I bought a frame that is solid except for the front where a poorly fit and welded xmember was installed. I cut it out but there is still a bit of a mess on this end of the frame. I want the front solid as I don't think losing the front end would be too cool even at slow speeds. Also could use some advice on who to go to in the Dallas area for the repair. Ideally I want it clean enough to bolt in a stock replacement xmember. Looking for recommendations on how to best repair this? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Clean well enough to do surgery on it. Weld up all the lows. Grind down all the highs. Cut, bevel and weld in replacement sections for the missing metal. Box with 1/8" plate. Model A frames were only marginally strong enough for the bone-stock application. Unless it is a restoration, it needs to be boxed.
You do NOT want to bolt in a crossmember. All bolts fit loose in the holes and will allow the crossmember to move, wearing deep grooves in the bolts and leading to failure. I have photos of this wear on the bolts somewhere. Properly sized rivets expand to fill the holes and do not allow the crossmember to move around. The Model A guys on Fordbarn have a lot of information on this
What gimpy said. Make sure it's straight, fab up new pieces, weld up extra holes, box it and add a Xmember to be super strong. On mine I went with a Dagel super X because I couldn't find a stock X member in time and I went with boxing plates with holes so I won't have to weld in the nuts.
maybe tomorrow I will go out and take a picture of my chopped and channeled coupe, built 1954 with a flathead V8. No boxing was needed
In answer to your question Brian at http://www.b***kustom.com/ might be who you want to check with on your frame. He should be able to fix it right and do what ever you want done.
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