Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Some of you may have noticed that I had asked earlier how to remove the rivets from a front cross member. So I thought I would post some pictures of the front cross member of my coupe to show you why I think I ought to replace it.

The front view-first picture

The top view-second picture

From underneath-third picture

Looks like I may have to do some cutting before I can even get the spring out. I think a person could consider this a "farmer's fix".

Wish me luck!

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Wow! Looks as if the welding was pasted on with a putty knife! It may have been done with the spring installed which would have compromised the heat treat in the spring. Damage like that is often done by a spring that doesn't have a tapered edge on the top leaf. Hope you were able to find a good crossmember. Gar Williams

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Gar, I do have a good "new" cross member. The motor will come out tomorrow. Then the fun begins to try to get the spring and front end out of that cross member and then get that old cross member out of the frame.

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Hey Fred, if it ain't broke don't ....... Oh, forget it. :)

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Well I really broke it.

Got the motor out, found some interesting stuff under the front motor mount (picture 1), cut off the angle iron that held held the front spring on (picture 3) and got the front cross member out (picture 2).

Now the question is how do I get the "New" front cross member back in? Does anyone have an easy way to do it? I thought I would put together some kind of frame spreader made out of a jack to spread the frame. If anyone has a better idea, please let me know.

Thanks for listening and the help.

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Repair the old one, it is still better than the repro ones out there.

mike

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Mike the old one if far from being able to be repaired. I bought another used orginal one from a friend of mine-much better than the one I had.

Thanks for the concern.

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Looks like one of my weld jobs.

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Many yrs ago I replaced a front C M and I think I put it in on an angle & beat it straight.Make sure its the correct C M for the car & the rivet spacing is correct.If you rebuild the front axle assy,and the steering gear,you will be able to toss the steering stabilizer.

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Do you plan to rivet the new one in or bolt it in?

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If I was installing a new cross member, I would cut the frame flanges at one frame horn ahead of the crossmember and, with heat, bend the horn outboard until the new crossmember will slip in. Once installed, straighten and weld the horn. The horns carry very little load in front of the front crossmember. They just need to be straight and parallel. Gar Williams

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Did mine with the frame off. I would pull the passenger side shock and install the new front cross brace from that side. Your difficulties in the car will be related to the rivets.
Very difficult to do a good job in the car. How do you drill out all the old rivets, how do you install heated rivets and buck them in the car.
The fix in the day was probably to bolt in the replacement. What ever way you go you will find alot of rust between the frame and the cross member. Taking care of that will be tough. Bob

Re: Now you know the rest of the story!
 

Now I see you have removed the cross member. Do me a favor and replace the cinder blocks you have under the frame now. They won't hold up to abuse. Especially when you start persuading the cross member to accept the frame.
Bob

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I echo Brentwood Bob's warning on using the cinder blocks. They only have strength when they are positioned with the holes up and no strength sideways. Sometimes a tap on the side can collapse them, especially the way you have them positioned. Don't die over a crossmember.

As far as getting the new one in, cut off one of the horn extensions just in front of the crossmember where it will not affect the strength of the main frame. See if you can slide the crossmember into the other side first and then back to the correct position. You may have to cut off both horns though. I would cut them off completely with a hack saw so you don't cut out a large gap. Bevel the edges of the cut, clamp it back in the correct position and reweld.

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Bob, thanks for the warning about the blocks. I do have some additional ones so I could put them down flat using more of them.

I think I will bolt the "new-old" cross member in. I bolted one in a frame back in the 50's and the frame is currently in my Huckster. It worked fine for a number of years back in the 50's and still seems to work OK with the Huckster. This coupe is not going to be a points car (at least on my watch) but rather a driver. Bolting it in will not make it so a person, after me, that wants to make it into a points car can still do it.

Thanks for all the comments about how to get it back in. Next week I will have to sit on my stool in the old shop and ponder the best way (after getting better blocks under the rig). I got the old member out by pounding on one end one way and pounding on the other end the opposite way. So maybe?????

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Sorry for so many questions. But now I have the choice of two (Orginal I think) front cross members. The question I have is which one should be used in a 1929? I am sure both of these are 28-29 members because they have the round radiator holes (I know the glossy one has two extra holes) but I think maybe the one is for a 1928.

The picture shows that the dull colored one has ribs that cross it from front to back down where the motor hangs (see picture 1). It also has a raised back flang that sticks up (see picture 2 & 3). So I think it may be a 1928??? What do you think? The other member, the glossy one, is the same as the one I took out of the 29 coupe. So I think the glossy one is the one I think I will use. Could use any ideas anyone may have. Thanks again.

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Hello same question trying to figure out diffrence between 29 and 31 style crossmembers.

Is the picture attached also a 29?

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My guess is that it is a 30-31 because of the long holes for the radiator.

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I'm forgetting a lot in my old age, but I don't recall getting the crossmember back in (after removing and repairing it) a major problem (like removing those $%&*$% rear hubs!). I was working with a bare frame, but I don't see why that should be a whole lot different. I'm trying to imagine why such drastic surgery as cutting off one (or both!) of the horns should be necessary. I like your first idea of spreading the frame slightly with a small bottle jack.

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Fred: Go down to harbor freight and get a couple of jack stands, about $15 with a coupon (usually in sunday's paper, hemming's, etc) and save your wife from having to take you places because it fell on you!!
Paul in CT