Creative Fix for Spinning Frame Nut During Steering Gear Install

[LoneCabbage]

Hey all,
Long-time lurker here—finally wanted to contribute something. While doing a front disc brake conversion and suspension rebuild on my '70 340 Cuda, I ran into a headache with the steering gear install.

At the last minute, I decided to rebuild the gear and coupler—figured I might as well finish the job right. When I pulled the steering gear, I noticed the lower tack-welded frame nut was spinning. Not ideal, but manageable with a wrench.

Then came the real problem: while reinstalling, the upper driver's side nut broke loose and dropped inside the K-frame. As many of you know, that nut is nearly impossible to access—especially with the gear in place.

I started looking around forums, and the common fix was to drop the K-frame and cut an access hole to re-weld the nut. After the car had been down for a couple of months and was so close to being done, that was the last thing I wanted to do. So... I cracked a beer (because all great redneck engineering starts with one) and came up with a workaround that actually worked great.

Here's my workaround:

• Cut the closed end off a cheap 13/16" wrench.
• Applied JB Weld to the nut and the inside of the wrench head, and let it set up.
• With some careful finger work, I was just barely able to push the nut/wrench assembly into position and start a bolt to hold it in place.
• To hold it there while finishing the install, I shot expanding foam into the cavity.
• Once cured, I removed the bolt—the nut and wrench stayed perfectly in place.
• Reinstalled the steering gear, and the wrench stub locked itself against the K-frame while I torqued everything down.

I know it's not a "proper" welded fix, but it worked perfectly, was quick, and didn't require tearing everything apart. Maybe I'll address it the traditional way when I eventually pull the engine. For now, I'm back on the road—and that's what matters.

Hope this helps someone in the same boat!

[Katfish]

Very nice!  Necessity is the Mother of all great inventions.