Re: Need Front Crossmember for 1931 Closed Cab Pickup

Posted by Bob Bidonde on May 06, 1998 at 06:56:18

In Reply to: Need Front Crossmember for 1931 Closed Cab Pickup
posted by Ken Smith on May 05, 1998 at 21:35:41

All 1931 Model A frames as built by Ford have the same front cross member. The Model AA is different and will not fit. There was a reproduction front cross member on the market a few years ago, but I haven't seen it advertised recently. Call one of the larger Model A parts suppliers and inquire if they have a new front cross member in stock.
I recently worked on a friends 1931 Pickup that had a large piece of the front cross member cracked completely out. A skilled welder was called in. He fit and welded in a flush patch for cosmetics and then welded a plateacross the region on the bottom side. The plate doubles the metal thicknes locally and carries some of the tension load across the repair thus lowering the stress levels at the patch.
The cross member is about 0 .13" thick, so the welding should be electric to get good penetration and strength. It may also be necessary to shave some material off of the bottom of the crank bearing and or lower spring clamp plate to compensate for the added thickness of a repair.
Repairing the existing front cross member, provided it has not been bent in a collision, is advantageous over replacing it because frame alignment is preserved and you will not have to deal with the difficult task of installing the cross member attachment rivets.

Follow Ups:
Re: Need Front Crossmember(email address corrected) Chris Parks May 11, 1998 at 11:20:58(0)

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