On the f-bodies that came from the factory with the K member brace on them........
These guys.

Are the holes in the K-member tapped or are they through holes?
Was there a nut that went on the back of the bolts inside of the K-member?

Thanks

 

Im pretty sure they were tapped or a weld nut on the backside

I dont remember fumbling with a loose nut on the backside when I removed mine

 

What about on the frame side? I see what appears to be a thick washer on top of the formed sheet metal for the frame. Was this thick washer tapped or was there a weld nut installed also?

I guess that I shoud have paid a little more attention when pulling these.

I've had the frame repaired already so I installed a Spohn Wonderbar and wanted to get these installed for extra piece of mind.

 

I called the Tech support line at Spohn.

Tech support informed me that the K-member is a M10 bolt and the subframe was a M12. He also said that the k-member was just tapped without a weld nut.....sounded not 100% confident about this.

I'm trying to get in contact with someone at Hawks to see if I can get at lest
consistent unsure answers.

 

my vert had the provisions, but no braces. Somehow, I found them in a pick-n-pull. Bolted right up (as I remember 4 yrs ago)

 

This is the question and response I got back from Hawks Third Gen....

Q:

The camaro I have is a base coupe model non z28/Iroc. I am planning on
installing a set of the 16" Iroc wheels and want to protect my subframe
from cracking. I have already installed a wonderbar.
This car did not come from the factory with the k-member braces. The
car has holes in the k-member and in the subframe under the steering box
and the idler arm. My question is these holes are not tapped are they
supposed to be through holes? Where there weld nuts installed on the
inside of the k-member and subframe?

A:
Hi,"
They should have nut serts inside the frame rail can you check that for me
and can we help you with a set of subframe connectors.



Are they trying to say that there should be a weld nut on the sub frame side?

 

I checked the bolts I removed with the brackets.

M 12X1.75 and M10X1.5 are the sizes.

The holes on the K member and subframe are smaller than these bolts.



I am looking for a taps to fix this problem.

 

Im getting confused with all the "frame/subframe" interchanging...

But I believe the two bolts that attach to the k-member are self tapping bolts. I cant remember for sure... But Im pretty sure they made the holes pilot holes, then the bolts made their own threads.

The bolt that goes up into the chassis of the car should be a nutcert. The metal used in the unibody construction is not thick enough to tap or use a self tapping bolt. For ground bolts and small brackets its ok...but not for something that handles any type of load.

This is all from memory. I can check when I get home beacuse I have a couple k-members laying around, and my 86 is still apart. SO I could double check the bolts and bolt holes....

J.

 

could you get some pictures to help me out.

Sorry about the frame/subframe deal.......If I say frame or subframe I mean subframe. I have always referenced the K member as a K member.

The M10 bolts that hold the bracket to the K member does not appear to be self tapping. I'm picturing a sheetmetal self tapping screw in my head, but these bolts do appear to have a triangular OD to them. I assumed the shape was a way to keep the bolt from backing out.

On the subframe side there is more metal there than just the formed subframe.
http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/e...pair_under.jpg
Is a horrible picture of the hole.

 

Yeah man... Ill take a few pictures of the whole deal for ya when I get home. Ive been getting to work on the car right after work. So Ill pull one of the braces off my 86's k-member. Take a pic of the original hardware and all. And get a pic of the subframe hole. The 86 is totally rust free and un-molested. SO its a good indicator of how it was supposed to be.

Ill take the pictures, and post them up this evening for ya. Unless someone else beats me to it.

J.

 

Here are some pictures... Alittle late... Im packing to move and just got settled in for the night.

The bolt sizes sound about right... M12 for the subrame and M10 for the k-member. There is a nutsert or welded nut in the sub frame. Definitely. The k-member appears to have punched holes, and then are threaded. I believe the bolts self threaded... Because they have a taper at the end. But I could be wrong. I was expecting them to have grooves in them for cutting threads.

Anyway here are the pictures...Hope they help ya out some.

The hole on the right is the one that attaches the brace. Dont mind all the gooey undercoating all over...



The brace and bolts...



Back side of the bolt...



Hole left from removing bolt...



And the two side by side. The one on the left is the k-member bolt, and the one on the right is the subframe bolt.



J.

 

I am assuming the bolt with the nut is the motor mount?

 

Where exactly do these braces go? This got me interested so I want to look more into them. Worth it?

 

Yes...thats the motor mount. The one where you can just see the threads sticking through is the brace bolt.

J.