Chrome moly crossmember :)

[Halon]

Just a little Install "how-to":



Here's a crappy picture of it when I received it in the mail.


I decided that I wanted to give it a coat of something just to protect the metal against the elements. I grabbed some spare rattle can primer and black spray paint from my cabinet and gave it a quick couple coats of paint. Nothing professional here as it's underneath the car and fairly unseen anyway. So spray paint it was!


She's now ready to go on!

The install is pretty simple and straight forward, but I took some pics of the install anyway.

There are 3 beams that have to come off. First remove the 2 front to back ones. You'll need a 17mm and a 14mm wrench for the bolts:



Next you want to support the engine somehow so that it doesn't drop when you remove the 3rd beam which is attached to the front motor mount. Here's my professional grade motor holder upper :



Next, remove the 2 17mm bolts that hold that crossmember to the chassis. Keep in mind when you do this, the motor may drop slightly, which is why we put some sort of support under it in the step above:




Next you will remove the 14mm nut & bolt from the front motor mount:



You've now removed the 3 stock beams. Here you can see, out with the old (on the right) and in with the (new on the left)!!! Should save a little bit of weight!



Install of the new beam is pretty much the opposite as the removal of that last crossmember you just took off. I simply held it up, used a mallet to knock the new solid front motor mount up into the bracket, and then stick the bolt through the front motor mount just to hold the new crossmember in place:





Next, install the two 17mm nuts on the ends. Then install the nut on the front motor mount bolt and tighten everything up, torqued to spec (with an impact gun if you're like me )



And you're done. Here's some pics of the clearance I have under there now. Downpipe is nowhere near the crossmember, and everything is just much more open now, which should make working on things a whole lot easier. Pretty much exactly what I was hoping for.



(pay no attention to the O2 sensor, I run constant open loop and it's just plugging the hole)

[1QUICK4]

Looks good mang!

[scheides]

I've got a handful of o2 sensor caps if you want one brandon. Might save you a few ounces

Looks good man!

[Goat Blower]

Looks good, I might just have to make one of those myself. I have seen other cars using one of these with two other tubular bars replacing the stock front to back braces, held on with aircraft quick release pins. I might go that route since I'm getting back into handling.

[Halon]

Well if you need to borrow mine at all to help you make your own, let me know. I could probably remove it this winter or something and let you borrow it for a couple weeks or whatever.

[A//// Guy]

Lookin clean under there!

[Tachyon]

Looks really good, Brandon!

I would really like to do this as well but I am concerned (ignorant) of the effects of running without the two front to rear cross members. Has anybody every experienced issues on a street car such as extra twist or stress in the front end by removing these?

[Super Bleeder!!]

It will for sure loosen up the front end of the car, especially if you get in an accident!

[A//// Guy]

Why not make 2 more braces that connect to the stock locations with the same type of piping?

[1QUICK4]

Originally Posted by scheides

I've got a handful of o2 sensor caps if you want one brandon. Might save you a few ounces

Looks good man!

Shane took my 02 out of the equation a long time ago

[Halon]

Originally Posted by A//// Guy

Why not make 2 more braces that connect to the stock locations with the same type of piping?

Someday I might. But this is how he is making them right now. Maybe someday in the future I'll have John make some. But really I'd rather someone just buy this thing


As for an accident, yeah if I hit someone good it'll be over. I doubt my JMF aluminum bumper brace thing that replaced the front steel bumper doesn't help either. It's OK I still got airbags, or wait...