Cross member....Are replacements available??

[mofish]

My '70 Cuda has a bent torsion bar cross member. I have had varying opinions on this. One guy says it doesn't need to be fixed. Another guy told me the floors would have to be "unbuttoned" in order to replace this properly. Then I just read a thread on here where a member removed that cross-member from a '70 Chally. Is it realistic to cut this piece out and replace it? Is it welded to the floor? Are replacement pieces available? I'm a total newb when it comes to metal and body work. Any help is appreciated. I'm going to try to show pics. 

My plan for this car is going to be a low budget build....obviously I will be doing almost everything myself. I may have to trade some parts to get things like metal work done. Planning on starting a resto thread soon. I should add that the floors are in good condition and I won't be replacing them. (exc trunk floor)

[mofish]

1970 Cuda torsion bar cross-member

[Edison1970]

If it is a low budget build, you could buy a cap for it.  I think there was a company that made a cap that completely covered the that area.  It should be ok as long as there isn't any real structural damage.  If you need to, they do reproduce the entire piece from rocker to rocker.

[Challenger in NC]

If it is a low budget build, you could buy a cap for it.  I think there was a company that made a cap that completely covered the that area.  It should be ok as long as there isn't any real structural damage.  If you need to, they do reproduce the entire piece from rocker to rocker.

 , a cap might work as long as you're not concerned with the repair being 100% original. Contact these guys to see if they have one.

https://www.autorust.com/product/torsion-mount-e-body-mopar-left-art-003-l/.
Now if there is damage where it affects the position of the torsion bar, that may need to be addressed before capping it. It appears like the damage may be localized, but hard to tell.

[soundcontrol]

Looks like a pretty easy fix for someone with experience.
The crossmember is spotwelded to the floor, if its OK except for that, I would fix it.

[NCCUDA]

My 2 cents......I would cap it if that is all you have wrong with it.   I just replaced my cross member on a 72 Barracuda and the full replacement is the worst part , not to mention supporting the car so the frame rails don't get out of wack, pulling the gas line, e brake cable and brake lines, floor pan has to come up also- support tabs are under the floor pan at the rocker panel, torsion bars come out easy.  A lot of work for a replacement if  you only need a patch.

[moprr]

I don't even think that needs a cap it can probably be fixed if it is solid and your not worried about looking 100%.  Worst case you can probably just reinforce  it with some new metal if needed.  Just my opinion if the damage is only in the one area.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

The real question is, is it bent? or is it twisted from the torsion bar?

Mine was rusted and the torsion bar loads started twisting the crossmember, similarly to yours. I did cap mine, however that was only because I put a T56 6-speed and had to severely cut up that crossmember anyway.


I think yours is twisted. If it is, a cap will certainly help the situation, but ensure the torsion bar hex key is welded to it. So that load goes through the cap, not just under it. You will notice in my picture my "cap" is welded to the hex and is also plug welded to the original crossmember close to the hex. That whole area is 10ga plate and I just made the cap plates myself to tie to the subframe connectors. You'll also notice the forward member that I added to enforce that entire area as well. In other words, it's not going anywhere..

[mofish]

The real question is, is it bent? or is it twisted from the torsion bar?

Mine was rusted and the torsion bar loads started twisting the crossmember, similarly to yours. I did cap mine, however that was only because I put a T56 6-speed and had to severely cut up that crossmember anyway.


I think yours is twisted. If it is, a cap will certainly help the situation, but ensure the torsion bar hex key is welded to it. So that load goes through the cap, not just under it. You will notice in my picture my "cap" is welded to the hex and is also plug welded to the original crossmember close to the hex. That whole area is 10ga plate and I just made the cap plates myself to tie to the subframe connectors. You'll also notice the forward member that I added to enforce that entire area as well. In other words, it's not going anywhere..

Yours looks VERY solid. Thanks for your advice everybody....I hadn't considered that it might actually be twisted. When I bought the car I was told that it had been in an accident in '86...hit in the left front. And the left front fender has been changed at some point. I was told the car went to a frame shop and was straightened but it hasn't seen the road since '86. So i'm thinking this damage on the left side of the cross-member is from that accident. Is there an easy way to tell if the car is straight or does it need to go to the frame shop? Would an alignment machine be able to tell me anything? There is currently no engine or trans in it but I could trailer it. I don't know anything about metal and body work but I feel this is the first issue that should be dealt with on this car.

[1 Wild R/T]

You do what your comfortable with, the last three cars I've bought that had prior damage one of the first things I've done is take them to a frame shop & have them hang the gauges...  Putting it on the machine & hanging the gauges is about two hours... If everything checks out it's a cheap way of feeling good about the foundation of the car... If there's a problem it'll cost more but you fix it when it's not a big deal instead of getting deep into it & waste allot of work redoing whats already been done...

One thing that you need to be aware of, a buddy of mine took his car in & paid to have the gauges hung but (guessing) the shop looked at that old car & figured nobodies gonna fix this POS so they took his money & sent him down the road with one rear frame rail 1.5" low in the rear....

[soundcontrol]

Mine had been in an accident also, I checked it myself before buying it, Brad uploaded a good Body alignment measuring sheet for me, look at my very fist post from 2013, its in there. Mine checked out fine, and I the only damage I coud see was a bumpy lower radiator support (changing that now btw). Of course its better to take it to a pro, but I didn't feel the need to with mine.
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=92460.msg913705#msg913705