What is the best way to change the Front Cross Member?

[spdway1]

On a 1930 AA, What is the best way to change the Front Cross Member ? What hardware do I need.
I want to keep the engine in the truck as it is a complete truck, So I will need to spport it.
Thanks.

[JPP]

Why not remove the engine while you do the work,a whole lot easier to get at all the rivets with a torch. The engine goes in and out with little effort and good time to replace the clutch. Just a thought.

[flatford39]

It's is not that difficult to remove the engine and it's going to make this job a lot easier. You are going to have to remove the radiator, front splash pan & both front fenders. Then you are going to remove the complete front end. At this point removing the engine is pretty simple. I would remove it before you pull the front axle as you may want some mobility to move things around as it comes out.

To remove the cross member I grind the heads off the rivets and punch them out with a good drift pin. If they are stubborn heat is your best friend. I would probably tack a piece of angle on top of the frame to keep it in position but I have done these many times without doing this. You will need help bucking the rivets. It is a two man job.

Why do you want to change it??? I have welded up some pretty nasty ones that are still in use.

[spdway1]

Why you ask....I am trying to restore an accurate nice truck with a correct spring included....

[oldtimetowing]

I just went through this little exercise. Whether its the best way or not I don't know, but here is what worked for me.
I already had the front sheet metal and radiator off of the truck.
This was the process, by the numbers, if I remember correctly:
1 With the truck on the ground, I put a block of wood across the frame horns and set the frame on jack stands
2 Disconnected the steering, and loosened up the motor mounts etc.
3 Removed the bolt on the front motor and jacked it up a few inches to clear the cross member
4 Removed the bottom nuts on the spring U-bolts and jacked the frame up and off of the springs and rolled the front axle out from under the truck
5 Put cribbing under the engine to hold in place and removed the bolts that were holding the front cross member in place
6 Built a frame spreader and opened the frame up just enough to move the cross member back a few inches and down out of the frame.
7 Welded up and re-drilled the holes in the top of cross member and then reinstalled it in the frame.
8 As most of the trucks I have found have had the cross members bolted in I believe that was the common repair. The only way I could see doing this with rivets and I thought about that was to try and do it from the bottom, not a real good, easy or feasible idea, or turn the truck over, not a good idea either. I used 3/8" grade 8 bolts in the side and bottom rail and 3/8' machine screws in the top rail. The machine screws end up pretty much flush with the top of the frame.
9 I then reversed the process to put the front end back together.
By the way these nine steps take a while to do. After I get a few miles on the truck I intend to go back under and retighten the bolts as necessary.

[Stakebed]

heat is your friend in this case. took me a very long time and alot of hammer blows to get my rivets out... i eventually had to take an angle grinder to the junk crosmemeber and cut it out... be prepared to need heat, chisels, grinders, drills, and punches.

[Jared275]

What works really well is to grind off the head of the riviots, and then using a drill about half the diameter of the rivet shank drill most of the way through it. Then using a pin punch to drive it out. The rivet will collapse in on itself while driving and will come out relatively easy.

[Neil Wilson]

Since you want your AA to be like original, then you should rivet the new cross member into place. I would not do the job with bolts given your goal. The top rivets need to be inserted from the bottom of the cross member, backed and hammered into the counter sunk holed of the frame. You can then grind the rivets flush.

Just a thought (I think the following is easier than a replacement cross member) - The current cross member with the cut off lower front section looks like it is okay to use as is - right? Anything else wrong with it? If not, then I would consider patching what you have to make it look original. Once the current cut off line is ground smooth and tapered, a patch can be made with a taper also. This gives a V grove to weld up. With the front axle out of the way, one can grind both the inside and outside of the welded patch. The engine and fenders could stay in place. This is all a one man job.

I repaired a '28 front cross member with the top section (where the spring seats) broken (common for '28/'29's) without removing the engine.

I have only replaced a front cross member on a bare frame which allowed the frame to be turned over to rivet the bottom two rivets. The attached shows the installed cross member. Note the rivets on the top have been ground flat to the frame so the fender will fit correctly.