switching crossmembers

Unknown

can any one tell if this would work. I want to put a turbo 400 tranny in my 49 coupe that had a standard. My 54 hornet parts car has a crossmember for an automatic. Would it work to change crossmembers or is it simpler to make a new one for the 49? thanks for any input...Jim

Unknown

Jimalberta wrote:

can any one tell if this would work. I want to put a turbo 400 tranny in my 49 coupe that had a standard. My 54 hornet parts car has a crossmember for an automatic. Would it work to change crossmembers or is it simpler to make a new one for the 49? thanks for any input...Jim

Jim:

Wes Kitchens had done what you are attempting and shared the following pictures with me. I have posted them in hopes they will assist you in your efforts. Good Luck.

rambos_ride

Hi Jim,

454/TH400 is what mine is setup to use
but I had to make a rear trans-mount-crossmember
as there were no places an original could bolt up to.

My original mount was stamped and welded sheet
metal (typical of the construction of the car) so
I made the new one out of thick walled box stock...

Front x-member modified for clearance

New Rear X-Member Trans Mount

Unknown

Hi Dan, I have seen these pics before and I like the way you did yours. I was wondering tho if I could use an existing crossmember from my hornet parts car. It might be more work and $arting around than building one. Your looks fairly simple to do. BTW what drive shaft are you using and is it a 1 piece or 2? thanks..Jim . I spent the afternoon chipping and scraping 50 some years worth of grease and grime off the front end and frame..what a pain, if any one knows of an easy way to do this please tell me.

rambos_ride

Jimalberta wrote:

Hi Dan, I have seen these pics before and I like the way you did yours. I was wondering tho if I could use an existing crossmember from my hornet parts car. It might be more work and $arting around than building one. Your looks fairly simple to do. BTW what drive shaft are you using and is it a 1 piece or 2? thanks..Jim . I spent the afternoon chipping and scraping 50 some years worth of grease and grime off the front end and frame..what a pain, if any one knows of an easy way to do this please tell me.

Wow - someone should resize that picture!

The drivetrain is out of a 75 Chev 3/4
ton pickup with the 2 piece drive line.

BTW - the easiest way to get rid of
the grease, seal and undercoating is to
pay someone else to do it - really!

I used a hand held propane torch,
a pair of mechanics gloves,
scrapers and eye protection
+20-30 something hours over
the entire car. Not something I
want to do again anytime soon!

Unknown

Thanks Ken, but that's a picture of the front motor mount. On the crossmember, I took a saws-all, and cut the crossmember where the transmission pan would go. Used 1/4 in plate to fill the gap, and added gussetts for strength. If someone wanted to put the car entirely back original, all they would have to do is reverse what I did, and it would be. It's about the same as Dan did.