The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 54 trans crossmember

Hello again,
I have put a saginaw 3 speed in my 54 chevy, with open drive shaft. I was told a crossmember from a 67-72 chevy or gmc would fit in the framerails, and of course match up to the tranny. All I would do is drill holes and bolt it in, then get the correct trans mount. This truck did not have a trans crossmember when i got it. Also, the saginaw is much longer than the original tranny. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. The truck runs and drives fine, up till about 65 mph, not that i want to go that fast all the time.

I'm assuming it has a six cylinder engine and the bell housing is mounted to the crossmember as original.

I don't know about the "crossmember from a 67-72 chevy or gmc would fit in the framerails" but I do know the frame narrows from aft to forward. I'd say it would be pure luck if you found a crossmember that would be the exact width you need at the exact trans mount spot.

I think you'd be better off buying one of the universal crossmembers. They come with loose ends so you can bolt 'em in where you need 'em then weld 'em.

Thanks Cletis for the reply,
I thought about using a universal crossmember, so I called T.C.I. in Canada, and they said their x-member is made for Auto 350 or 400 T/H. I see Chevy Duty sells one, among others. So I'll call them. If you run across an outfit that sells one, let me know. G man.

update: I called Chevy Duty, asked tech. dept. would their universal crossmembers fit my saginaw 3 speed setup. The guy says yes, it would adjust for that. I would feel much more confident if I could talk to someone who has actually done it.... has anyone out there done this? Thanks,
G.

I bought mine from Classic Performance Products. There's a good chance they're all from the same maker. Go to my \'54 GMC site and click on "Transmission" and you can see how it hooks up. I was lucky and didn't need shims. Yours might.