Cross Member

Was just wondering if anyone has Bolted thier crossmember in instead of useing the Rubber set-up, Mine broke this weekend and that is what i am going to do.

 

HEY,

AS far as i know , IF it is a 1968 to 1972 a body, you can use a OLDS crossmember . Same width BOLTS right in .NO RUBBER ENDS .

MIKE

 

Yep. Got one in my car. Came from a '71 Olds Cutlass.

Have fun.

 

Wouldn't that affect the angle of the transmission to the yoke in the rear end? I think there is a certain number of degrees these are allowed to be within or issues arise with the universals.

 

No. They are all GM A-bodies. The frames are basically interchangeable. It's just that Buick decided to isolate their trans x-member for passenger comfort. Olds, Chevy, and I think Pontiac mounted theirs solid. The Chevy (Malibu) x-member is tubular and weighs a ton. The Olds x-member is stamped steel. It's still kind of heavy, but not bad.

Have fun.

 

So is it definitely better to run the x-member without the rubber on a race car?

 

Yes. On a racecar. If the engine/trans is allowed to wiggle around much it will oblong the slipjoint bushing. Example: On my previous racecar, I took my tranny in to be freshened up. When I got it back, he said he had to replace the tailshaft bushing and he thought I had a broken trans mount. Sure enough, got home and checked and it was loose. The threads in the tailshaft had stripped, allowing the mount to wiggle. Now, I use the Olds x-member and a polyurethane trans mount.

The Buick style x-member also presents a corrosion problem. It's not too uncommon to see the ends of the x-member rusted off inside the rubber isolater.

Hope this helps.

 

That or just weld on some repair ends and continue like nothing happened. I have them for sale if you just want to repair your crossmember. $15 a pair

 

I tried to use a Cutlass solid mount crossmember but the exhaust cutouts were smaller and wouldn't fit with my 3.5 header extensions. Put the stock one back in with new mounts and OK for high 9s low tens.
The ends that Mike G. has are a good idea. Dropping a crossmember on the track is not a nice picture. ou:

 

Just curious, did your crossmember come from a '70-'72 Cutlass? Mine came from a '72. I use TA 2 1/8" headers, 3 1/2" collectors and extensions back to the X-pipe. Mine fits perfect. Makes me wonder if there were different crossmembers within the same model for some strange (GM) reason? ou:

 

70-72 is all I remember. I think it also has to do with headers. Some headers are angled a little different. I had a heck of a time installing it only to find it was hitting. Took the shims (pinion angle) out from under my trans mount and it was still hitting.Got the BIG prybar out but backed off. Didn't want to hurt my Stage 2 headers with JetHot........

 

Quit screwing around..This one from Bobb Makley is only 6 pounds :Smarty:

 

Gary, thanks for the pic...I've only heard of his piece and now I can see it!!!!!! How does it bolt onto a 70???? Looks to be different than the stock bolting location.....

 

Wow that is a unit!
Looks like it has weld on ends. How exactly does it mount to the frame?

 

The x-member in my 73 was bolted in (no rubber isolators) They might possibly fit to.

 

Gary,

Thanks for posting that pic. Bobb showed that crossmember to me at BG last year. I would love to put one in my car. The price tag was just a little hefty for me right now. :eek2: It's worth it, though. Well made piece.

Have fun.

 

Yeah, it is a nice piece but I figured it wasn't cheap. I guess sometimes you have to decide how much you are going to spend on a race car and try and keep a budget. I see a lot of things I'd love to buy for the car but in the end $$ plays a big part of it. Besides if I had the money for all of the best stuff then I guess I should be buying new quarters for the car instead of working with what I have. :grin:

 

Tried one of those Chevelle tublar crossmembers on my 72 and it wouldn't clear the header flanges, mine nestle right up in the crossmember. So I welded new ends on mine, sorry Mike didn't know there was a kit. My crossmember was welded in when I got it, :rant: that was fun.

Dave B

 

All Oldsmobile A-body crossmembers 68-72 are the same. They used different frame mounting holes to move it forward or back. I had to trim mine for transmission pan clearance when I went to a cast aluminum pan, and had to use a hole saw to make room for a shifter cable to pass through. I also recently welded mine up to make it into a 1-hole tranny mount. I was using a later TH350, and found that the mount I was using was about .250" too thick, and that the later (G-body, which is what the tranny came from) mount with one stud fit perfectly with no shim needed.

I had wondered why I had to clearance the tranny tunnel with the BFH for a 3.5" driveshaft . . . LOL.