I don't know what the deal is. It had a 400 on elephant ears to begin with so before this, the K-frame didn't have to locate the motor and transmission, only the steering column and the torsion bars. I had the torsion bars out when it had the 400 in it (before I took the k-frame out) and they slid in and out like I expected. There are no wrinkles or signs of a crash that I have noticed.
After hours out there today trying this and that I'm getting convinced it's related to the LCA somehow. Whatever it is it's off enough that the bar kind of "thuds" when it stops going in. I had some success at one point, then I lost it and in the end that bar is really no different than it was when I started. It's not going to take long before I make sure everything is loose and go ahead and drive it in and call it good enough.