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Tin and Tar - First Time 68 Bronco Resto

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
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
 

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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
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Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Heres some more pics now you guys don't have to go to my flickr page
 

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Bukin 67

Bronco Abuser
Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
2,262
Awesome, good luck! That's the same color my '67 was when I started. You're in the right place!
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
@bronco jim- how do I brace this sucker when I practically have to cut the middle of the tub out? I know I'm going to have to remove the front door post which is usually a braceable area. I guess I'm going to have to get creative and figure out a way which will still allow me to drop in the pre-assemble floor pan ...ps bronco grave yard has a 10% online sale going on till Dec 23rd
 

jmangi62

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
2,469
Wow that rig looks eerily similar to mine when I started on it,not to scare you or anything but I'm on my 17th month of the restomod and had to replace almost every panel,but I usually work on it on weekends and sometimes during the week when I have the time.If I had to replace that much sheetmetal again I would seriously consider a new tub from Dennis Carpenter or even a nice used one.I have enjoyed the rebuilding process and built mine to be a lot stronger than factory,running full bead welds where originally were just spot welds and stuff like that,so you will want to take your time and take breaks when you get frustrated.Good Luck and enjoy the ride :cool:
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
@jmangi - I'm looking forward to it, should be fun and a challenge but I hear ya on the time line. I pretty much have every panel imaginable i think I'll need but that could change once i start tearing into her. I think right now I have about $2,500 in sheet metal ordered. This recent sale has helped, plus I'm only 2 hours from Jeffs Bronco Grave yard so I save money by picking the stuff up versus having it shipped!
 

Unknown

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
695
Welcome to the site, looks like you've got a nice project on your hands. I believe I looked at this EB up in Rockford this summer, same truck? Let me know if you need a hand with anything, just here in GR.
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Welcome to the site, looks like you've got a nice project on your hands. I believe I looked at this EB up in Rockford this summer, same truck? Let me know if you need a hand with anything, just here in GR.

It could be, I picked it up in GR early this past summer from a guy named Ryan. He said he had a lot of people looking but no one showed up with cash. I paid 5k for it and looking back I don't know if that was good price with all the work that has to go into it. The learning curve is pretty steep and fast, if I knew now what I didn't 6 mos ago I would have tried to find something with a more solid body. I have the vehicle up in Pentwater now near silver lake. My dads got a shop with all the bells and whistles so I kinda high jacked his shop. Ill def get ahold of you if I have any questions!
 

DuctTape

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
1,148
Loc.
Bozeman, MT
On the body: do the math ahead of time, double it, and that is your body resto cost. Compare that to your other tub alternatives before you get into it. Body resto was a real can of worms for me, I would have been better off sourcing another tub on my project.
 

BluebroncoNC

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
1,717
Loc.
Asheville, NC
On the body: do the math ahead of time, double it, and that is your body resto cost. Compare that to your other tub alternatives before you get into it. Body resto was a real can of worms for me, I would have been better off sourcing another tub on my project.

Cost? We are talking Cost? Who talks Cost on a Bronco restoration?? Time, this is the real factor! ;D

Welcome to the club!
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

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Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Lol, time and money is all it takes I hear, so if I got this figured out:
time+money = bronco and we all know that time = money so money +money = LOTS OF MONEY ....gotchya!
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Went to bronco grave yard yesterday, knew you could fit a ford bronco tub in the back of a Honda element? Lol :eek:
 

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rydog1130

rydog1130

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update

Well, before winter hit I was able to get the motor and trans out and that was about it. Now that winter is final dying and refund season is upon us I'll be getting back to tackling this project. Once I have everything stripped out my plan is to restore the body in basically three phases. I plan on squaring up the front clip and removing it. Then, squaring up the bed area and removing the door rear post. Once that is done I plan on dropping in the new pre assembled floor pan with the body bushings in place and then the front clip and then replacing the necessary parts in the bed area. Im doing this because the door post need to be replaced anyways and the inner rockers are included on the new floor pan and the only way its going in there that I can see is if the door post are outta there.My other plan is to POR 15 the rest of the frame when those sections are out. I don't have a body cradle/jig to do a body off resto but I do have a hoist and a kabota tractor to assist in lifting the portions of the body off the frame. Does this sound logical/feasible? Any input would be appreciated! Thanks heres a few photos of the latest progress!
 

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stout22

Contributor
Bronco Guru
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Dec 13, 2006
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Athens, AL
Lol, time and money is all it takes I hear, so if I got this figured out:
time+money = bronco and we all know that time = money so money +money = LOTS OF MONEY ....gotchya!

I like your math skills;D
Good luck with the build.
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Thanks! I'm hoping to have the body done by end of summer which is pretty ambitious. I have all the parts and sheet metal I need and If Im lucky to be there by end of summer I can spend the winter putting everything back in!
 
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rydog1130

rydog1130

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
4,019
Update - Need yur thoughts

Hey guys, would like a little input here. I basically need to replace ALL of the sheet metal except the fire cowel and front core....so inner fenders, wheel tubs, kick panels and door posts need to come out, I also have a pre-assembled floor pan that needs to go in. Just wondering the procces you would take besides throwing it all away. I have all the replacement parts from the grave yard ready to go
 

Bferrari

Sr. Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
856
Take a look at EnglewoodCowboy's thread, it sounds like your are doing what he has just completed and he did a very good job at documenting each step he took. His build is:

http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237944

In addition, my recommendation is to brace up the front cowl/core area, do the front door posts and inner fenders first so you can have something substantial you can build from. Then start working from the firewall back. Be sure to take many measurements before cutting anything apart, see what works, where there are issues, etc so you have a reference to piece the thing back together. Good luck!
 
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