What the UPS guy brought me

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MileHighDart

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USCar tool Transmission cross member for installing an A500 in my Dart.

Looks like a good piece, very sturdy and well made.

I am surprised that its not fully welded, the large U shaped piece that goes across the center is only welded on what would be the rearward facing surface, but isn't welded at all on top or bottom side. Still feels plenty strong, but sometime before final install, I'll probably run a bead on those seams.

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Thats a nice piece!!! How much?

Jake
 
Wonder if they have them for the early A
 
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I too am a firm believer in everything welded to everything else... but still a very nice piece.
 
Sometimes a piece can actually be weaker if fully welded. If some flex is expected it is best not to fully weld. Shouldnt make much difference either way on a crossmember.
 
MoparMike1974 chimed in before me. I agree with him, having welded a lot of frames for cranes and truck mounts. By engineering design not all is to be welded, so item can flex. Before welding, I would contact them first. If for some reason something would fail and would lead back to the part being welded where it shouldn't, you would be at fault. We had that problem with people welding on cranes and boom sections where they shouldn't and it actually made the part more brittle.
 
Do The Forum a massive favor and lay it down on a piece of paper in every direction and Trace out the dimensions. That way the rest of us could send for a piece of paper and make one ourselves?
Thank you...
 
Garrett Ellison said:
Well put j par, some may even want to make lightweight aluminum versions for themselves.
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I actually did this with a bracket. I bought a Hurst vertigate shifter for my a body and seen the bracket someone was selling on eBay for like $139! I posted a wanted ad or started a thread at the very least asking if anybody had one if they could just throw it on a piece of paper and Trace around it and Trace the holes. After about a month or so a member seeing the thread and was very nice and made a nice copy. I actually made extra copies so I could not only use one for a template but have extras in case somebody else wanted one. I made mine out of quarter inch steel and the original was half inch aluminum. I think...
 
j par said:
Do The Forum a massive favor and lay it down on a piece of paper in every direction and Trace out the dimensions. That way the rest of us could send for a piece of paper and make one ourselves?
Thank you...
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've done that with NLA factory power steering brackets/plates etc ( pays to think ahead. For a small amount or time & effort )
Trev.
 
MileHighDart said:
USCar tool Transmission cross member for installing an A500 in my Dart.

Looks like a good piece, very sturdy and well made.

I am surprised that its not fully welded, the large U shaped piece that goes across the center is only welded on what would be the rearward facing surface, but isn't welded at all on top or bottom side. Still feels plenty strong, but sometime before final install, I'll probably run a bead on those seams.

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Agree about the allowong for possible Flex, mentioned further on up, not Welding up on ALL seams, but at the risk of coming across as a big head further ( as some have taken me ) but having experience growing up on the shop floor in my Dads w/shop-Factory production, General Manufacturing Engineers I was also haunting etc & the being taught ticketed Welding by a Boilermaker later, there's a strong chance, with their high per-hour pay rates, the Fab'ers were also keeping the per bracket weld time to a minimum: as they say time is money ...perhaps do as some mentioned - contact the manufacturer & ask if welds left off to allow for possible avoiding/allowing for flex stress points: but seeing more than a few Australian 'Hadfield' Brand conversions & swap crossmembers etc ( google them) , cross members are usually built for strength/rigidity, so if concerned probably wouldn't hurt to pop a spotweld in the top middle of that square stock & U & maybe 1 ea at ends of plate somewhere to triangulate it up (weld wise) a little & like on hotrod frames fill those exposed gaps with some Bondo/filler to stop dirt collecting ( leave the areas around the welds clear, for stress crack inspection later, if going into a serious transbraked launched, 5,000 stall type E.T. drag car).
Just my 2 cents. ( from what I've learnt both ends of the equation)
Best of fitting up wish's.
Trev.

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I have kept templates for everything i have designed and custom made for A bodys. Got a file folder full of cut out cardstock and cut up manilla folder material. Somebody sent me templates to copy the uscartool torquebox plates, and i fabbed up my own, and i modded them how i wanted them. I would love a template of this crossmember as well.
 
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