Project Downward Spiral

[Justin]

Looks good!

[phyler]

Well, after a month plus of no working on the Bronco due to installing hardwood floors including all new trim in the house plus working a demanding job during the day, it's time to get back after it. The wife agreed and got me all of the drivers side metal I need for Christmas. Guess she wants to see it back on the road sooner than later too! Time to get welding.

[phyler]

Got after things a bit today. I had gotten the passenger side fitted and screwed in back at the end of October and then I took on the task of installing all new hardwoods in our house. Finally got around to welding it in. Definitely getting better with the welder though my welds can still be a load better. Spot welding went well and it only took a few minutes with the flap disk in order to get everything smooth. I have a few spot welds up by the heater that I think I might need to remove the heater in order to grind them smooth. I also patched a few spots in the back corner where the tunnel and the vertical piece meet. I had gotten a little too aggressive with the grinder and left a little gash there. Will need to break out the die grinder to smooth out the welds in that corner.

Couple of other notes, I got a Snap-on LED shop light for Christmas and it is awesome. My wife thinks she saw them at Costco for $30. It is $45 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJOCDJO/ref ... HLEXCHU9YN.

I also got a Miller respirator that blocks odor (charcoal filter) and it is fantastic. I don't smell the welding fumes and no more coughing up black crap.

Anyways, here are some pics of today's work.

[Justin]

Looking good! Where did you get your respirator? I've been wanting something like that

[phyler]

Got it from cyberweld. It is the higher end one of the two they sell. For $30, I can't see how you can go wrong. Definitely worth it.

[mickphatmac]

Floors are turning out Very Nice!
I like the little spot welds and the way they look, I wouldn't bother with the ones by the heater box, you'll never see them.
You're going to have people lining up for your help and expertise this spring!!!

[phyler]

Took off the drivers side door today. Only snapped two bolts on the lower hinge. Tried to get the fender off but have one of the bolts that holds the grill on spinning. Also the top screw that holds the fender to the door post is seized. Was hoping to get that one out nicely in case I decide to just section the lower half of the post.

One good thing, I took all my measurements and they are dead on to the graphic that was posted earlier.

I'll figure out how to get the front clip off tomorrow and then post pictures. I'm sure I'll find a lot stuff to replace then what I've purchased already.

[phyler]

Got more done today. Got the stubborn screws that hold the fender to the door post off by welding a nut to them. They backed out easily after the heat from the weld. Ended up taking off the entire front-clip and the passenger side door due to the top bolts that hold the grill to the fender. The clips snapped and the bolt was just spinning. Even after removing the front clip, I ended up having to take a sawzall to the bolt to get the pieces apart.

Once that was done, I started bracing everything. Thanks to D&D72 for hooking me up with some steel tube. I got everything tacked in and can shake the truck with it now.



As was expected (this is a downward spiral after all), I found some more rust spots to take care of. The drivers side cowl will need to be patched. I can see through it to the inside of the cab. Surprisingly, the cowl is in good shape except for the 6 or so inches on the drivers side where it meets the fender.




When I was much younger, I had put the fan through the radiator while driving through some water. It had collapsed the inner fenders where the meet the kick panel. I had a shop pull it straight and they welded in some patch panels but didn't really fix the issue. Well, the time has come to fix that issue as well. I'm hoping I can just fab up my own patches for this work and not have to buy entire inner fenders.






On the front part of the drivers side inner fender, there is giant spot where the brace is at. I'm not sure if I can fix that or if I will need to just break down and buy that inner fender.



I'm curious about my grill. On the passenger side there is a good dent but no crease. Any chance this can be hammered out? I also have a dent (no crease) on my drivers side fender. The fender rusted out where the marker lamp was/goes but it looks like good metal is not that far away. I am thinking I might try to patch that. I figure the worse case is I'm buying a new fender. :)





I took a ton of pictures today. I'm also keeping things up in a Google photo album. You can go here to see all the pictures from the project: https://goo.gl/photos/xPo2EAGjYh8DkjDu7

Thanks for tagging along.

[Gunnibronco]

Looks like good progress.

I'd fix the grill for sure. The new grills don't seem to fit well and end up taking a lot of work to look good. So its worth doing the body work to use a factory grill.

The left fender needs a lot of work, and might be worth buying new/used. If you want to practice, go for it! Like you said, at worst you'll have to buy a fender.

Your posts and inner fenders need some work. If the core support is ok, then it might be worth patching the rust. Its simple to make patches & not really visible.

What is up with the back end of the truck? The left side of the bumper/frame is way out of whack to the body.

[phyler]

Looks like good progress.

I'd fix the grill for sure. The new grills don't seem to fit well and end up taking a lot of work to look good. So its worth doing the body work to use a factory grill.

The left fender needs a lot of work, and might be worth buying new/used. If you want to practice, go for it! Like you said, at worst you'll have to buy a fender.

