04-02-2018, 08:51 PM
Well, to do it properly, yes, you do need to take the chassis apart and refit the cross members afterwards, and you need to be really careful that the welding doesn't distort things. I'd consider bolting or riveting But, if you look at what bends in a chassis it's not the side members. What happens is the whole thing twists because the cross members aren't all that rigidly fitted to the sides. Boxing the cross members and tying them properly to the side members will have far more effect. Then you need somehow to stiffen the nosepiece. As far as drilling holes is concerned, don't. It's the wrong thing to do. The bending load is carried in the top and bottom rather than the sides - it's there you'd want to drill holes, if at all.