1952-59 Ford New and Old Cross Member

I got a call from Chuck's Wheel and Brake about the work they were doing on my car. While pulling off the tie rod, a piece of the front cross member fell off to reveal a repair. It consisted of an U bolt, a 1" chunk of steel and the rust rot was filled with silicon rubber and covered with undercoating. Replacing the cross member was fairly simple to replace according to my brother in law Mike. Thanks.

Here are some pics.

 

That looks like some of the fantastic frankinstein stuff that I've found in my car. Hopefully this will be easy like your brother said.

 

Last pic is the repair. Franky from Oklahoma made the cross member. It fit just like he said. It also has drain holes which the original didn't so it will last long after I am gone. With the brakes and front end done, we had our first weekend of driving it. Worth the wait. Now to fix the horn and defroster. Our first cl***ic car and we are hooked.

 

I am going to do the nasty task of replacing the cross member when I pull my engine . I have taken my finger and tapped on it and sounds like they used super thin tin and glued it up there and the undercoated everything to hide the problems .

People that do this kind of **** should be tied to the back of the car and dragged down the nasty dirt rocky road we can find and let them enjoy the ride . Then tar and feather them and turn them loose in a major city like that to fend for themselves . There is no reason for people to cover up and hide MAJOR structural places like that . Beside not being right , it's just plain damn dangerous !

Jim

 

Retro, the mechanic felt bad about bringing the bad news, but I am glad it was found so it could be fixed. I believe this repair held for at least 7 years because I am sure the previous owner wouldn't of driven her familiy in it knowing this. Just glad no one got hurt including myself.

 

Don't forget our member Chalupa55 has a great deal on crossmember replacements.

 

Jeff, I hope your repair goes as well as mine did. Take care.

 

You have a good mechanic . He just might have saved you a bad ride !
When the time comes to replace my cross member I will have Chalupa55 build me one . I have other things in line before that gets done .

Jim