Please help, torsion bar x-member measurements

[morrow_jacob]

So my 1968 charger came with a hacked up torsion bar crossmember. There was no hump in the middle for which to measure. I got the crossmember braced up and pulled it out (learned its damn hard to pull it without destroying the surrounding thinner metal which its attached to)

When I first bought the car I got excited and bought a Goodmark crossmember, and now that I can set it in place I've noticed it has a decent amount of side to side play between the inner rockers, about a 1/4'' worth, more if I work the tabs to lay flat against the rockers.

I was wondering if anybody has some good measurements I could use to center this thing properly? Such as measuring lip to lip on the doors and measuring the up and down of the hump part maybe?

Anybody think I should take the loss and get an AMD part? Its not a concourse build and I was considering since I boogered up a little of the inner rockers I could put weld a plate on each side for strength. It wont be seen and I'll make it look nice.

Thanks for the help!

 

[TDawg]

I had the same problem with my crossmember that I got from AMD... I ended up welding 1/4" plates on both rockers to take up the space. It worked out, and doesn't look that bad. I wouldn't toss yours, it'll work !! Good luck with your build!

 

[morrow_jacob]

Thanks TDawg, that makes me feel tons better. I didnt want to drop ~400 on a part at the moment. What did you do to ensure it was center?

The axles are 2.36" offset, I was considering putting it as close to that using several point on the rockers as guides, what do you think? Or am I going overboard about the centering?

Thanks again.

 

[66Satellite47]

Not sure, but can't you X measure the torsion bar mounts front(control arms) & rear on the cross member?

 

[TDawg]

The 1/4" plates that I welded in centered the crossmember. Also the tabs on the top were an indication of where it sat. Once I put the floor pan in, everything was good. Don't worry about the axles being offset....
The center of the crossmember should line up with the center of the floor pan.. maybe stretch some string down the centerline of the pan from the firewall to the driveshaft tunnel to be sure.

 

[Go Fly]

Just replaced rockers on both sides. A lot of work by the way!! Started to install a new AMD crossmember and have a 3/16 gap on both sides to get the tabs to 90 degree angle to the crossmember. I know the rockers are good as the door gaps are perfect.

Any suggestions on what to do at this point. Did I screw up the rocker install or is this typical?

 

[flypaper]

when you are dealing with repo parts it is very typical
for them to be off like that.
one thing i learned is the installer is the least of problems.
when i run into problems like this it ends up
i try to compare it to another car then put it in the best place you can.
there are tolerances up to 1/8 of a inch in the measurements.
you can also find a frame chart for your car and measure off that if you have to.