The Official H-Body Internet Community

my jegs ladderbar crossmember has a u shaped bend in the tube this causes the crossmember to hang way to low i only have about 4inches of clearance cant get in driveways over big speedbumps ect. my exhuast also goes though this bend . i need to clearance it . can i cut alittle more then half of the 2inch tube and weld on a 1/4 inch plate and retain the regittity of the cross member ? it would give me an extra inch or so or do i need to redo it and move the pipes and everything...george

cant you cut it on the ends and rotate it a little?

now thats a thinking man(427) art

the brackets that support the the front of the ladder bars are welded to it. the only way would be to cut it were it bends and try to rotate it but like i said my exhaust pipes go though the inside of the bend not sure if id get enough movement to make a difference i'm thinking i screwed up and need to cut it all out and put in a straight crossmember and reweld my exhaust around it. i was just hoping there was an easier way and i'm worried about cutting the thing in the first place after cutting and rewelding in the middle if it will be strong enough to take trans brake launches ( the car was up in the air and i didnt think it was that close to the groung when we put it in)......george

if you cut the bar do it in board of the ladder bar mounts, find a piece of tubing the same thickness as the bar but that is big enough to slide over it and sleeve the cuts welding the sleeve to the original bar also weld the original cut and grind it down smooth before you sleeve it. once its all welded back together and repainted no one is going to notice its ever been done, if they are that far under the car to notice you either ran em over and theyre dead anyway or theyre trying to steal something and its time for some rock salt and a shotgun! happy easter!

the simplest fix would be to simply raise up the ride height of the car.....

2nd fix would be to cut the crossmember inside the ladder br mounts/brackets just where the 2nd bend begins on each side.Notch the tubing to install a straight pecie of tubing just under your exhaust pipes, youd need to fish mouth the original crossmember 1 3/4" tubing then lay the new flat peice of 1 3/4" tubing in the notchs and weld, then cap the ends and it will be plenty strong still but will gain you a couple inchs more ground clearnace. i drew a crude pic in paint on your picture to give you the idea.

good idears guys ...the first one sounds like the strongest opinion but requires moving the exhaust, the other one however looks and sounds great i think ill try it because i wont have to move the pipes. there are so few ways to route them and i like the way they are...thank again ..george

Well i tryed cuttin the crossmember and rewelding a striaght piece in it wasnt strong enough so i had to remove it and reweld a straight corossmember in with extra suport add to the fram stiffeners ..heres some pics