Reinforcing the Rear Cross Member

On to the next stage.....

 

I brought a cheap Britpart cross member which I have decided to beef up a little. Firstly I sanded down all areas to be welded.

 

Then re-welded some of the welding and replaced tac welding with complete welds. I also welded up some of the redundant holes.

 

I also welded plates on to the end to stop mud from becoming trapped inside.

Throughout the welding of the cross member I started to think about what needs to be attached to it so I can better plan the welding. There will be two items attached to it - the rear steps and quick detach tow bar. I placed the order for the steps and will weld in crush tubes through the cross member to support these.

 

I started thinking about the QD tow bar and decided I would make my own built into the cross member itself - cheaper and neater.

Firstly I measured up the location for the QD tow bar.

 

 

 

I then cut it out with the plasma cutter

 

 

 

The slot for the QD to bar will me made out of 60x60mm 4mm box steel.

 

 

 

I then welded on a strip of 3mm thick steel sheet to the end to give a profile, which should help strengthen the end.

 

 

 

This is then welded into the cross member.

 

 

 

then I cut some 8mm plate to fit around the box section and welded into place.

 

 

 

8mm plate was then welded onto the back. both of these should provide enough strength.

 

 

 

I then started sealing and strengthening the cross member. Two plates were cut to weld onto the back to stop the ingress and trapping of mud.

 

 

 

These were welded into place.

 

 

 

That's all for this weekend, I have a couple more plates to weld onto the back before I weld the cross member onto the chassis.