Those raised radiator pads are on all the Model A front crossmembers, and is not indicative of year of the chassis / crossmember. I would say though unless its been trimmed, that the later crossmembers would not have the motor mounting tabs on them as they used a Y mount that mounted through a hole in the center of the "pit" of the crossmember from '29 onwards. My late '27 AR chassis has the same radiator pads..
Thought '30-'31 had "recessed" pads like in the OP's picture; while '28-'29 had "raised" pads like in this picture. Is this correct?
I'm pretty sure you are right Rich B, although I can never remember which way is the right way 'round. They are different though, from '28-'29 and '30-'31. I didn't know about that until just a couple of years ago when I was helping a friend figure out why he couldn't get his hood the align on a '30 coupe, and figured out the front cross member had been changed at some point.
Easy way to remember is, You can use a 30-31 frame for a 28-29 by spacing the rad up but you can't use a 30-31 frame for a 28-29 because you can't get the rad down low enough. PS this applies to car running hood. Canuck
There are quite a few variations to the A crossmembers, including the early varieties with tall rear flange for solid mounted engine. Most 28 crossmembers were still of this style. From late 28 thru most of 29, the next style crossmember was used, which had the rear flange shortened to eliminate the solid engine mount holes. The radiator mounting area was still raised. I have a late 29 frame that was still factory riveted together when I got it that had radiator mounts slightly lower than 28-9 units, but not as low as typical 30-31 crossmembers. It also has the large radiator overflow tube hole on the left side that was supposed to have not been added until January of 1930. I'm sure that's way more info than you were looking for, and since this isn't a restoration site and guys are usually quick to point that out, I won't go into further detail, but at a glance, if the overflow tube hole is there(which it is on yours) it is likely a 30--31 crossmember, which yours is based also on the radiator pads that are lower than edges of front crossmember that are against the bottom of the frame rails.
Coonpiss Hello I am south of You between Morocco and Brook right off U. S. 41 Have a 31 A I will be starting on come spring. Give me a shout [email protected] or 2198194604 Merry Christmas Don
Rich is right. '28-'29 have raised pads due to the shorter radiator/grill shell. '30-'31 have pad recesses due to the longer radiator grill shell. You can use a '30-31 frame on a '28-'29 by adding shims under the radiator mounting pads when runnin a full hood. You can't use a '28-'29 frame for a '30-'31 due to the raised pads when running a full hood, ok to use for hoodless/fenderless.
After reading some of the other replies, I looked at a couple more crossmembers in the pile and found another version of a '28-'29 in which that pads are level with the outer edge and not raised as on the one in the picture I posted. Working on a "A" right now with an aftermarket crossmember and the radiator pads on it measure a little lower that the original '30-'31 we cut out. Makes me think you need to figure out the shims to best suit your car.
That's how the one I mentioned above in a late 29 frame I have is. It also has the hole for the radiator overflow, does yours?
There is an original oddity...early 1930 trucks. Ford built 1929 body style pickups into early 1930, and of course the available chassis were 1930 so the factory installed shims on the pickup radiator pads...someone on the Ford barn restored a fairly original one of these, and found 2 steel shims on each side. From memory, I think total was 1/4". Obviously the correct shim package is whatever lines up your hood... Ford used the latest design frames (there were several versions) as the parts counter replacement, so '30-31 frames have the several extra holes to allow them to be used on both early and late bodies.
Generally speaking, 28-29 cross members have a round hole for radiator mounting; 30-31's have a slotted hole to allow retrofitting.
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