Conversation Between old_dan and Ricky53

Dan
When I purchased the truck the crossmember was "cut" I mean torched out to make room for a 312 Y block and manual transmission. I currently have the truck stripped down to the frame and I was planning on installing the original crossmember and rebuilding the Y Block. When I came across your post I thought it was a great idea, but I am unsure if it will work with the straight axle suspension. I am probably going to play it safe and replace the original crossmember. Thanks for responding to my post, once I figure out how to uplodad pics, I will share them. Again, thanks for the feedback.

Hello Ricky,

I've been off on a vacation for a few days & missed the question that you posted. I haven't had any issues with the strap approach across the top of the frame. Keep in mind that there is also a MII crossmember welded in forward of that and a transmission mount behind the strap that is bolted to the bottom of the frame.

What are you planning for your truck??

Dan

Dan, I saw an old thread about your idea for adding a strap on the top frame rail above the trans as a replacement for the origianl crossmember and boxing in the area where the original crossmember was attached. I am at that cross-roads and I wanted to know if your idea indeed eliminated the excessive flexing without the original crossmemember inplace and have you hade any issues with your frame. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.