1939 pickup front crossmember

[39wdy]

Hi, If you are concerned about the quality of the repair on your front crossmember perhaps you could have those patches removed and a more competent restorer could repair it correctly. If that does not seem to be a viable option then replacement is the next best option. You can grind the heads of the rivets off and drive out the remainder with a drift and heavy hammer. A passenger car crossmember will not work as the motor mounts are considerably taller for that year. However, it should not be that hard to find a suitable pickup front crossmember from one of the western junkyards. I might even have one but it is too far to ship a heavy part from the east copast to California. Many restorers will say that you must replace the rivets with correct rivets to allow for slight flexibility in the frame; however, grade 8 bolts welded in place to look like rivets does a very good job. My 39 truck frame was done that way and 23 years later it is just fine even on some of these old gravel roads in rural Vermont. Best wishes, Toby