Thread: MII cross member advice on my frame

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it is a little more than just tube . there is a kick to it and it is bent to match the original frame . you'll find most all the quality crossmembers are 399 . they pretty much keep their prices in line with each other . the cheaper ones are of less quality and usually thinner plate welded together.
you can definitely make your own frame stub. i've done it many times . the reason i like fatman is it is 5/16 wall tubing instead of 3/16 . the one in the picture above was a name brand but it cracked up where the lower aframe bolted. it was the 4th one of them i have replaced over the years. if i were to use any other i would beef up the area where the lower aframe bolts .

Originally Posted by shine

it is a little more than just tube . there is a kick to it and it is bent to match the original frame . you'll find most all the quality crossmembers are 399 . they pretty much keep their prices in line with each other . the cheaper ones are of less quality and usually thinner plate welded together.
you can definitely make your own frame stub. i've done it many times . the reason i like fatman is it is 5/16 wall tubing instead of 3/16 . the one in the picture above was a name brand but it cracked up where the lower aframe bolted. it was the 4th one of them i have replaced over the years. if i were to use any other i would beef up the area where the lower aframe bolts .

At this point, I have kind of sat back and looked at what I get for that $600 for a bolt in kit. For $200 I'm not getting anything except ease on the cross member install. I'm going to have to cut and weld on my frame either way so I might as well buy a nice weld in cross member and go that way. I had plans to cut out 2 large gussets to put on the frame behind the cross member for the lower control arm. Thais way it should help spread the load out to not only just the cross member. I think I might just purchase a good weld in unit and build from there. Who has a good book on reference measurements when installing a MII in a 35-40 ford frame? Thanks again guys for the help.

fatman has good install video on line plus you get some good instructions with them. in the past i have had to do just what you are. boxing the frame helps but the problem is they most likely cut most of the outside rail out. you can definitely replace the forward rail with some tubing. cut and slide it in just behind the cross member. somewhere i have pics of a friends 40 we did. we rebuilt the frame to fit a stock mll because it is what he wanted but did not want to cut into the frame. we fit the frame rails inside of the cross member .
let me know if i can help .

Might want to take a look at Chassis Engineering--the fat fender guys in Iowa, not the drag car one's in Florida..... They have a lot of bits and pieces for the fat fendered cars, possibly find the information you want on measurements and dimensions, too.

I've talked with the chassis Engineering guys already and they told me to buy the bolt in unit because it takes the guess work out of it. That's true, but I can't screw this up nearly as bad as these guys already have. Haha

Shine, if you have pics of your buddy's 40 that would be great. I may roll this over to the shop tomorrow and look it over some more.

On edit: Yeah, I'm having the issues others are having with the site today. It is sloww to say the least.

Ok guys, I need some help. I purchased these control arms and there are no instructions on how to properly install them. I'm thinking the best way to install these is to: Drill the rear control arm bolt hole to the size of the new control arm's spacer. Place the spacer in from the rear, and weld in in the cross member. Then weld on gussets on the rear portion of the spacer. Does this sound correct? Thanks Ryan.

Anyone have any insight to add?????

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Anyone have any insight to add?????

Cannot provide anything of value. Never walked that path before, and don't really follow your approach....sorry.

Yup, drill the crossmember to the same dimension as the OD of the spacer.... Before you weld it in place you'll have to have the upper A-Arm in position so that you can get the caster/camber correct on the install...... I've got a number of pics in my gallery showing various MII installs... But, the caster and camber have to be withing range of the available adjustments before anything is welded in place permanently.....Did you get the crossmember with the lower arms, or is it the existing one in the car???

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Yup, drill the crossmember to the same dimension as the OD of the spacer.... Before you weld it in place you'll have to have the upper A-Arm in position so that you can get the caster/camber correct on the install...... I've got a number of pics in my gallery showing various MII installs... But, the caster and camber have to be withing range of the available adjustments before anything is welded in place permanently.....Did you get the crossmember with the lower arms, or is it the existing one in the car???

Dave, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately it is the cross member in the car. Once I get the control arms mounted, I plan to reinforce and reweld the cross member and frame. Do you know what camber and caster is preferred for these? I've seen 5* caster, but not sure on camber.

Caster is good at 5 to 7 degrees, for setup purposes I usually set the camber at 0 with the upper arm in the middle of it's adjustment range and both arms set at ride height, leaves room for final adjustment when the car is done and all the weight is on the springs.

Dave, check out my build thread to look at the RH side cross member install. Thanks, Ryan.