Here are some pics and text from a PDF brochure Broncodesign sent me. Mike, I hope you don't mind...
THE ORIGINAL ONE-PIECE ROADSTER INSERTS
10 years ago I bought a barn full of Broncos and parts from a guy. Among the parts was an original set of factory roadster inserts. I never liked the Ford solution for finishing the open insides with the metal plates and a hand full of screws. I decided to develop new patterns and molds closely following the original that made a three sided part and cleaned up the appearance. I also reduced the number of screws holding it in because now it held itself on.
The result was an insert that slid down over the door posts and was secured at the upper and lower corners by only four screws. I also encapsulated fender washers to keep the screws from pulling through since fiberglass holes tend to wear and become over sized with time. My inserts are from HAND LAID glass. NO CLOPPER GUNS. I control the thickness and overlap the cloth so the tread area is over ¼ inch thick tapering to 1/8 inch at the edges.
I sold a few sets locally with one set going to a guy who was how should we say “ethically challenged”. He made molds from my parts and sold them to a west coast company who probably didn't know it was my creation. They copied my installation instructions word for word. Now some guy who makes parts in Mexico and sells them from San Diego on EBAY has copied them too. Oh well. Since mine are from the original molds, not copies of copies of copies, they're still the original size (fiberglass shrinks as it cures). My overhead is so low, I can undersell them until they realize its not worth it. Theirs sells for $325-360 . Mine are twice as heavy, made from premium resin, high quality sandable grey gelcoat for you to prep/paint and sell for only $160 (for now).
Copyright 2009 BroncoDesign
