2000 Spider cross member

[spidernut]

I purchased this 'refurbished' cross member from a very reputable vendor. There's a plate on the 'refurbished' one that is different than on my original as shown. As a result, the holes do not align and it won't fit between the frame rails.

The vendor, who has a very positive reputation, said this plate is original on some Spiders due to variations in suppliers from Pininfarina. Looking at the lack of quality of the weld and alignment of the holes, I'm having a hard time buying it.

So, I'm following Ronald Reagan's advice: Trust but verify. Anyone have this plate on your cross member? It is on the passenger side of the car.

[So Cal Mark]

I've never seen one like that before

[narfire]

I have several floating about the shop. I'll take a look/photo tomorow. It looks like an aftermarket weld on the plate. When I took the cross member off a parts car last week,it fit snug up to that lower junction,If a plate was in there the holes as you mention would not fit. This was off a 81. I have a 72 on the bench and will take a look.

[manoa matt]

What is wrong with your original cross member? FYI most if not all of the original metal pieces on the cars are thicker and better quality than the after-market pieces. Especially the control arms, hoods, rear suspension rods, and apparently the crossmember too. I've herd similar stories about after-market crossmembers.

Clean it up and strengthen it with additional welding at the seams. Those crossmembers are not cheap, and for the price you pay and the job that the part is supposed to, it better be a quality piece.

[spidernut]

What is wrong with your original cross member?

The original had three cracks around the bolt that holds the lower A arm to the cross member. There was also a crack on the opposite side near the motor mount. Also, the nut that is welded to the cross member where it bolts horizontally to the frame was broken off on the passenger side of the car. The cracks in the lower member were REALLY bad and I was extremely fortunate to have found them when I did. I'm sure that it would have snapped when I hit the next bump in the road. There was less than 1/4 inch of metal left holding the pivot pin to the front side of the cross member. It was a major accident waiting to happen. The metal around the head end of the lower A arm bolt was completely snapped through on both sides of the bolt. There was nothing holding it together.

For the second time, I attempted to fit the "refurbished" cross member to my car. Just as before, the plate made it impossible to fit between the frame. It was exactly 1/4 inch too wide which was the exact thickness of the metal plate.

I got ticked off about it and decided to cut the *#$&*& plate off. Upon grinding off the welds, it was blatantly obvious to me that it was added at a later date by someone. There was absolutely no reason for that plate to be there.

I bought the refurbished cross member from Vick's Auto Sports. Jerry Phillips was extremely responsive to my multitude of inquiries and dialoged with me throughout the process. Unfortunately, I was going to have to pay the $42 to send it back to him for a refund or replacement. That would have brought the non-refundable shipping costs to about $60, but he gladly offered to replace it less the cost of shipping. He remained convinced that the plate metal that was welded on was from the factory. I still beg to differ.

With the plate cut off, the cross member fit perfectly and bolted right in with no problems. The car is back together excluding the shock absorbers which needed to be replaced since they were the original ones that came on the car in 1979....a bit stiff to say the least.

I'm really glad to have it back together. Hopefully, I can get the shocks shipped quickly. We're expected to have 70 degree weather this week! Of course, I still will need to get the car realigned before driving it any distance.

[htchevyii]

I think that my '82 has a plate or plates similar to the one shown, I'll check tomorrow.

[htchevyii]

Here's a pic, you can see the plate pretty good on the pass. side.

[spidernut]

Looking at the photo of the frame in your 81 Spider, there's an indention in the frame itself that isn't present on my '79 2 liter. Anyone have a picture of a 79-80 carb'd frame? I'd like to see if other carb'd frames are the same as mine without the indentation and without the metal plate or if mine is a fluke.

[manoa matt]

My 78 does not have the indentation and I know 76's do not either. I can get a picture of a carbed 79 tomorrow from a co-worker.

[narfire]

Took a couple of pics today... weird

72 cross member....no extra plate(s)



81 X member....extra plate on pass side (thats sawdust,going to gunk & press. wash)

[wachuko]

Sergio, what year is your car??

I took a few photos of the cross member I removed from the 83 parts car. Plate is there:

[00sportsman]

Don't know if it will make you feel better or not, but when I bought my 79 it was hanging from chains in a barn. I had to assemble the front end from pieces (which were all there and almost all new) and ran into exactly the same problem you did. After messing around with the cross member for a couple of days trying to figure out why it wouldn't fit, I ended up cutting the plate out of that spot and bolting the thing in place without it. It seems to be fine and I've been running it for several years without any sign of an issue.

It does make me wonder if the cross member I have came from the same source as yours and if it could be intended for the later year cars that appear to have that indentation in the frame.

Either way, I always end up wondering if I'm the only one who can't figure these things out and I appreciate the fact that I'm not.

[Snoopy]

I know there are different crossmembers for different years. I think there are changes with the 2000 engine. But not sure... your engine is an 2000 engine... other engine inside before ? confusion

[katsi]

Obviously, you guys have uncovered yet one more difference in an otherwise identical vehicle. I think the suppliers need to be made aware of this slight varriation in parts. I for one am going to go home and check mine just to see if I have the 1/4 " indention in the frame or not. My car is a tweener 78/79 so it just might be an interesting one to check. Afterall, it was the electronic ignition version that still had a points dizzy.

Actually, I have to say good Job to everyone involved here. This discovery will no doubt help end any confusion in the future. Unfortunatly, the frustration of trying to fit a part that is supposed to fit and doesn't was something that could not be avoided in the discovery of this slight, yet important, varriation in parts. So, thanks for sharring. Now we know!