Honestly, you aren't moving the cross member itself forward a whole bunch, maybe an inch or two at the most. There still is room to place the radiator with out having to resort to crazy chopped cores and such. I have used the radiator drops that have been shown on a couple of cars in the past for fitment issues. They are cast by a company called MODEL Tool and Die up in the Cleveland area, and run about 100.00 per pair. Most '33-'34 hiboys look just a touch nose heavy when you simply strip the fenders off of a stock car. And, as I said earlier, when you throw a deep dropped axle under one, it pulls the front wheels back a bit, just on the caster alone. And, as I said before, by the late eighties when companies started reproing ch***is, this "altered" wheelbase became sort of standard on most aftermarket ch***is. Your Mustang II might already be stretched a touch. Some above also recommended mocking up all the sheet metal and such before nailing everything down, and that is a solid plan. The cars I can think of that are standouts with this mod are - Bill Vinther's bright orange coupe, The Moonyham-Sharp 554 car, Jim Jacob's yellow '34, and Rory Forbe's black roadster out of Reno. If I have some time today I'll dig up and post some pictures.
554 coupe after the changes and Stretched. Looks a hell of a lot more than a little bit to me. And I'm still not seeing the CL wheel in front of the grille here.
Ya, the 554 coupe is a bit more than the subtle amount I am referring to. It's 2"-3" if memory serves. As far as the grill centerline, I believe he is referring to the top of the grill shell.
I can't find a good scannable shot of Vinther's car to post without really digging, but it's the most dramatic. Back in the early nineties, American Rodder ran an article on another orange '33 coupe like Vinther's '34 that literally was a carbon copy except for the subtle move of the cross member. The difference was dramatic. My other favorite that has this mod is Rory's black car. I don't have a scanner large enough to scan the two page spread of the car in Rodder's Journal #49, but if you have it, it's on pages 95 and 96. This is the car I'm speaking of... I also found a picture of an acquaintance's car that a friend of mine built that hasn't had the mod done, just as a control...
Big Jim, a good set of 34 inners pops up on Fordbarn every so often, I picked up a really good set for $200 and they were Henry tin. as far as the debate over the forward cross member set-up, I don't have a dog in that race. Personal preference I guess. While you have your car on jack stands, move your wheels and tires 2 or 3 inches foward and snap a pic.Then roll them back and put them factory and see what you have. I robbed this pic from a fellow HAMBer and have it hanging in my tool box lid. Except for the chopped top. It has inspired me to spend a small fortune trying to get there. I don't think it is a forward x-member car
Just so you know what I'm talking about with "Vinther's car" here it is. There is a profile shot in the Peter Vincent book HOT ROD. It's just a bit big and bulky to scan well. I'll shut up now and leave you to your deal!
Quote]Thanks ! Am I reading those links correctly ? One is 99.95 for 1 and the other is 56.00 for 2 [quote Yup. Sorry it took so long to get back to you I was cutting the front end off.
I get what your sayin and I like it.....just not for this build. I'll keep it in my Rolodex for future builds though.
Someone scanned it on the vintner's thread but the nose is all fisheye effect. I need to pick through edel's "take five coupe" thread and see if the crossmember is moved on that one.
Im trying to find pics but have not located yet and yes the 33/34 grill angle makes the centering of the wheel different than a 32.I have no experience with the stock x member, we always made our own which was based on a 32 x member but completely flat. It was welded flush with the top of the frame rails slightly forward of the stock axle centerline. The only extra mods to the flat x member were small notches in the corners for radiator clearance.
Looks like it might be... I need to pick through edel's "take five coupe" thread and see if the crossmember is moved on that one.[/QUOTE]
Hey guy's take a look at my poll. I'm looking to buy some splash aprons and need your opinion. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=848017
Well I made some progress. I got the model A X-member in and I cut it to size. I have my spare tape measure and grinding wheels holding in for a visual. I still have to do some research to see where it will actually go. I have an identical front end sitting next to my 34 on my wife's 33 Chevy coupe so I'm taking measurements and doing some figuring. The goal is to have it mocked up and tacked in by weekends end. I have to make sure I have clearance for my bottom radiator hose and the grille/hood fits then I will weld it in. I also have to add some boxing plates before I can weld it in because the frame isn't boxed far enough forward.
With the relatively flat A crossmember, you'll most probably need the radiator offset for the lower hose. I have a TCI type crossmember which is a 1 '' drop over stock. It places the spring mounting surface about 3.5 '' below the top of the frame rail. The lower radiator hose just clears. Yor A crossmember looks as though it'll mount the spring surface about 2'' below the top rail. Your car should be plenty low with a droppped axle.
Well I'm one step closer to having a hot rod. I still have a bunch more grinding and welding to do. I just want to see how the radiator & hood fits before I do the final welding. Mustang II X-member anyone?
Thanks man. It's a lot of work (for me) but it will be worth it. Just bumping up the Kool factor is worth all the trouble. I have the rest of the parts on order and they should be here by the weekend for mock up.
Nice work. I'd have cut it out with my torch and ground it down from there. You have now entered the club of those who cannot whine about how rough our buggy sprung rods ride or how they don't handle like we thought they would. It sure will look a hell of a lot better with the axle under it though.
Rewelded the ends on the bones. They were not pretty. Don't know what the Previous owner was smoking but this just wasn't going to do for me. I also cut and ground the end of the bones. They don't look too bad all installed (I know they are loose its just for mock up).
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