Replacement crossmember (long post)

[camron at worldaccessnet.com (Camron D. Crouse)]

So a few weeks ago I finally get around to checking my front crossmember 
for cracks.... ho boy its *bad* -  the tissue around the motor mount 
socket is nearly cracked all around, a mangled punch-through, with some 
additional cracks father away as well.  The mount itself, is toast, as 
well. So I immediately place an order for an A1 crossmember brace, from 
Eric S Scirocco81... okay, three weeks to delivery, so I start thinking 
about my options, and order some other tune-up items while I'm waiting.  
Well my brace is nearly here, so yesterday I went around to a couple 
alignment/underbody and frame shops in town for some repair estimates.  
Had a hard time getting actual $ quotes, so am also taking into account 
shops' hourly rate $.  (was showing photos from Eric's references 
instead of my actual car)

One full-service frame shop I visited said that welding the crossmember 
back together wasn't really the best option, and that I should
A) have the section replaced with a custom made crossmember, or
B) order a "new" factory crossmember from VW and have it installed. 
(presumably with the crossmember installed afterwards)

WTF??  Order a new crossmember from VW?  Isn't that whole section of the 
car like one welded-together piece?  Well, sort of, the tech said, but 
that that they have done something similar with various cars (they are a 
frame shop, after all).  The tech told me to come back later in the day 
to talk to the owner, who was away from the shop for a couple hours, and 
that he would have a better idea of how to proceed, and what it might 
cost. 

I was unable to come back later, but out of curiosity I did stop by the 
VW dealership parts shop to find out about this crossmember replacement 
hoo-haw.  Well, lo and behold, the crossmember component IS a part 
offered by VW, which surprised me, as well as the parts guys looking it 
up.  (I showed them a picture of the custom brace, and they were 
impressed, and thought it was a great idea... actually it got positive 
comments from the repair shops I visited as well.)
"$734.51," he says. Holy smoke, I knew this crossmember would not be 
cheap if indeed available, but that is just completely out of  my 
budget. "Okay, let me see here, " the guy on the computer says, and 
after a moment fiddling with some items onscreen, "how about $586.61? 
It'll take about 14 days , Our warehouse doesn't have any in stock"
What's this, I can negotiate my price on VW dealership parts???  That's 
a first for me.

Pondering the surprising fact that it is a replaceable part, but still 
reeling from the price, I told the guys I'd have to pass, at least for 
now.  One of them said "Although your welds will end up stronger than 
the surrounding metal if you repair what you have, I'd go with a new 
piece if it were my car." Although friendly and otherwise knowledgeable, 
they didn't really seem to know much about this being a common problem 
with our Sciroccos.  I never got the impression they were just trying to 
get my money, I merely  think they were trying to offer good advice...

So after some thought I'm still leaning towards my first plan: welding 
up the existing crossmember, having the crossmember brace installed, and 
new motor mount put into place.  Welds are strong, right ? ;)

Replacing with a stock crossmember, aside from the expense of the new 
piece itself,  presents the additional problem and expense of  ( I would 
presume) engine removal and replacement for a complex and lengthy stock 
crossmember installation, (no doubt the factory new crossmember will be 
just as brittle and susceptible to cracking  as the the one in my car 
now - why spend ~$500 on another piece of junk?)

A custom made crossmember would be pretty cool,  but again, likely out 
of my price range.  (Seems I read in the Archives someone had this done 
and was pretty happy with the result.)  Besides, it would render the 
$129 I spent on the custom brace somewhat moot, eh?

Another thing - this Scirocco has been wrecked, and though I've spent 
quite a bit of money and energy on repairing the car back to its former 
glory, I have a have a hard time justifying  spending more than I have 
to on a car whose frame was at one time compromised.  I have been known 
to replace worn-out stock items with aftermarket upgrades, but hesitate 
to upgrade just for the sake of it for this reason.

If you've made it this far, hey thanks, I appreciate any input or opinions!

- Camron from Vancouver, WA USA
   '86.5 Black 16V 2.0L