I am not affiliated with Peearce Design, but I did ask the a couple of the questions in the FAQ section on their website: http://www.pearce-design.com/html/faq.html There should be many answers to your doubts there, but I've copied the pertinent ones here: Q: Is the frame as strong as the original? - A rhetorical question since it must be. Therefore, is it heavier? How much/little? A: The new Stainless Steel frame without any coatings weighs 10 pounds more than the original frame with its epoxy coating. As far as strength, the original frame would handle 130 FtLbs for torque in the engine compartment, the new frame will handle 310 FtLbs of torque in the engine compartment with a calculated correspondence throughout the frame. Q: Did you deem it impossible to redesign the frame to allow for the inherent lesser tensile strengths and moduli (?) of elasticity? Did you consider other metals, and how much? A: This was of course, the main concern. The frame overall is stronger than the original and only 10 pounds heavier. We were surprised that the weight only increased by 10 pounds. Some of the weight may be saved on the new frame by not coating it with anything. Best Wishes, Martin Mike03062@xxxx wrote: > "Stainless" High Carbon steel, while it has many favorable attributes such as > it's ability to resist the chemical reaction we affectionally call rusting, > has trade-offs, especially in areas of strength, tensile, shear etc. and > reacts differently at dif. temps. Before voting on this poll I would be > interested in engineering reports on the safety of a stainless steel "D" > frame. > > DMD in NH (where it gets cold)