BuzzLand
Active Member
Well folks, I made the jump and joined the ranks of the galvanized with my new, freshly forged/cast rear crossmember! 
Took the mechy a while, but I think he did a good job of it.
Some issues:
The galv. process saw that there were no threads for the towing array to be mounted onto (the part were the bolts go up into a captive bolt). He had to tap new threads.
The sender pipe off the fuel tank was partly blocked by the new crossmember. Mechy had to make some adjustments to make it fit ok (took some minor bending at the fuel tank pipe area).
The old crossmember failed the MOT (which I was expecting anyway) so I timed it just right in getting the new one to him. That being said, only the 'bumper' section was the fail, the rest was in excellent condition for its age. The Mechy was tempted to keep more of it and cut the galv. crossmember to weld a smaller unit on that way. In the end though the entire lot was used. (It would have meant the wiring loom would have been messed about with a lot has a shorter section been applied.)
So happy days, one less thing to worry about, not sure whether to paint it, you have to sand the galv. down to 'key' the etch primer onto it which I was surprised at. The natural look isn't too bad, I might keep it like that.
How about you folks? Any similar tales with fitting your replacement crossmembers?
Took the mechy a while, but I think he did a good job of it.
Some issues:
The galv. process saw that there were no threads for the towing array to be mounted onto (the part were the bolts go up into a captive bolt). He had to tap new threads.
The sender pipe off the fuel tank was partly blocked by the new crossmember. Mechy had to make some adjustments to make it fit ok (took some minor bending at the fuel tank pipe area).
The old crossmember failed the MOT (which I was expecting anyway) so I timed it just right in getting the new one to him. That being said, only the 'bumper' section was the fail, the rest was in excellent condition for its age. The Mechy was tempted to keep more of it and cut the galv. crossmember to weld a smaller unit on that way. In the end though the entire lot was used. (It would have meant the wiring loom would have been messed about with a lot has a shorter section been applied.)
So happy days, one less thing to worry about, not sure whether to paint it, you have to sand the galv. down to 'key' the etch primer onto it which I was surprised at. The natural look isn't too bad, I might keep it like that.
How about you folks? Any similar tales with fitting your replacement crossmembers?
