The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 Tubular Crossmember?

Hi Everybody,

Got a quick question for you all, but first the basics: 1953 Chevy 3100 with a still to be installed, 1961 235 engine (has side motor mount bosses). After removing the engine that came with the truck, which was a dead 1954 235 and then doing some cleaning, I discovered that the front crossmember that the front motor mount attaches to was pretty corroded. The indented area had collected dead grass and debris and then filled with oil and something else, likely coolant. I guess it sat that way for years. I've gotten most of the crud out and banged on it pretty hard with a screwdriver, trying to see if it would go through and it did not go through. Still, I'm worried that the strength of the part may have been compromised to the point that I need to replace it or move to something else.

The question is: do any of you all know if one of the tubular crossmembers will fit my 235? Everything that I've seen online is advertised for a sbc, not an inline 6, so I'm wondering if this is an option. Right now, I've got a post in the parts wanted section for an original crossmember. Just wanted to see if I need to do anything with the original crossmember, switch out my crossmember for a better one or switch to a tubular one.

Thanks in advance.

From the pic, your's doesn't look that bad.
Wack it with a hammer, in it's entirety. If it passes the hammer test you're GTG. If a spot or two breaks through but the surrounding metal is structurally sound, cut out the bad and weld in patches using 1/4" plate or thicker.

Good luck
Dave

I'm with Dave on this one. Patch any bad spots by welding and grinding it to the original shape. This crossmember needs to be held in place with great accuracy and very solidly. They are held in place by rivets. This method of attachment is difficult to duplicate with accuracy and rigidity.
Carl

Well, the crossmember survived the hammer whack test pretty easily and I wasn't gentle. Whacking it did loosen some of the remaining scale, which was good. The bad is that some of the scale that came off included parts of the rivet. I'm including 2 pics. The first shows a close up of the thinnest area. The second shows the rivet in that area. It's so hard to actually see the rivet that I used a screwdriver to point it out.... To me, the rivet looks compromised, but I'm a lay person. What do you all think about the rivet? Also, should I try to use something like POR to stabilize the rust or should I just leave it alone?

Thanks,

A classic case of not enough oil leakage.

Myself, I would sandblast, and then patch as needed. Sandblasting reveals much more than scraping or hammering. As far as that compromised rivet, just weld a new head on it.

Yes, after you do whatever repairs are needed, coat the entire area in a rust encapsulater. If you use POR-15 don’t get it on anything you don’t want covered, including you. It won’t clean off and you will wear it for awhile. 🛠

Keep all the existing water drainage holes open!

I would degrease it, pressure wash it, weld the rivet head, treat it with Ospho, pressure wash it again to remove the Ospho byproduct residue (white dusty material), then paint with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer, then finish with Rustoleum gloss black. This process has worked very well for me and is less expensive and less work than any other method.
Carl