Trans crossmember?

[FESCJ]

I am (still slowly) restoring a 69 Cobra hardtop clone. I bought from a 69 Cobra parts car what I believed to be the correct transmission crossmember..........I simply assumed it was since it was in the trunk. I am now virtually certain that it is a small block crossmember and obviously someone had a small block in this Cobra parts car at one time.

Could someone please show me a picture of the correct 66/69 big block FE/C6 crossmember? I cannot find a correct, or what I believe to be a correct picture. I have also heard that some of these crossmembers can be installed reverse and made to work?

Thanks much!

Brian N

[djburton]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254998762946?nma=true&si=vI8HHGiG%252F5Ii8owvz5TmhgGt%252FtI%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Sold but gives you an idea of what you are looking for.

[fairlaniac]

I am (still slowly) restoring a 69 Cobra hardtop clone. I bought from a 69 Cobra parts car what I believed to be the correct transmission crossmember..........I simply assumed it was since it was in the trunk. I am now virtually certain that it is a small block crossmember and obviously someone had a small block in this Cobra parts car at one time.

Could someone please show me a picture of the correct 66/69 big block FE/C6 crossmember? I cannot find a correct, or what I believe to be a correct picture. I have also heard that some of these crossmembers can be installed reverse and made to work?

Thanks much!

Brian N

1966-1969 FE crossmember auto or stick are the same. Seen here is the original from my '66Fairlane.

[Gaugster]

Here's some side by side for the Mustang/Cougar. Shamelessly copied from West Coast Classic Cougars page. Good to note the difference between OEM and reproduction.

What "Cobra" are you actually referring too? Torino, 'Stang etc...

[FESCJ]

I appreciate the responses! I am referring to a 69 Fairlane/Torino Cobra. It appears per the Ford MPC that all big block Fairlanes/Comets/Cyclones/Torino's used the same transmission crossmember for years 1966 to 1969. Part numbers change with 302 or 351 car. I really wish Ford had stamped these with an engineering number.

Thanks for everyones help!

Brian N

[FESCJ]

The picture that fairlaniac posted of his crossmember looks very close to the one I have. I appreciate the picture!


I suspect my best move is to wait and do the engine/trans install and see how things line up. I try to be proactive when I can.........sometimes it works, other times it does not. If I had one that I knew was specifically for a big block car, well, that would be great!

Again, thx much guys!

Brian N

[C8OZ]

Looks like you've got it covered, but here's another view. This was original in my '66 390/C6 and went right into a '68 FE/C6. (It also temporarily spent time under a 302/C4)

[FESCJ]

Thanks so much for all the pictures, really helps! My crossmember is a close match to both fairlaniac and C8OZ as pictured. The only difference is that mine doesn't have the four oval openings on the bottom, just the two for the insulator nuts. I also found another one in the attic that is very close but does not have the reinforcement plate on the bottom side with the oval holes. It seems that there were several iterations of this crossmember through it's production life, and I wouldn't be surprised by that.

I'm gonna go ahead and try what I have and see how it works.

Thanks again,
Brian N

[Falcon67]

FWIW - looks like my 67 Falcon small block car used the same crossmember as shown.  Would figure since it's pretty much identical to a Fairlane underneath.  I've had so many different combos in the car that I just fab up whatever crossmember I need at the time.  Now I'm wondering what pile the original is in LOL!

[Rory428]

I have never owned a 66-69 Fairlane /Torino/Cobra with a small block or C4, but my understanding is that there is a difference in the height of the trans mount between a 289/302, and the FE transmission crossmember. No idea how much of a difference, though, as all my 66-69 Fairlanes/Cobras have been 390 (66) or 428 (69s), with C6s or a Toploader 4 speed.

[GerryP]

I know Mustangs are different and I just want to point that out ahead.  Second generation Fairlanes ('66-'71 to include Falcons and such) do have two different mounts as has been pointed out.  The FE sits lower in the chassis relative to the crankshaft centerline and does have an auto/manual trans crossmember that is different from the smallblock/6cyl crossmember where the crank centerline is higher in the chassis.  It is only the engine type that defines what crossmember.  The transmission makes no difference.  Again, this is just for the Fairlane chassis.  It would have made more sense to just use a spacer on the crossmember for the difference, but there must have been a very strong reason for Ford to engineer two crossmembers.