Say Hello to Josey (68 Half Cab Build)

blue78 · Jul 9, 2018

So I wanted to wait and do this build thread all at once since I am pretty bad about getting on here and updating. I have been working on this one for about 15 months and in that time I have replaced the floor section, rear quarters, all of the metal forward of the firewall, did a V8 and C4 swap, did my own upholstery, and went through the bodywork and paint twice.

I took pictures along the way and I plan on posting how the whole thing unfolded over the next couple days but here are a couple pics of where she started and where she is today.

It was a lot of fun, and I learned a ton. I have done a couple other Broncos in the past but this was by far the most in depth build I have done. I am sill buttoning everything up and clearing a couple final hurdles, but I think it is at a point now where she is ready for the world to see her. So, ladies and gentlemen, Josey.

Kyle

blue78 · Jul 9, 2018

So, I had been looking for a Bronco for about 6 months when I came across this one. I had gone and looked at about 15 and missed out on probably 10-15 others from Craigslist because people beat me to them. When I went and looked at this one I did not pull out the fine tooth comb and that would end up costing me. What I thought would be a couple floor pans turned into a whole floor section, then rockers, then strikers, then rear fenders.

For the floor section I started by bracing the door openings. I will say that the thing that I overlooked was making sure I supported the firewall. When I went to throw the floor section in I realized that the floor section had sagged and had to do a lot of tweaking to get things back to square.

I will sing the praises of the all-in-one floor section all day. I have never build the seat platform piece by piece so I can't tell you how difficult it is, but I can guarantee the one piece is easier.

While I had the floor section out I took the time to clean and pain the trans and transfer case (I would end up doing that again when I do the C4 swap) and POR15 the frame.

blue78 · Jul 9, 2018

as I was trying to secure the floor section I figured out that everything it was touching was just as bad so I had to replace the inner rockers and striker post.

It ended up that the front posts were in good shape but the plates that the hinges bolt to were in rough shape so I ordered a set and replaced them. When I asked the guys at Wild Horses how to install them they suggested splitting the seam and going in from the side but I found it easier to cut 3 sides on the back of the post, pry it open, shimmy out the old ones and replace them, then weld the flap shut. It went amazingly well.

blue78 · Jul 9, 2018

when it was time to replace the rear fenders I talked to DC Gearhead (Ben) who ended up buying the cage off me and he told me the trick to getting the rear fenders off is to cut them about an inch from the seam and then take an air chisel and go along the joint to bust the factory spot welds. He was dead on!!

It took about 5 minuets per side after the cut was made. Since the upper fender in the rear is a thicker gauge metal (16 I think) it is sturdy enough to keep the force focused on the spot welds and they just pop.

While I had them off I cleaned up the inner fender metal and applied undercoat. They were actually in great shape once I knocked off the dirt.

When it came time to attach the rear fenders Ben suggested that I use 3M panel bond, and I had heard great reviews, but I wanted to play with my new welder so I just drilled out all of the spot welds on the upper fender and welded right back where the factory welds were.

blue78 · Jul 9, 2018

Next, it was time to attack the suspension. I went with Wild Horses and cleaned and painted the axle while I had it out. I replaced all of the front end bushings and was able to get rid of the "Bronco lean" after doing some reading on the right way to put the radius arm bushings on to even everything out.

Cortez · Jul 10, 2018

Nice work- surprising where that rust can hide! I love the new color.

bronkenn · Jul 10, 2018

Looks like it came out really nice. Good work and good luck getting it on the road. Ken

1strodeo · Jul 10, 2018

Good thread, great pics (not always easy) and nice ride!

ep67bro · Jul 10, 2018

Nice work. I give you credit for all that rust repair. Love the color. So when will we see it driving around Annapolis? I am on the eastern shore but I get to the Annapolis area quite a bit.

Rustytruck · Jul 10, 2018

Great job it looks great. Now get rid of that foam beehive air cleaner before it burns the Bronco to the ground. They are known for catching on fire and I saw my friends dodge Super Bee catch on fire because of it. We were lucky to have the hood open and standing there. We only lost the air filter and a shirt over it. But had he been driving it with the hood down it may have been another story. One back fire and that oiled foam lights up.

catfan · Jul 10, 2018

Good job man!! Sweet looking bronco.

blue78 · Jul 10, 2018

ep67bro said:
Nice work. I give you credit for all that rust repair. Love the color. So when will we see it driving around Annapolis? I am on the eastern shore but I get to the Annapolis area quite a bit.

I'll be getting it down there soon. I just ordered a Dakota Digital gauge set so when it gets here and I can reliably monitor the motor I'll start venturing out. If they are still doing the cars and coffee it'll probably be making an appearance there before too long.

