• Welcome to ClassicBroncos! - You are currently viewing the forums as a GUEST. To take advantage of all the site features, please take a moment to register. It's fast, simple and absolutely free. So please join our community today!
    If you have problems registering or can't log into your account, please contact Admin.

Floor Pan and Other Half Done Metal Work

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
Previous owners of this truck had no respect! I started to clean up the cab interior fo figure out what I had. I started with the bed, I scrapped layers of bondo off, and found pitted metal and surface rust. Once I got the metal clean of bondo I went on to the floor pans. The entire front of the cab is a hack job. The area by the seats isn't too bad there is just layers of bondo and texture coating. The floor pan and tranny cover is just pure hack, under the work they left the rotting floor pans. My plan was to replace the driver side and passenger floor and tranny tunnel and obvious metal damage, but should I stop there? I need advice on what I should remove and what I should keep. I am new to this level of repair but I will replace what needs to be replaced. I am going to start a build thread, this is just the tip of the iceburg. Many thanks to all you great Bronco people!!!

DSC_1509.JPG

IMG_8337.jpg

IMG_8339.jpg

IMG_8340.jpg

IMG_8319.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8336.jpg
    IMG_8336.jpg
    132.8 KB · Views: 803

half cab

Contributor
Guru Bronco
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
16,306
Looks like your bronco might be a candidate for the one piece front section that Wild Horses sells.
 

JAFO

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Messages
1,556
Loc.
Beaverdam
Your floor could be worse....
RearFloor2.jpg
 

LUBr LuvR

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,956
Previous owners of this truck had no respect! I started to clean up the cab interior fo figure out what I had. I started with the bed, I scrapped layers of bondo off, and found pitted metal and surface rust. Once I got the metal clean of bondo I went on to the floor pans. The entire front of the cab is a hack job. The area by the seats isn't too bad there is just layers of bondo and texture coating. The floor pan and tranny cover is just pure hack, under the work they left the rotting floor pans. My plan was to replace the driver side and passenger floor and tranny tunnel and obvious metal damage, but should I stop there? I need advice on what I should remove and what I should keep. I am new to this level of repair but I will replace what needs to be replaced. I am going to start a build thread, this is just the tip of the iceburg. Many thanks to all you great Bronco people!!!

View attachment 427388

View attachment 427390

View attachment 427391

View attachment 427392

View attachment 427393

Did Socks and Sandals ship one out west?
 

BR549

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
Messages
444
Loc.
huntsville
JAFO I have seen the results of your hard work ( turned out great ) , but that pic freaks me out.
 

sykanr0ng

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
5,363
You guys make me feel better about the way the Previous Owner of my Bronco 'fixed' the rusted through floor pans. (well almost %))
He laid the new ones on top of the old ones and screwed them down with some sheet metal screws.
 
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
I have removed the rocker panels, the drivers side door pilar needs some work, I am hoping to but out just below the bolt holes. There is allot of rust.
The new photos I included have a better view of the drivers side. I am not sure where to start? the only rust issues are the corner kick areas, everything else is just poor and lazy craftmanship.
 

Attachments

  • FullSizeRender.jpg
    FullSizeRender.jpg
    112.2 KB · Views: 507
  • Cab.jpg
    Cab.jpg
    121.6 KB · Views: 522
  • IMG_8395.jpg
    IMG_8395.jpg
    140.1 KB · Views: 595
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
I think my best option is the Wild Horses Platform, has anyone put the full kit in?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8406.jpg
    IMG_8406.jpg
    97.1 KB · Views: 374

JAFO

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Messages
1,556
Loc.
Beaverdam
JAFO I have seen the results of your hard work ( turned out great ) , but that pic freaks me out.

Ha, thanks. I appreciate the kind words. I look back at pictures and really am amazed myself that I got it back together and it actually lines up. But it took a bazillion hours of tedious work. I am just now starting to think about starting another build of some sort. For a while I just needed a break. But my kind of break was I replaced the cabin sole in our sailboat, so not sure it was a break.

Regarding the complete floor, I did mine, but not from a complete kit. I bought all the individual pieces at different times. It sort of evolved into a complete floor rebuild as I dug in and found more and more rust. Hind sight I should have bought a complete kit, but I kept digging in, finding more bad and finally just said what the hell and went for the entire floor. I have all the measurements if you want them.

Send me a message with your email and I will send you the pictures I have that contain measurements. I reused the emergency brake lever and cable bracket from the original floor, and replaced everything else.

I had to test fit fenders and doors constantly as I worked to get everything to line up as I replaced door posts and floor.

Floor6.jpg


Floor11.jpg


Floor15.jpg


Floor10.jpg


Floor17.jpg


Floor_-_Drivers-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
Thanks! the one cool thing about the complete kit is it has allot of the brackets and such done! You message caught my attention. My drivers side door pilar is rusted on the bottom, I have ordered all need metal for the drivers side, I was going to try and just cut off the lower rusted portion, how hard was it to put in a new pilar?
 

Attachments

  • FullSizeRender.jpg
    FullSizeRender.jpg
    112.2 KB · Views: 269
  • IMG_8402.jpg
    IMG_8402.jpg
    158.7 KB · Views: 240
  • IMG_8403.jpg
    IMG_8403.jpg
    92.3 KB · Views: 267

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,345
Great offer to take JAFO up on Jamie! If he wrote all that down, it'll save you a lot of figuring and factoring. Until at least to the point you figure out yours is different from his by 1/4" in every dimension! Then you'd just need to "compensate" for the inconsistencies of these things.

