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Stage 2: K-Member Brace
Continuing on with the objective of transforming the front-half of the unibody into a rigid box, we turn our attention to the under side of the car. The K-member is a major chassis component to which the engine and all front steering and suspension is mounted to. As a result it also take quite a bit of abuse and is subject to twisting and flexing.

Aftermaket companies, such as Maximum Motorsports, have developed a simple brace to help strengthen the K-member. A "four point" tubular K-member brace is the best bet, but clearance with aftermarket headers could limit you to a two point brace.


This Maximum Motorsports photo shows how the 4-point brace mouns to a K-member.

The tubular brace utilizes existing holes in the K-member.

On cars with the factory h-pipe in place, slight grinding of the heat-sheild is necessary for clearance.
Once on the car, the K-brace fits close to the chassis and does not decrease ground clearance.


Stage 3/4: Subframe Connectors and Torque Box Reinforcements
To really have a stable platform in a unibody car the front and rear subframes need to be tied together, and if you intend to go that far in FOX bodied Mustang then you should address the torque boxes as well.


Torque box reinforcements by Wolf Race Craft.
The attaching points for the rear axle control arms are called torque boxes and they are simply bent pieces of sheet metal pinch-welded together and to the body. Once power is increased and the chassis starts enduring dragstrip launches or road course g-forces the torque boxes can bend, crack and even tear if you add sticky tires to the equation.

After over a hundred hard launches on sticky tires the torque boxes on GMII surprisingly showed no signs of major distortion, but, as the need for speed mandates more power we thought it'd be a good idea to reinforce them now rather than later. Furthermore because subframe connectors weld over part of the torque box, it makes sense to weld up the torque boxes at the same time. More

Subframe connectors from Maximum Motorsports. Made of 1” x 2” rectangular tubing, with .120” wall thickness. The cross bar serves to reinforce the crack-prone area of the floor pan where the seats attach. MM also makes a longer "full length" connectors that extends farther up the firewall.
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