Your posts and inner fenders need some work. If the core support is ok, then it might be worth patching the rust. Its simple to make patches & not really visible.

What is up with the back end of the truck? The left side of the bumper/frame is way out of whack to the body.

If you were looking at the gallery of photos, I took a photo about half-way through the body lift process. I am guessing that is the one you saw. It looks ridiculous which is why I took the picture. :)

The core support is ok. The door posts are shot and will be replaced. I have the sheet metal for the drivers side. I need to pick up another spot weld cutter from HF tomorrow (I'll probably buy 2 or 3) as I busted a few of the teeth on my current bit. I'm working on getting the outer rocker off first then will work my way through the layers.

I'm debating on buying a seam splitter tool like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Steck-Manufacturi ... R2QAC5DEQB. Any thoughts? I am thinking it might be helpful trying to get this rust bucket apart. I am currently just splitting things apart with an old chisel and a screw driver after drilling through with the spot weld cutter.

I'm sure I will have plenty of questions when I finally get to the body work on the grill.

Thanks again for the feed back!

[Gunnibronco]

Glad to hear the pic was mid body lift.

I use that exact Steck tool A LOT. Grab one, and you'll get your money's worth.

[kbank6]

Since moving my project has stopped but I bought the tool you've posted and the 90 degree one. Those are some of the most useful tools I've ever bought for doing body repair.

[phyler]

Thanks for the good reviews. I pulled the trigger on it last night. Prime has been a blessing and a curse. Should have it Wednesday.

[landshark]

I cut out that front corner on the drivers side and patched it. I used one piece to replace as its a sandwich of metal up there hence the rust. The biggest issue is the two bends but using cardboard to mock up what you need makes it easier to make.

I also replaced part of the drivers side cowl and part of the inner kick panel. Almost looks exactly what you have now. I am not doing a restore right now so patched the kick panel and spot welded the patch so I can replace later. The inner fender and cowl I made more permanent repairs as I will hopefully not be revisiting those.

I literally drew a line across the kick panel as my stopping point as once the kick panels come out so does the dash. Then floors then Who knows after that.

For you it might make more sense to pick up kick panels. I think there were some for sale in the classifieds section here on Ccb.

Just depends how far down the rabbit hole you are going [emoji851]

I don't have super great photos but here's my build thread.

Landshark's 72 Build viewtopic.php?t=7687

[phyler]

I cut out that front corner on the drivers side and patched it. I used one piece to replace as its a sandwich of metal up there hence the rust. The biggest issue is the two bends but using cardboard to mock up what you need makes it easier to make.

I also replaced part of the drivers side cowl and part of the inner kick panel. Almost looks exactly what you have now. I am not doing a restore right now so patched the kick panel and spot welded the patch so I can replace later. The inner fender and cowl I made more permanent repairs as I will hopefully not be revisiting those.

I literally drew a line across the kick panel as my stopping point as once the kick panels come out so does the dash. Then floors then Who knows after that.

For you it might make more sense to pick up kick panels. I think there were some for sale in the classifieds section here on Ccb.

Just depends how far down the rabbit hole you are going [emoji851]

I don't have super great photos but here's my build thread.

Landshark's 72 Build viewtopic.php?t=7687

I missed that you did the front corner. I knew you did the cowl and was hoping to chat with you about it.

I am replacing the kick panel, door post, and the inner/outer rockers for sure. I got all of that for the drivers side for Christmas. I can see where this is going and am just going forward. Going to try and keep it to the front half of the Bronco though.

Maybe I can coordinate with you so I can see what you did on yours when I pick up the clutch rod.

[landshark]

I don't know if I took any pics. It's not perfect but good enough as its hidden and won't really be seen.

I had to cut both layers off of the cowl i.e. Top and bottom I rebuilt the c channel that was there then put a new top layer on.

Sure happy to show you what I did.

[phyler]

Have to say sorry to Eck that I couldn't come help with his Dana 20 rebuild but hopefully this progress report makes up for it. :)

Got most of the drivers side ripped apart. Got the old kick panel, door post, and inner/outer rocker off. Found a few areas where the rust was slightly worse than I was anticipating but at this point, nothing will surprise me. Also, that seam ripper tool is worth every penny. I would not have gotten as far as I did if I hadn't bought it. Kinda wish I had bought the right angle one too but I got through everything with the straight.



I really wish I had an exploded diagram of how everything is supposed to go together. Most of the joints were so rusted you couldn't tell where the individual pieces start and stop. My first question is does the inner rocker go on first or the kick panel?

My second question is about the Inner Fender apron. Is it supposed to go all the way to the firewall? I'm thinking it should. You can see how bad mine rotted away:



If I'm right, the question becomes is it worth buying a new apron or try to make that section. I'm thinking it is just a giant rectangle with a 90 degree bend at the top for the fender to bolt on to. That said, new aprons are like $50-60 and that might save me a ton of time.

