- Joined
- Jun 19, 2014
- Messages
- 4,026
Hey guys I picked up a 68 Bronco w/ 80k mi this summer and want to fix her up. Everything on the vehicle is original and working condition. It was owned by an old timer who used her primarily for plowing his driveway.
My initial assessment of the vehicle is that the suspension is shot, the motor smokes a little at first when started but that dissipates and seems to run strong (had her up to 40 mph before I almost bounced off the road), interior other than bench seat is solid, and 65% of the body is toast but frame is solid. My plan or so I was told is make sure your mechanically solid ie drivable before going onto body work which is why so far I had the frame blasted, painted w/ por 15 and have replaced the suspension.
My game plan from here on out is to pull motor and have a basic rebuild on it so I know it's solid and not leaking any fluids. I also plan on adding power steering and an automatic transmission. I plan on doing most of the front clip tub work while the motor is out of the vehicle. IMO the majority of the work is going to be on the body and I've already ordered the replacement panels that I believe I will need. I have feeling that if I try to remove the body from the frame Im just going to end up with a pile of scrap sheet metal. Im going to include pics of the biggest problem areas which include, bed area, floor pan, kick panels, inner fender panels and tubs. Doors are pretty solid but post rear/front are toast, fire cowl is in good shape and so is front core support along with grill. Inner quarters are salvageable and lower quarters are iffy. I pretty much just plan on replacing it if its got substantial rust. Let me know what you think
lastly you can see where the floor channel support has rusted out and they replaced with a good chunk of a steel I-beam
I have actually ordered a whole new floor pan with tunnel and all floor channels and support brackets to replace this. I guess my plan is to strip her down to the tub weld in braces to support fire cowel to the front core panel. Measure my door post width and remove those then this is where Im kinda stuck. Do I replace the floor first or the kick panels, inner fenders, wheel tubs, and core support brackets? Im just trying to figure this out in order to keep it square! Is there anywhere I can find what the common dimensions or specs are as im sure things have shifted! any input would be awesome! I'll keep you posted with updates as they come along!;D
My initial assessment of the vehicle is that the suspension is shot, the motor smokes a little at first when started but that dissipates and seems to run strong (had her up to 40 mph before I almost bounced off the road), interior other than bench seat is solid, and 65% of the body is toast but frame is solid. My plan or so I was told is make sure your mechanically solid ie drivable before going onto body work which is why so far I had the frame blasted, painted w/ por 15 and have replaced the suspension.
My game plan from here on out is to pull motor and have a basic rebuild on it so I know it's solid and not leaking any fluids. I also plan on adding power steering and an automatic transmission. I plan on doing most of the front clip tub work while the motor is out of the vehicle. IMO the majority of the work is going to be on the body and I've already ordered the replacement panels that I believe I will need. I have feeling that if I try to remove the body from the frame Im just going to end up with a pile of scrap sheet metal. Im going to include pics of the biggest problem areas which include, bed area, floor pan, kick panels, inner fender panels and tubs. Doors are pretty solid but post rear/front are toast, fire cowl is in good shape and so is front core support along with grill. Inner quarters are salvageable and lower quarters are iffy. I pretty much just plan on replacing it if its got substantial rust. Let me know what you think
lastly you can see where the floor channel support has rusted out and they replaced with a good chunk of a steel I-beam
I have actually ordered a whole new floor pan with tunnel and all floor channels and support brackets to replace this. I guess my plan is to strip her down to the tub weld in braces to support fire cowel to the front core panel. Measure my door post width and remove those then this is where Im kinda stuck. Do I replace the floor first or the kick panels, inner fenders, wheel tubs, and core support brackets? Im just trying to figure this out in order to keep it square! Is there anywhere I can find what the common dimensions or specs are as im sure things have shifted! any input would be awesome! I'll keep you posted with updates as they come along!;D
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