boushkaa

I personally haven't removed any cross member under engine, if there is supposed to be one then it was removed by a previous owner. Same goes for the torsion bars as they must have been removed by a previous owner. What would you suggest in terms of strengthening the frame/chassis? I suppose I could use a hole saw and cut a larger hole for the new crossmember mount and then weld a solid piece of steel into the frame section to have additional support and strength

Thanks man, I am not sure about the mini truck scene here. I have a good amount of experience in the usual jdm/euro/domestic areas but this is a new one to me. That's something I am a bit concerned about as well. I will be checking the bolts pretty often for the first few weeks of road testing. I did use lock washers to try and make them as secure as I could. If those don't work I am fairly sure nordlock washers would secure them.

Quick update Finally got everything squared away and the new removable crossmember is installed. Seems to be pretty strong and fits nicely. I did have to make a spacer to get extra height from the crossmember to the actual mount on the trans but It came out exactly like I wanted. Already pulled the trans this evening and am fixing a few clutch issues I encountered. Thanks everyone for their input. I might have to start a build thread eventually.

Well the previous owner seems to have set things up properly. I am unfamiliar with how these trucks came stock, but everything seems to work. Hope to get a proper road test sometime next week after I get the car running and tuned. The previous owner had also replaced the bench seat with some old recaro seats, but I have since removed them and replaced them with a set of Corbeau seats I had laying around the shop for another project. The shifter actually sits pretty close to the stock location. I did have to cut the trans tunnel a bit but I have already found a trans tunnel patch panel so I will be welding that in soon. Interior will be dealt with once I get all the mechanical stuff finished up. I wish all it took was the angle grinder, I had to break out the plasma cutter to deal with the crossmember. Just got it cut out but am calling it a night. Will be grinding the leftover welds and little parts I missed tomorrow and then getting the new crossmember secured. Will update with a few pictures once I get the new one in.

I don't have the full mod list on hand but it has been converted to coilovers in the front. I bought the truck with the conversion already done. The only thing the truck was missing was the motor and trans which is why I decided to swap in the SR20.

I think I have found a solution that will work. I luckily live about 10 minutes away from a Summit Racing store/warehouse so I was able to go in and look at a few options. I ended up finding this universal crossmember that should work for exactly what I want and be supportive of the rest of the frame. https://www.summitracing.com/tx/parts/awr-xfun10001s/overview/make/tesla/model/x It seems to fit well seeing as it is adjustable and seems fairly strong. The current plan is to cut the old one out and then replace it with this one and have it bolted to the frame rails using the supplied brackets. Here is just a rough mockup with them next to each other.

I actually got the truck as a roller so this seemed like the best way to move forward. Either way the SR and trans is already in the truck, just I now have to pull the trans one more time to fix an issue with the throwout bearing. So instead of having to pull the motor for a third time I plan to just make the crossmember removable and drop the trans like any other car Ok great, was hoping to hear that it has been done before. Do you happen to know of any threads or links to how they modified it? Just worried my bracket idea may not be the strongest option

Hey everyone, glad to have found the forum and have found lots of useful information so far. Currently in the middle of an SR20 swap into my 521 that I picked up a few weeks ago. I did have a few questions regarding the frame as I want to modify part of it. I have found it to be a huge pain to deal with the frame crossmember that the trans mount bolts to. I know on other of my cars I am able to detach this crossmember making it much easier to pull the transmission. Has anyone modified their crossmember to make it removable? My initial plan was to measure and make brackets that I would weld onto the crossmember and have it bolt back to the frame using these brackets. Would this harm the cars handling or integrity? Seeing as I am swapping in the SR20 I think I need as much frame strength as I can get. I am new to the 521 platform so forgive me if any of my questions are stupid Heres a quick pic from when I bought it for anyone interested