1935 to 1940 Ford Crossmember Kjt Installation Instructions
1. Start by supporting the car on 4 jack stands. The car should be sitting on approximately the same angle as it does on the ground, or slightly lower in front.
2. Remove all the old front suspension components. Note that on the underside of the frame are the two rubber axle snubbers (or the holes for them, if they are missing) directly above the axle. Mark them for later reference.
3. We would recommend that at this point, you tack weld or clamp a temporary brace across the frame rails in front of the old crossmember as shown in Figure 1. This helps to maintain the rail dimension after the old crossmember is removed.
4. Remove the old crossmember. The front gussets, which are also the radiator mounts, may be trimmed in the frame, or removed to be cut and then reinstalled. Also, remove the old steering box mount. j
5. Now it’s time to recondition your frame rails. Your frame is two layers thick in the froot area. During the past 40 some years, rust forms between the layers of the frame rail flanges and swells, causing them to separate. This causes tile rail flanges to actually open up, as in Figure 2A. Your rails will probably look similar to this. It is necessary to squeeze the two layers back together, using a vice-grips or hammer and block. Then, using a large C-clamp, bend both flanges back together so the rail is square again. (See Figure 2B.) It does not need to be perfect for the entire length, but it should be close in the areas, where the new crossmember and spring towers mount. The better you can make toe-rails in this step, the easier it will be to weld in the new components. Also/grind off and weld in the rivets on the top of the”frame rails.
The next step is to box the rails. The edges of two layers of metal probably don’t line up very well on the frame flanges. Grind them down so they are flush and straight, and the boxing plates fit tight against them. (If the boxing plates fall into the frame rails, the rails are still too wide. Repeat step 5.)
Caution: Do not grind too much material off the flanges. The finished boxed rails should end up being 2-5/8 inches wide in the new crossmember area. The rest of the rail is not as critical. See Figure 3.
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