This may seem like a stupid question with an obvious answer to some of you, but I'm a far cry from a master fabricator. On my A's frame, the previous owner tacked in a brand new front crossmember. Unfortunately, it was trimmed in such a way that didn't account fot the taper of the rails. There is about a 1/4" gap between the edges of the boxing plates and the ends of the crossmember (front edge). I tried using a come along to pull the frame rails closer, but is seemed to tweak the frame horns more than anything else. I went to Sacramento Vintage Ford yesterday (super nice guys) and picked up a new TCI crossmember. This crossmember When measuring up it appears to be 1/4" too wide (each side) at the rear edge and 1/8" (each side) too narrow at the front. I'm thinking that this 'member was made for aftermarket frames whose rail's width are the same as a stock rail. My frame is stock and is boxed with 3/16" plate. I did some measuring to determine how much I needed to remove from each end. Before I go butchering up my frame and new 'member, Am I measuring incorrectly? Should this 'member fit without having to be trimmed? Anyother advice I should heed before I proceed? Last but not least: There is supposedly 6 dgrees of caster built into the crossmember. Am I safe to ***ume that I need to set my desired ride height and frame rake first and then weld in the crossmember at 0 degrees? Thanks for your knowledge, experience and input.
Measured an aftermarket crossmember I got from Lobeck's. Back width is 22 3/4 in., front is 22 in. Out side of the rails at C/L of front axle should be 26 in. I think Brookville stamps alot of the after market crossmembers for every one 'cuzz there all about the same and about the same price every where.
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