But even so it is a long way from the front "axle" back to the crossmember at the back of the cab, some sort of crossmember in there may be a good idea?
I agree. The IFS crossmember ends up under the original axle centerline, with the trailing bolts actually about six inches behind the centerline. That shortens the distance some.
I need a transmission crossmember at the rear of the TH 400 and that ends up about 18 inches ahead of the K-member at the back of the cab. If my wife were not close to serving dinner I'd walk out there and measure the actual span, but its not nearly the entire distance between the front corssmember and the one at the rear of the cab.
And I picture some braces running forward from the transmission crossmember to the frame just where the bellhousing crossmember was removed.
Related, but not the same: I also plan to brace the IFS from the center of the crossmember to the frame just behind the bumper brackets. I'm bulding the brackets that mount the IFS this week and that was one thought I had to make it all stronger.
I've contemplated doing a similar thing on the back of the IFS perhaps hitting the frame in the same location where I removed the crossmember. I'll wait to decide about that until I see what room I have left for exhaust and other things.
