Crossmember Modification for Race Cars....

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Hey guys,Here are some pics of the crossmember mods. my bro' has me do for the guys who race at the dragstrip. A couple years ago he brought his up & asked me to cut his marked crossmember & weld 3/16" plates to fill in & reinforce. These are to allow the exhaust pipes to be higher off the ground & tucked in close as he didn't like them hanging below the crossmember. He wanted to do one as a prototype & test it for a couple seasons to determine if any effects of racing would cause an issue. After (3) seasons, the crossmember is still intact & no issues. Quite a few of the fellow racers saw it & asked to have theirs done to eliminate the exhaust pipe underhang. He brought up (13) to have done, (10) for his buddies & (3) to have on stock. These are all for the mid-size Chevys & Buicks. When they're done, he sands/primes/paints them flat black. Easy job & nice $$$.Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:That's a pretty good idea. I will have to keep that one in mind for future reference.
Reply:I built one for a buddy's 406 '83 Monte Carlo. A year later (and a lot of hard launches) it was still nice and straight.If you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.
Reply:I will keep this in mind I have to do something similar for my brothers mustang. Nice work.
Reply:It looks like you cut all the strength out of it.
Reply:Hey Eric N,Looks can be quite deceiving, can't they? The prototype was used for (3) seasons, (150) launches after a hard burnoff to heat the tires in each season. That's (450) hard launches at maximum torque & not one issue.....   strong enough? These cars range from 400-650HP & my bro's 406ci puts out 600HP. I think it passed the test.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I have done the same, using the same G-body crossmemeber.It did indeed crack at the corners, I went to a rounded notch using a section of 4 inch tubing.  That fixed the issue.Syncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:I still chuckle over the fact that a G Body crossmember to me is as recognizable as my own face in the mirror. Like n20junkie said, I would radius the corners of the notch.  It won't take up any exhaust real estate either because of the curve of the exhaust tube.
Reply:Nice Job! Proven performance can't be beat.Century Powermate 100 ( my first welder)Lincoln Precision TIG 185