I have a 85 truck and the front crosmember is bent in a little bit. The front sheetmetal part is kind of puffed out and the back part is only slightly bent.
Has anyone replaced this crossmember with a square tube or similar. Does anyone know if a standard size tubing will work? Is it necessary to make a temporary crossmember to keep everything in alignment?
I have thought about using FRORF's frame brace, but i am not sure if it would really work because i would still have to fill the gap behind the plate and would be a bit of a hack job in my opinion. Although once done if it looks okay, I'll probably never think about it again

Thanks
Ryan

picture would help

if you are talking about what i think your talking about, trailer hitch stock works nicely. cut to fit, weld it in. will be strong enough to use as a recovery point too.

Somink like dis?

Front


Rear


Yes, I would weld in a temp crossmember before cutting.

That first picture is kind of what i had thought, except not as big.
The idea of using trailer hitch stock is what i had in mind. Is it the inside or outside part that fits?

Mine are 3x5 1/4 wall. It fit pretty well, not too much trimming. I had a friend machine the receivers, I pressed them in and welded them.