1952-59 Ford Cross member fabrication

Looks like there is a real market for someone to step up and make these, I see at least four or five daily on various Ford Groups this was a link from Fordbarn today. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1954-56-ford-front-cross-member.1156821/ This is the original post https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=309020 As many of you know Roger Goodell that made these for decades p***ed away over two years ago. I posted a phone number under "Suspension" in the "Sticky" a few years ago, have any of you called him ? Another old link https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1970167

 

I thought there was a couple companies making them now. Albeit for more money then Goodall charged.

 

I bought mine from T Bird Products https://www.tee-bird.com/ on Ebay. It is well built. The days of the $300.00 cross member are gone. They only have a '54 on there now but you can call and ask. They are $450.00 now mine was $425.00 a year ago. I also bought a set of trim clips as some of mine is held on with caulk from the PO.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/teebirdproducts/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

 

I was thinking of going into business making them. I could tool it up right, jigs and everything. My back injury has made that dream impossible.

 

Too bad that many of our High Schools no longer have Shop Cl***es maybe you could tutor a student. We did have a member making them about 5 or 6 years ago that was a Shop teacher but gave it up after he moved.

 

Is there a drawing for one? I'd be interested in looking at it. I'd have to send the welding part of it out. I'd be able to make all the tooling in my shop.

 

Blueprint: Also see if you can access the link on Page One of the "Sticky" under suspension. It has a lot of step by step pictures.

 

Does anyone know if the 54 is different than the 55 - 56? And what does the top line on the drawing say?
On the drawing, the bolt holes are shown as 14.25 inches apart, while the horizontal part is only 14 inches long. Are the holes located partly where the rise starts?

 

Yes, the holes are partly located where the rise starts. Here is a pic. This is an orginal Goodell (spelling) crossmember I installed last year on my 56 wagon. I recently had the frame checked to be sure everything was in alignment( a whole story on that) before rebuildng the front suspension and everything is lazer straight, so you can go by this info. I seem to remember from somewhere that the earlier years were a little different location, but please don't go by my failing memory.

 

Thanks, I'll have a look at it and print it out. I'd like to try to make a real drawing out of it. Best bet would to have a Ford around to measure off of. Anyone have a spare cross member laying around?

 

1954 Ford & Merc were one year only, 1955-56 Ford & Merc are the same.

 

I could compare the one I have installed to the drawing in the Sticky file if that would help.

 

I do. I have a new Goodell cross-member that I never installed. If you're willing to do up the drawing to share with the group, I can lift all of the specs off of it.

 

Sounds good, how accurate can you measure? Overall within a 1/16" should be good. Critical items are hole sizes and spacing. I'm not working so I have no CAD access, unless I download something simple. I can't plot anything big.

 

So this took longer than I intended, but here is an original Goodell crossmember I still have sitting on a shelf. This was for a '55.

I tried to take enough pics so someone unfamiliar can see how they were put together. Most of it is 1/8" and the holes are 13/16".

 

I have a question about the hole for the LCA bolt. Is it slightly lower on the rear side? 1/16-1/8" then the front? My Xmember was too rusted right there to get an accurate measurement.

 

FWIW, here is my 56 on top of the 54 Template I loaded from the group. The LCA holes are in a different location (lower).

 

56 wood template I made over the 54 member template from the group.

 

Not on mine. The holes are 14 1/4" on center, 4 3/4" down from the top plane, and parallel.
One thing, though - these are hand fabricated and so there are some small variations that are going to creep in. I also suspect you'll get more differences from the original due to the installation than you will to the construction of the crossmember itself.

 

I did a straight xmember and boxed the frame in my car. It has a cross flow radiator and doesn't need that drop for radiator clearance. I made my holes parallel and found I needed to drop the rear slightly (1/16") to get the holes to line up with the rear LCA holes. I used all thread to check the alignment before and after installation and used the frame drawing to get the front to back measurements. I took a lot of pictures and measurements before cutting anything out.

 

Excellent idea using the all thread, cheap and infinitely adjustable straight line up tool. I have used it to make sure the rear spring hangers were lined up on the front of a parallel spring conversion on my 46 Ford. Bought it in the section of the hardware store where the concrete forms were or the drop celling section, not the regular hardware section. longer lengths and cheaper than the 3 foot pieces in the hardware store bins. Hope that made sense!