Man Jamie, yours and the others that posted their gems look like someone actually intended to flip them by covering stuff up. I can't imagine too many reasons for that much Bondo on the interior!
In your case I know you already have the fender off. You're doing great work for a "first timer" at least for this level of diggin'inta.

I mentioned bracing in your other thread, and again here. Even though you've got your frame for support and alignment, don't trust it 100%. Do what you need to, especially if you go for the full panel.
A perfect example of not trusting the frame is when we pull the transfer case crossmember out, many times it does not go right back in without some real English because as soon as it was unbolted, the frame sprung in our out. No lie, sometimes they literally pop when you get that first bolt out!
That's when you learn that "conditions are fluid" until the last weld is made.

Sometimes the bit-by-bit approach is beneficial. Sometimes the full monty is the way to go.
It does save you some welding time, but you really have to bracebracebracebrace if you're going to cut the entire center of the truck out all at once.
I don't have any specific advice or instructioning for you at the moment. You're into it pretty far, and doing a great job all on your own. You have the first-hand view of what's really going on with your rig.
This is more of a support group for therapy when the stress gets to be too much!
Drinking can still be involved of course, but the group sessions reduce the instance of hair pulling and being committed to a hospital.:p

Again... Having fun yet?;D

Paul
 
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
Thanks Paul, this truck is a mess, but I knew that when I handed the PO the cash. I have a few ideas on bracing the truck, due to the extream bad work by the PO I feel the entire platform will just be easier and cleaner to install. I went through the body mounts today and measured, and added washers to try and get the frame on que, the frame was tacoed, the rear is low, so I added some wedges to get it back to something even. Ultimaletly I will be replacing the frame. I will measure the door openings many times before I do anything.
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,345
Don't know if this will help, but it's an "image rich" environment: http://s3.photobucket.com/user/kelsangels/library/bronco?sort=3&page=1
Posted up in Chat by a shop that's doing a restoration on a '72. Maybe some of the stuff will look familiar and give you ideas.

But before you click on the link (wait, you did wait until now, right?!!!:eek:) know that it's to the PhotoBucket brigands and you'll have to plow through ad after ad until it stops.
If you're lucky like me though, they'll throw up a curve ball in the form of a popup in a new browser. You'll hear an ad running in the background and wonder where it's coming from. Check your task bar to make sure it didn't open up a new browser for you.

Fun stuff we have to deal with for our hobby, eh?%)

Paul
 

JAFO

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Messages
1,556
Loc.
Beaverdam
Thanks! the one cool thing about the complete kit is it has allot of the brackets and such done! You message caught my attention. My drivers side door pilar is rusted on the bottom, I have ordered all need metal for the drivers side, I was going to try and just cut off the lower rusted portion, how hard was it to put in a new pilar?

Been a few years since I did those door posts. And mine was rusted bad everywhere and I was replacing kick panels and the works, so different operation.

The main thing to remember is fender and door alignment depend on the door post. So the door post positioning has to be spot on. I would say if you can brace the kick panel, cowl, dash and floor so it doesn't move, then cut away the old post, you could do it. The post is attached up at the cowl, all down the kick panel and at the base. You'll be using sheet metal screws to attach the new door post while you test fit door and fender. Then when happy, weld. What happened with me was in doing the door post I had so much other rust I just removed it all. But it turned into a freakin nightmare for a while until I devised a way to support the body by hanging it from the I-beam. I must say knowing all metal is rust free is a good feeling. I had the whole body sprayed with epoxy primer before paint. It should outlast me.

I have lots of measurements for dash to floor, widths and such. As stated, seems every truck is different. But for floor it doesn't have to be as exacting as say trying to get door gaps correct.

I suggest you take lots of pics and measurements of your truck as it sits before starting. Make a list, then get the measurements.
Like-
dash to floor
across kick panel to kick panel (top and bottom)
from rear to front door posts all kinds of measurements. Diagonal and straight across.
Just about any measurement you can envision really. Later you will thank yourself. And lots of pictures.
 
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
I am replacing my floor pans etc with the complete floor and platform kit from Wild Horse. I think leaving the door pilar and just cutting the bottom is easy, if I replace the door pilar then it would make send to have all new metal behind it. My fear is the how good are my measurements etc to put the pilar back exactly where it needs to go.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8409.jpg
    IMG_8409.jpg
    135.3 KB · Views: 244
  • IMG_8408.jpg
    IMG_8408.jpg
    118.1 KB · Views: 277
  • IMG_8403.jpg
    IMG_8403.jpg
    92.3 KB · Views: 261
  • IMG_8402.jpg
    IMG_8402.jpg
    158.7 KB · Views: 261

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
JAFO is correct about the door post. I was in the same boat and he was a great resource. If you have a top it will help you tremendously in getting your doors lined back up with the new post. It does take quite a bit of tweaking to get everything lined up but not impossible!

Here's a link to my build thread http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249119
 
OP
OP
Jamie Chriss

Jamie Chriss

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
576
Rydog I have looked through your build a few times the last few months. We have the same issues, I am hoping I don't have all that rust behind the dash! I am replacing allot a metal like you. I noted you had to shim a bit to get everything to line up? My frame is a mess and it will need to be replaced at some point. My boat is to shim to get everything square and when I move the body to the new frame I should be able to make it work I hope. I think my only big question is the door pilars, how should I proceed? I have all the metal, but my goal was to cut around and only cut off the bottom that is rusted.
 
Top