chassis mod to 45 series cruiser

[loosecanon]

hey guys, thanx in advance, ok iv'e just started my first build on a 45 series, ( family thing) chassis i bought is clean but has had a knock to the front and bent the chassis rail above the front shackels, i bought another chassis the other day aslo clean, but the front crossmember, which has a bit of cancer, my question is.. is it possible to swap crossmember's ?? has any1 done something of the sort?? and whats required?? thanks very much once again, i dont' just want to start chopping away until i get a bit of know how

[AZZA'S HJ47]

best bet loosecanon is to have a talk to a engineer as to what is best to do in the case of a repair the bent item depending on how bent it is may be able to be repaird by a chassie aligner but as a genral rule of thumb cutting and welding a chassie is a big no no.

[loosecanon]

YEA I UNDERSTAND, I WAS THINKING I WOULD BE ABLE TO DRILL OUT THE RIVERTS AND SWAP THEM RATHER THAN CUTTING AND WEILDING, BUT I BOUT THE NEW CHASSIS UNDER ADVICE FROM MY STEP DAD WHO IS SUMWHAT A CRUISER GURU, ( DIDN'T LOOK AT THE CHASSIS WHEN I BOUGHT IT, HE JUST RECOMMENDED GETTING A NEW 1)

[skootin]

that crossmember is just riveted in and if u decide to change it dont weld the new one back in use high tenisle bolts

[Green80]

Drill out the rivets & use high tensile bolts to bolt it in as mentioned previously making sure the bolts you use have a shank which is a tight fit in the holes & the shank is about the same length as the thickness of the crossmember & chassis (use washers as well)

[loosecanon]

sweet thats wat i was thinkn' but has anyone done anything or know any1 who has done something similar?? because my biggest qiuery is how to get it out ( after i have drilled out the rivets) and get the new 1 in, because i dont know which 1 to try it on 1st, the bent chassis or the rusty 1 haha, because obviously the crossmember fits in under the c section ( chassis rail.

[loosecanon]

hey ive had a bit further of a look and clean up, i think i might just be able to fix it, the rust just seems to be in a small section on the iner c-section on that crossmember, so i should just be able to weld a new piece of bracing in, ( it's only bout 3 inches long) other than that just a good clean up on it, what do you guys think

[trev1]

Should be OK to weld in a new peice but I would check with an engineer to make sure you know the proper welding shedule for what you're doing and follow his guidelines to the letter.