REMOVABLE CROSS MEMBER: HOW, WHY, HOW MUCH?
OK, so a lot of guys on this BB are wealthy. And a lot of guys on this BB are very handy in the garage. But there's quite a few of us that are in between and have a certain skill level and wallet thickness. Thus, I offer technical advice, I learned by asking the learned pros with the right skill levels.
How?
You can have anybody from a welder to a mechanic to a body man get his cutting wheel (air drive or electric) and cut out the welded in cross member under the oil pan. This cutting wheel will likely be used in his discretion in conjunction with an air chisel. He'll manage to get the cross member removed without the need for any cutting torches, sparks, flames, or other hazards which means you can leave your engine in your Pantera, risk free, while the 1st step is accomplished to installing a removable cross member.
Why?
Maybe you have an oil leak (common in all 30+ year old cars) and want to change the oil pan gasket. Maybe you are ready to install a 10 quart oil pan, so you can do some hard cornering on the race track without worrying about oil getting to your engine while centrifugal forces force it up the sides of your oil pan, and away from the pick up tube.
How Much?
Well, if we had the skills set and tools, close to nothing in cost. I'd say, you'll pay the guy with the tools and experience about $50+/-, and he'll be happy.
He can even probably flange your old cross member and install it, if he's ever seen one before, or is a very clever guy, for some additional $$. But you'd probably be doing him and yourself a favor if you have a flanged cross member handy for him to install. They are $59 at Hall Pantera, and I think that's reasonable, and a good deal. Let them engineer some profit into their product, worthwhile for all of us. Their item number is Group 8, Number 34. (562) 531-2629. And when I've ordered from them in the past, the items arrived before I expected them to. That's nice.
What's Up?
Why didn't somebody tell all of us how easy this was to get done before? I don't know, but I'm happy to provide good info that'll help those of us who want to know.
Return on Investment? (Financial Analysis):
In 40 years, it'll pay for itself in quarts of oil not spilled on the garage floor. Or much sooner than that, if we didn't do it, and lost the oil pick-up in the oil pan while over-cooking it and drawing air though the screen during some hard cornering. Or, even better, now you can take the pan off (for about $130 including all the above and a new gasket) and see if there are any broken plasic parts from the umbrella valve seals about to clog the oil pick-up, or worse yet, metal parts.
The Challenge and Invitation:
That's next on my project list, for the above mentioned reasons. And I think it'll be fun and I think I'll learn a little more about the Beast in the process, as well as make a few buddies. Good enough reasoning? Now the challenge/invitation: Why not offer up a good tip for us all to enjoy! That's why we're here, doing this: to learn from each other and enjoy our projects and each others' projects. The reason we are here has nothing to do with trying to out do each other or prove something to some one we'll likely never see. Let's have some technical advice from the average guys with the devotion to Panteras going back forever....
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