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WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 20th, 2019, 7:28 pm
by Jeff Brown
Hi,

I am looking for the rear cross member for an 88A platform bed with the 4 stake pockets. I think the part number is AA-88097-B - see pictures below. Mine has about a 2" sag across it which has split the lower flange and it is pretty beat up. I have repaired all my other cross members with heat and welding but I think this one is past it as I have no way of straightening it. If anyone has a better one, ( hopefully not too far from Arizona as this thing is heavy and freight is going to hurt!) please contact me.
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Thanks

Jeff

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 12:50 pm
by Neil Wilson
Jeff Brown wrote:
July 20th, 2019, 7:28 pm
I am looking for the rear cross member for an 88A platform bed with the 4 stake pockets. I have repaired all my other cross members with heat and welding but I think this one is past it as I have no way of straightening it. If anyone has a better one, ( hopefully not too far from Arizona as this thing is heavy and freight is going to hurt!) please contact me. Jeff
Jeff, Good luck finding that cross member. It is usually quite bent/broken due to hooking a chain around the carrier swivel bolt a trying to pull something which should have been pulled from the frame. You might have to disassembly everything and use a heavy hammer on a solid surface to flatten it. With it apart, you can straighten the top flange. You might find that having the floor board support angle can be made fairly cheaply. And you would have to be able to weld and grind.

If you do find a replacement, be sure to retain the current one. Many time the 88-A platform is missing one or both of the reinforcements as well as stake pockets.

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 1:01 pm
by Jeff Brown
Thanks Neil, yes, if I have no luck I will just have to get the heavy hammers and heating torch out. The worst thing will be to try and take the sag out of it as the flanges are quite light and wont take a lot of load from a hydraulic jack. And I would have to straighten it before I weld it up as there is about an 1/8" gap at the bottom where it has opened up due to the sag. Still, I've faced worse on this restoration!

Jeff

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 5:04 pm
by KimVanOrder
Jeff. I have found a hydraulic log splitter to be very handy for straightening, and flattening things. just a thought..

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 5:15 pm
by Stakebed
FYI i hve heard of people stripping the pockets off them and taking them to a sheetmetal fab place and having one made from this as a pattern. Then re-riveting the pockets back on the new one.

yea finding a good one is gonna be a needle in a haystack.

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 7:08 pm
by Jeff Brown
Thanks Guys, yep, thought it was a long shot! The log splitter idea may be an option, Thanks Kim.

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 21st, 2019, 8:19 pm
by 1crosscut
If you do end up pulling it apart and repairing it try grinding the back sides of the rivets off and punching them out and saving them. I did this with my front cross member. When I re-assembled it I placed the rivets back in and then mig welded the back side of the rivets in place. This way the rivets still matched.

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: July 23rd, 2019, 2:14 pm
by Stakebed
Ooh good idea Crosscut

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: August 16th, 2019, 7:29 pm
by Jeff Brown
Thought I would give an update on the rear cross member - this should really be in the discussion forum but this is where it started. I started heating the old steel to stress relieve it but when it got hot, I could see cracks running in all directions and it just about wrapped itself inside out with the stresses in it. So I made the decision to chop out the badly cracked and bent center section and weld in a new piece of 10 gauge plate. I also cut the angle return off the outer end pieces so I could run a straight piece of angle right along the top. Except I could not find any angle the right size. I did have a piece of rectangular tube the right thickness so I cut this length ways to make the top angle and also the deck support angle on the rear. I was super careful not to overheat the assembly when welding it up so started with a lot of spot welds and stitch welds working at each end and in the middle so it was evenly heated. It did come out pretty straight. I hot riveted all the pieces back on - I wasn't able to save any rivets as I had to grind then right down to get them out and even then they took a lot of hammering with a punch. A coat of rust treatment to blend it all together and it looks just like a new old one! Thanks for everyone's help with this. Now on to the side rails.
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Jeff

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: August 17th, 2019, 9:01 am
by Neil Wilson
Jeff Brown wrote:
August 16th, 2019, 7:29 pm
Thought I would give an update on the rear cross member - this should really be in the discussion forum but this is where it started. I started heating the old steel to stress relieve it but when it got hot, I could see cracks running in all directions and it just about wrapped itself inside out with the stresses in it. So I made the decision to chop out the badly cracked and bent center section and weld in a new piece of 10 gauge plate. I also cut the angle return off the outer end pieces so I could run a straight piece of angle right along the top. Except I could not find any angle the right size. I did have a piece of rectangular tube the right thickness so I cut this length ways to make the top angle and also the deck support angle on the rear. I was super careful not to overheat the assembly when welding it up so started with a lot of spot welds and stitch welds working at each end and in the middle so it was evenly heated. It did come out pretty straight. I hot riveted all the pieces back on - I wasn't able to save any rivets as I had to grind then right down to get them out and even then they took a lot of hammering with a punch. A coat of rust treatment to blend it all together and it looks just like a new old one! Thanks for everyone's help with this. Now on to the side Jeff
Excellent Jeff

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: August 22nd, 2019, 4:32 pm
by KimVanOrder
Most excellent !!!!!!!!!!!

Now how about the " Ford Truck" embossed into it!!! :shock:

Great job.

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: August 22nd, 2019, 7:52 pm
by Jeff Brown
Thanks Kim, had to restrain myself from embossing the "Ford Truck" in it, as it would not have been like the original!

Jeff

Re: WTB, Rear 88A platform bed crossmember

Posted: August 23rd, 2019, 4:50 pm
by KimVanOrder
Jeff Brown wrote:
August 22nd, 2019, 7:52 pm
Thanks Kim, had to restrain myself from embossing the "Ford Truck" in it, as it would not have been like the original!

Jeff
Opps! Must be a different part number than I have... Mine is a 1928. with the Ford Script. Different "bed" #. Any way, Excelent job!!