migs' build thread - A 1970 Bronco ...an ever evolving project

71massbronco · Apr 17, 2012

Your fab skills are crazy! Man, can't believe I missed this thread. You have a CNC plasma at your house? That's insane, I would never come out of the garage if I had one of those! Keep up the good work.

migs · Apr 18, 2012

71massbronco said:
Your fab skills are crazy! Man, can't believe I missed this thread. You have a CNC plasma at your house? That's insane, I would never come out of the garage if I had one of those! Keep up the good work.

Thanks!
nope, not at my house. that would be nice, but I have to drive a half hour to my machine shop where it resides along with some other fabricating toys.;D

migs · Apr 18, 2012

Finally! tonight I finished installing the rocker panel. after many hours of planning, fitting, adjusting the door, fender on and fender off again and again... it is done!

after I was satisfied with the fit I decided to go with a combination of plug welds and panel adhesive. I used SEM weld-bond for this. first I sprayed a little rustoleum epoxy on the insides to help protect the bare metal a bit. then ground the mating surfaces with a 36 grit disc and drilled a few holes in the rocker for the plug welds. I spread the glue on, keeping it away from the plug welds, and then put the rocker in place. gave it a couple of tack welds, checked my gaps and then started clamping and welding. I think it came out pretty good. also, I'm glad I don't have to grind 50 plug welds and the panel adhesive seals the seams up nice.

dave67fd · Apr 18, 2012

Brian, Nice job. Door line looks sweet.

So is the adhesive in between the plug welds along the floor lip edge as well at the bottom where the clamps are?

Also are the holes that arent filled along that same edge are those ones you punched with the roper? will you plug weld those as well or thats it?

migs · Apr 18, 2012

thanks Dave!
the adhesive is betweem the welds on the top and bottom. also the front and rear flanges of the lower part of the rocker. after welding I also pushed some into any gaps on the top where it meets the door posts for good measure.
the rocker panel comes with those holes you see, they are for the door seal.

dave67fd · Apr 18, 2012

So after you clean and prime it up, whats next on the list?

migs · Apr 18, 2012

floor pan repair, those should go pretty quick though compared to the rocker job.

KS.76Sport · Apr 19, 2012

You've got serious skills. Impressive, very impressive.

migs · Apr 21, 2012

today I pulled the hard top into the garage to begin a little repair on it. a large antenna had been mounted to the roof just in front of the front cross member, so I am left with a big hole and three small holes. I cut a round piece out of sheet metal, ground it all down and glued it in place with the panel adhesive. this way I don't have to worry about warping it by welding. once it is fully cured I'll grind the adhesive smooth and finish it off with some filler. I also took a picture of the bronco so there would be something other than just a boring hard top in this post.

sellitall · Apr 21, 2012

Nice!!

When I saw the last pic of your EB parked in the garage the first thing I thought of is Tim Allen's garage on "Home Improvement".

I better get some sleep now so I can start on those works of art you fab'd for me.

migs · Apr 21, 2012

UghhrooOH!
look forward to seeing how they work out.

broncoitis · Apr 21, 2012

Brian, really good work on the rocker install and reworking the rear quarter. Love the attention to detail and doing it right! Keep it up. ;D

dave67fd · Apr 22, 2012

sellitall said:
Nice!! When I saw the last pic of your EB parked in the garage the first thing I thought of is Tim Allen's garage on "Home Improvement".

I better get some sleep now so I can start on those works of art you fab'd for me.

Why? do you see a glimpse of his blown, alcohol injected lawn mower?;D

migs · Apr 23, 2012

Yesterday I decided it was time to fold the windshield down. I was excited that the two bolts came out with ease and looked clean. but... it did not want to fold and I could hear some crunchy noises. uh oh... another one that couldn't escape the effects of the leaky hinge. after soaking it a bit with some pb blaster I forced it down. the cowl is fine, all the rust is at the bottom of the windshield frame where the three layers of metal join. it still looks pretty solid though. I'll have to get it outside and sand blast it to see the extent of it. on the plus side, found a couple of goodies in there. gained a new "tool" and discovered how cheap parking used to be.;D

dave67fd · Apr 23, 2012

I see what you mean. Hope it cleans up well. Love the little souvenirs...that saws too much.

Thanks again for the visit, the stories and the steel.

tsmith9876 · Apr 29, 2012

fantastic work

Migs,

I just wanted to add my appreciation for your excellant work and your skills. I have followed stutsmo, sellitall's build and then your's. I read dave67fd next.

I told stutsmo this and I'll keep saying it, "your guys are amazing" with your skill and knowledge and willingness to share.

I thought when you hammered out the qrt you would have to stop with the crease and have to fill it, then you surprised me with welding it. Great thinking.

I hope I can remember half the things I have seen when it I put my Bronco back together.

Thanks again, keep up the great work.

tsmith;D;D

migs · Apr 29, 2012

Thanks for the compliments!
that's what this place is all about, giving and receiving help and ideas.

sellitall · Apr 29, 2012

I think our EB's are polar opposites. Check out my windshield frame compared to yours. Now the rest of your tub compared to mine is a whole different story

. It's like Superman v. Bizarro;D.

dave67fd · Apr 29, 2012

Check out my windshield frame compared to yours.

That is a pretty clean hinge. Mine on the other hand was one of the hardest hit.

migs · Jun 2, 2012

It's been a while since I've had anything to report and I had not planned on doing much to it, but I had some visitors today who provided some motivation and an unexpected but welcomed set of helping hands. thanks go out again to tasker, deadfish, and fatboy for the wrenching and making real quick work of the front clip removal. I am grateful for the assistance and it's amazing how fast things get done with this kind of help. now I can go to town on it and pressure wash all that sand off of it.
here are some pictures of it's current state now...though it was a bit difficult to get some good pics as we lost some overhead lighting in the process.;D

migs' build thread - A 1970 Bronco ...an ever evolving project

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