was magnum force sold me A body stuff I needed B body called me a liar told me I installed them and he couldn't take them back. I never took them out of the box. I sold them to a guy on here he got a great deal I lost 100's. I love my bullet proof stuff. The US car tool spring pockets are bullet proof. and I love them they are thicker than my inner rockers LMAO. So what is the gauge of the rear frame rail? AMD makes 15 gauge, good mark does not know the guy told my today its as close to factory as they can get. What does that mean ? Must be me I am stupid customer. Sherman makes a 19 gauge patch rear frame rail. anyone got a left rear frame rail for a 68 charger I only need 2 to 3 feet from the rear bumper. I look forward to talking to ron from R/T specialties. What a nice guy.

Aside from the caster/camber interdependence, the Mopar design was and still is very good.

Welding up the K frame resolves a few other issues than simple engine bay flex. The K is the primary loaded structure in the front end. With supporting the engine, steering box, and the front torsion bar/control arm anchors as well as being spot welded together, welding it up provides a big boost in rigidity to a number of components in addition to the front section of the car.

Because the upper control arm mounts and shock mounts are not radically loaded in a mopar, the shock tower braces is less about providing loading support than it is of increasing the rigidity of the simply cube structure that is the engine bay. By turning it into multiple smaller triangles, you can reduce the flex. Percentage of improvement by doing this, I can't quote a number.

Because of the lack of loading in the upper parts of the engine bay, mounting a brace to the firewall can be effective in a mopar, but there is a question in my mind about putting structure that mounts in a large flat plane of sheet that doesn't make me think it is the most effective way to do it.

I read a white paper on nascar design sometime ago. In it they stated that the most heavily loaded area is the firewall/a pillar area. While we aren't running out cars are near 200 mph speeds on superspeedways, it does seem logical to say that improvements in this area on a performance street car can yield gains as well, especially since we lack all the triangulation structure they have in this spot.

Not sure how we define "radically" here. but with my back of the napkin thinking, since most all wheel forces transmit thru the front spindle, and the spindle being vertically approx 1/3 above the lower BJ, and the upper BJ approx 2/3 above the spindle, I think it would safe to assume the loads proportioned between the upper and lower as nearly the same ratio. And IMO, the K frame has much greater designed in robustness then the UCA mounting pivot points, beyond the above mentioned ratio, and the UCA apivot area would be an area next focused on, after the low hanging fruit upgrade of welding up the K member.

I always assumed two things on a well designed/installed Monte Carlo brace on a Mopar, if achievable, both triangle braces from ea fender area would meet at a center node, and that node would also be on a seamed/flanged 90 degree joint of two metal OEM panels.

I wonder in the above if, "Heavily loaded" really means "loaded", or "highly stressed"?

Most overlooked flex area by everyone is reinforcing the bracing and package tray behind the rear seat. This is not conjecture but something learned by paying attention to detail.

If you would add a sheet metal cover atop that bracing to both seal off the entire opening but you welded it to all the sides and braces you'd pretty much never have flex there. Over kill? Maybe, but I do';t have a supercomputer to run numbers. I know some sanctioning bodies require that to be sealed off if you are running a fuel cell so it may as well pull double duty.