You just spent months priming, sanding, and painting your frame. Now comes the hard part-reassembling it without chipping away all of your hard work. Unfortunately that is all but impossible using the stock-style U-bolts to mount the front spring. Well, hopefully you're reading this before you've sprayed the final color. Welder Series has a kit that eliminates the U-bolts for '28-34 Ford front crossmembers with a transverse spring. There are no U-bolts, and only about 10 inches of welding.
Tabs are welded to the front crossmember, which hold the spring in place. These tabs can be left flat or made stronger by bending the ends using a vise and an adjustable wrench to make the bend. Repro front springs usually have fewer leaves than the original, making them thinner. The clamp plate spacer gets welded to the baseplate to make up the extra thickness so the clamping action is on the spring leaf, not on the crossmember.
The Welder Series kit comes...
The Welder Series kit comes with all the hardware and a spring spacer plate just in case your spring sits a little bit above the bottom of the crossmember.
I started by removing the...
I started by removing the clamp plate and U-bolts. Depending on your spring (multileaf or monoleaf), you may need to weld the included spacer plate to the main plate before you begin.
I bolted the crossmember tabs...
I bolted the crossmember tabs to the main plate so it was easier to tack.
I double-checked that the...
I double-checked that the nut was on the center bolt, and inserted bolts through the tabs so the holes lined up before I tack-welded it.