Rustytruck said:
Great job it looks great. Now get rid of that foam beehive air cleaner before it burns the Bronco to the ground. They are known for catching on fire and I saw my friends dodge Super Bee catch on fire because of it. We were lucky to have the hood open and standing there. We only lost the air filter and a shirt over it. But had he been driving it with the hood down it may have been another story. One back fire and that oiled foam lights up.

I had someone on Instagram tell me the exact same thing so I will be ditching it before the next drive. That Demon carb has linkage on the top side so that was the only air cleaner I had found that was high wnough to clear that but low enough to clear the hood. The search continues.

ep67bro · Jul 10, 2018

Yup don't use that air cleaner. My brother inlaw had one on his jeep and it caught on fire once when we were messing with the carb.

1strodeo · Jul 10, 2018

Rustytruck said:
Great job it looks great. Now get rid of that foam beehive air cleaner before it burns the Bronco to the ground. They are known for catching on fire and I saw my friends dodge Super Bee catch on fire because of it. We were lucky to have the hood open and standing there. We only lost the air filter and a shirt over it. But had he been driving it with the hood down it may have been another story. One back fire and that oiled foam lights up.

ep67bro said:
Yup don't use that air cleaner. My brother inlaw had one on his jeep and it caught on fire once when we were messing with the carb.

Had one on my 66 Mustang, luckily for a short period, good to know!!

If I had the guy I sold it to’s Number I’d let him know too ?:?

blue78 · Jul 10, 2018

Next up it was time to do the break swap. Went with the Wild Horses kit (I'm into them for a lot at this point) and installation was a breeze.

At this point I was getting antsy to drive it so I did the primer and body work and got some paint on it to get it out and driving.

blue78 · Jul 10, 2018

So, at this point I wanted to do something to protect the new floor section and I read a lot about the UPOL Raptor liner and decided to shoot it myself. That and Linex was asking for a couple grand to do the tub so the choice was pretty easy. The Raptor Liner sprays on great and looks pretty sharp. I will say that if you are looking for durability it leaves something to be desired, I was able to gash it pretty good sliding the seat in and had to respray sections.

Additionally, I wanted to smooth the fenders so I decided to relocate the gas filler to the inside of the bed and weld the rear seams. This is where I made one of my biggest mistakes by putting too much heat into the panel. Once I laid the pain I saw it immediately and this is what ultimately drove me to do the body work a second time and change the paint color back to the original Lunar Green.

sprdv1 · Jul 10, 2018

Sweet ride.. Looks awesome

blue78 · Jul 10, 2018

I'm going to skip over some of the dull stuff like applying the seam sealer and under coat, but that was important to make sure the new metal is protected. I did that over several days to make sure I got everything sealed (read that as I kept finding seams that I needed to add a second coat to).

One of the funnest and most frustrating parts of this was getting to do my own upholstery. I have a friend who has a hot rod shop out in Kansas so he has all of the equipment and know-how. I drove out there with the seat and spent a couple days rehabbing the frame and building seat pans to replace the springs with foam. Since the foam was thicker than the springs we had to create a pattern for the seats.

I'll be honest, the seats look good at a glance but once you look close it is very clear that this was my first time. Seams don't quite line up like a pro's would and some of the pleats don't have the straightest lines. All-in-all it was a great learning experience and I am glad I did it, but I plan on doing it again or getting different seats down the road once the novelty of having done it myself wears off.

Pa PITT · Jul 11, 2018

Now is that you doing your own seat sewing ..
If so had you ever done this before.
Did you have the sewing machine or go buy a commercial machine ... I'D BEEN thinking about buying a machine for after I retire. As I have about 7 seat projects.
I've never done any sewing since standing beside my Grand mother on an old treadle machine.
...........
.... OH I like the Bronco .. & I like your pulling it with my other truck is a Bronco also..

blue78 · Jul 12, 2018

Pa PITT said:
Now is that you doing your own seat sewing ..
If so had you ever done this before.
Did you have the sewing machine or go buy a commercial machine ... I'D BEEN thinking about buying a machine for after I retire. As I have about 7 seat projects.
I've never done any sewing since standing beside my Grand mother on an old treadle machine.
...........
.... OH I like the Bronco .. & I like your pulling it with my other truck is a Bronco also..

That is me doing the sewing on the seat. He let me use the bead roller as well. My friend had all of the equipment I needed, and it is an industrial sewing machine that he picked up for his shop.

This was my first time and I will say sweing a straight line is no problem, it is when you get to the corners that you need to know what you are doing. And making the pattern had some tricks to it too that allowed you to get four seams to come together without wanting to ram your head into a wall.

It is a dying art, I couldn't find anyone near me who would touch it, that is why I drove from Maryland to Kansas to do the seat.

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