The cowl area doesn't look to have rusted through the channel though there is some junk in there. I'm thinking I can cut out the top, put some rust converter on and then patch over it.



I didn't take any pics yet of the rear area of the inner rocker but I will have some floor repair to do before it goes back in. The striker post is in great shape so I am thankful for that.

The next month is busy with work, I get to take 8 flights between now and Feb 4th so I'm sure my progress will slow again. Still hopeful I can get one more strong day in there some how and start mocking panels up.

Thanks for reading this far.

[phyler]

Well, we were supposed to go skiing today, right up until the older boy puked in his bed last night. Woke up this morning and could feel the chest cold coming on but decided to get a little time in on the Bronco before the Bronco's game this afternoon.

Took a queue from Landshark and made a posterboard template of the front of the inner fender apron. Got everything fit and looking good before cutting out the old metal. Wasn't until I was cutting it out that I realized that the little tab that sticks up is part of the inner fender apron (I thought it was part of the core support). Anyways, re-drew my template with the new tab and started forming the metal again. I'm pretty happy with how it came out given that it is only the second time I've tried making a patch panel. I need to drill holes in it prior to welding it in but had to quit due to feeling ill and the Bronco's game.

I think I need to invest in a copper spoon to help me when I'm filling in my gaps. Or at least make one out of some copper pipe.

[Eck]

Nice work. It amazes me how the rust on these rigs is always in the same spots. They have copper spoons at Harbor Freight for cheap FYI.

[landshark]

aluminum works as well. i use some thick stuff (1/4") i had laying around.

Looks good! I forgot that tab as well, have it cut and will weld it on later :)

[phyler]

Finally got time back in the garage. My oldest kid had ski lessons every weekend in Feb so I "had" to go skiing too. :)

Finished the Inner Fender apron. Pretty happy with how it came out. Got a nice bend in my make-shift brake (aka, two pieces of angle clamped to the edge of my work bench).



Tried to get the cowl patched and am really not thrilled with how it came out. I thought I had cut back to good sheet metal but either I didn't or the metal was just that weak cause I kept blowing ever growing holes in the old metal as I was trying to weld it in.

I'm torn on what to do. I think I could get away with some seam sealer on the edges and it would be ok but I would need a fair amount of filler to make that surface smooth. In addition, there is some warpage due to the welding. I think I can straighten out the metal with a little hammer work but I know this area collects water so I'm worried of it rusting out again and it being worse the next time around. Any thoughts?

I probably should have spent the time just removing the entire cowl portion to replace. I've heard that the replacement cowl pieces aren't as high quality though.



Lastly, I need to figure out what to do about the seat platform. I have rust spots right where the back seat bolts go (right in front of the wheel wells). I know they make a replacement upper platform and I might go that route if it is that much easier versus the amount of time it would take to make these patches. Would love to know how others have handled it. Here is what my drivers side looks like.





The passenger side isn't quite this bad. This part is what's keeping me from getting the inner rocker in which needs to go in before the kick panel and the door post.

Thanks again for all the advice!

[phyler]

Realized that my pics weren't showing in Tapatalk so some folks might not have been seeing them. My kids are on spring break next week so I'm hoping to get one or two days in the garage. I know a lot of people are trying to get ready for the epic road trip to Townsend, too bad I'm not one of them.

Anyways, if anyone has advice on the seat platform or the cowl, I'd appreciate it. I think the plan is to head to the Castle Rock outlets next week on Monday so I will try to make a stop in at the Bronco Hut while I'm down there as well. I'll post in the main forum in case folks need some stuff to take a ride back north.

[Justin]

Better to do it right the first time, although you're probably ok.

[Gunnibronco]

If you get replacement panels and don't need to replace the whole thing, you can always just use a section of the new panel. Flanging pliers would be worth the price of admission.

[phyler]

Thanks. I kinda figured that was the story with the cowl. I just haven't found anyone who has done the seat platform without doing the pre-assembled unit. I just did the floors and don't want to go that route. Maybe the folks at the Hut can make some suggestions when I'm down there.

[phyler]

Well, spent some time on it today. Managed to find some of the spot welds and got the seat platform up off of the braces enough that I could cut out the rusted section. Still have some clean up to do but here is where it is at:



I was able to run by Digger's place and pick up his air flange tool so hopefully I can create a good patch for this.

I still need to figure out how to get the area right behind the striker post out. There is a little 1.5"x1.5" area there that is completely rusted out and I'm having a hard time finding something to get in there.

[phyler]

Got it a bit closer today. Need to fit things slightly better but it is close.







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[Gunnibronco]

Nice progress!

[Justin]

Agreed, looks great!

[colby45]

Seriously great work!