My project 69 C20.

[BigCarl]

I have a small problem with my frame. Well, hopefully its a small problem. I have looked the forums here, but can't seem to find any pics with the same trouble that I have; a few cracks where the shock mounts attach to the cross member. Some one has welded the crack in the passenger side, but there still remains a few more and of course at every rivet.

Here is a pic.



Can this cross member be purchased or am I going to have to do some fab work in welding and bolting?

[bedsled71]

i dont think ive seen that crossmember for sale

[BigCarl]

I haven't seen it for sale either.

Any recommendations?


Bump this for answers.

[SanitysBane]

Is it just me or does that driveshaft also look to be "custom" made? Might want to check into that as well.

[scotts62]

Haven't seen any for sale either. I would check around salvage yards or something if you wanted to keep original crossmember, and just grind or torch rivets then bolt new one back it.. or fab a new one..?

[TimE]

Yup. Salvage yards or the parts board on here.
I have an off topic question about the rearend too. Pardon my ignorance but what kind of rear is that? It appears to be a chunk type and the panhard setup looks exactly like the one on my 64. I thought all 65-up trucks had the panhard bar mount that was part of the housing and were 12 bolts. I am just curious because I actually have a 69 and a 71 and have owned 4/5 others in the past and haven't seen this type setup personally on one.

[PBFAB.COM]

Just pulled one of a truck... PM me if you are interested. (I will have to make sure it didn't get tossed into the "scrap metal pile").

[BigCarl]

Originally Posted by TimE

Yup. Salvage yards or the parts board on here.
I have an off topic question about the rearend too. Pardon my ignorance but what kind of rear is that? It appears to be a chunk type and the panhard setup looks exactly like the one on my 64. I thought all 65-up trucks had the panhard bar mount that was part of the housing and were 12 bolts. I am just curious because I actually have a 69 and a 71 and have owned 4/5 others in the past and haven't seen this type setup personally on one.

As far as I know about the rear end is, its the non-dana. That is it. I am slowly learning this truck as I am going over it. Searching for the stuff I know is wrong and replacing it bit by bit and of course finding new stuff to fix along the way. The project just started about 2 weeks ago when I tore off what remained of the box and removed what remained of the interior. Now its new parts, parts, parts. I can take more pics of it for you if you would like and maybe some one else on the board can help us both out then.

[Twistedsteel]

Originally Posted by SanitysBane

Is it just me or does that driveshaft also look to be "custom" made? Might want to check into that as well.

I agree looks kinda small to me, 2" pipe?

[HotRodYJ]

3/4 ton and 1 tons had an Eaton rear axle. The early predesessor to the later 14 Bolt corporate axle.

My opinion if your having trouble locating a new crossmember and don't want to fab a new one, I wouldn't hesitate to grind the cracks then weld them back up. You need to grind them first past the end of the crack to relieve any stress, then weld them back up and it'll be good as new. If you don't grind the crack first, the stress could still be present and the crack may continue and/or return. Odds are they cracked due to some very heavy use at one time in the trucks life.

[BigCarl]

Originally Posted by HotRodYJ

3/4 ton and 1 tons had an Eaton rear axle. The early predesessor to the later 14 Bolt corporate axle.

My opinion if your having trouble locating a new crossmember and don't want to fab a new one, I wouldn't hesitate to grind the cracks then weld them back up. You need to grind them first past the end of the crack to relieve any stress, then weld them back up and it'll be good as new. If you don't grind the crack first, the stress could still be present and the crack may continue and/or return. Odds are they cracked due to some very heavy use at one time in the trucks life.

I could only imagine the abuse this took as it was a farm truck used my an old Ukranian. He had even rigged up a home made secondary fuel cell with a faucet-style switch. It was interesting to see.

I am going to try to get a crossmember or 2 from some users on the board here (this is my preferred method), but if I can't, what are your recommendations for welding around the rivets? Just weld them in all together? That is what I think I will have to do.

My fingers are crossed this is the only frame repair I will have to do. Everything else looks fine in that area.

[HotRodYJ]

Remove the rivets where you need to, to repair the cracks, then use bolts when your done to replace the rivet.

[BigCarl]

What I thought, thank you very much. Looks like I am going to be getting another crossmember, so I am going to taking this one out, replacing it with the newer one and repairing this one for a spare.

Thanks a ton from everyone.

[BigCarl]

I am still looking for a good solid cross member. So, if anyone has one that they are looking to get rid of, it would be greatly appreciated.