• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

Radiator Crossmember Question

R

rsalway

Member
This weekend I finally tore apart the front end that I bought awhile ago. I am planning on using the frame rails and the shock towers. They are going to require a little bit of patching, but not too bad. I have a question though. how do I separate the frame rail from the radiator cross member? Anyone have any pics as to where the welds are? Also pics of where the welds are for the support beam that runs at a diagonal too. My thoughts are to keep the shock towers and frame rails as all one piece. I am going to keep the support beam attached too. Then weld those to my existing radiator cross member. One side and then the other. Is this a good plan or is there a better way? I thought that this will help keep things aligned a little better. BTW any one have dimensions for the front clip and engine bay area?
 
I've done this. The radiator support is attached to the frame rail with spot welds both top and bottom. A wire wheel will help you find the depressions. The strut braces were the biggest pain. I ended up cutting the radiator support and grinding away the metal.
Bill
 
Since I replaced the cross member and radiator support on Shag, I have tons of pics buried somewhere. PM me and I'll gather a few for you. Yes if you use a wire wheel, you'll find most of the indents from the spot welds. Actually, here a link to some of my pics which might help you see what you can expect

http://rides.webshots.com/album/559422078HlucVO

Take lots of measurements before you start chopping.
 
Thanks for the link. That helps. It looks like the strut braces are going to be a bear. I guess I will just take my time.

As for measurements, what do you do if your frame is in bad condition and not sure if you current measurements are anywhere close to where they should be?
 
I remember there were a lot of spot welds connecting the strut braces to the front cross member.
 
Like I said, I just ended up cutting the crossmember away from the strut braces then grinding away the metal. I drill spot welds until I was sick and still it wouldn't budge.
Bill
 
Do you guys think I should just leave the old strut braces there? I don't think they are bad. I could just cut the spot welds on the frame rail and be done. I just thought replacing them while I was doing the rails may help me keep everything aligned a little better. Maybe it won't really matter though.
 
I would leave them in there to help align the new crossmember. Then if you wanted to replace.
Bill
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top