Cutting the crossmember to change the cam

[JimGnitecki]

My friend Randy has just completed a fairly extensive set of mods on an SSR belonging to one of our Fanatics, and he had a lot to say about cutting the body crossmember to facilitate changing the camshaft.

A number of Fanatics have used thiis method when changing the camshaft, It enables you to extract and replace the camshaft without undoing the engine mounts to rock the engine back and upward to clear the crossmember.

Randy is a professional fulltime mechanic, hotrod builder, and restorer. He advises against it.

He considered doing this on the Fanatic's SSR, based on what I told him others have done, but rejected the idea firmly after actually examining that crossmember, and seeing the loads it carries under (a) normal and (b) collision conditions. He feels it is a big mistake to weaken that member by cutting a semicircle out of it.

He tells me that if someone is bound and determined to do it, he would advise making the cut with a VERY fine tool that minimizes the kerf and the raggedness of the cut, and then re-welding the cut out section back in, and then refinishing.
of course, that may well be more work than simply tilting the engine.

Just passing on an opinion from a man whose work I greatly admire for its completeness, dependability, and clean outcomes.

Jim G

[chopper]

The guy that will do my cam, etc... said pretty much the same thing about the weakening of the support area. Said it was no big deal to pull the engine. Torque con. will be done at the same time. Thanks...TOM

[abadssr]

at my work we had the same problem so we weled a large circular piece of metal to the area then cut out the centeer frame work is still strong