71 Cali Bronco Build

71 CA Bronco · May 24, 2016

OK, I'm having a heck of a time getting cowl assembly and floor assembly where they need to be. Thom aka Bronco Guru came over last week. BTW - Thank you Thom. We couldn't get the floor to match up with the cowl fire wall because the edge of sheet metal was hitting the front floor brace. I think I resolved the problem by pulling the body off again and sliding the cowl sections over the front floor brace. We now have the floor sections fitting well with sheet metal screws.

The current issue at hand is that the door width between each sheet metal piece (where weather stripping goes) is not wide enough. I've been given 35.3" and 35.5" as the rough dimensions prior to hanging door posts. I have roughly 35". Do I need to just spread this with a bottle jack? If I do, then I'm concerned the holes in the bottom of inner kick panel to inner rocker will be off. Otherwise, I may need to cut the bed off and slide it back about 1/2". If I go this route I'm not sure the bed will allow for that much adjustment? Scratching my head on this one.

71 CA Bronco · May 24, 2016

Pictures of the fire wall panels slipped over the front floor brace underneath. This seems to work for getting the floor panels to fit properly. Am I missing something?

71 CA Bronco · May 24, 2016

Door opening measurements. This needs to be 35.3-35.5". This is my dilemma.

Just thought of something. I could put the body back on frame and it may open up a bit on the mounts. I have it off just to get the rough in and screw together. I had planned to final prep prior to welding on the frame.

71 CA Bronco · May 24, 2016

Ok, I got the body back on frame and I still don't have the clearance wanted. I'm just going to weld up the cowl section square with holes lining up and, if needed, cut the bed off and slide back when hanging door posts.

If I'm heading South feel free to chime in.

suckerpunched · May 24, 2016

mine measure 35.5 from edge to edge consistently on both sides. my doors fit good, but could probably be a little tighter. I dont know if thats the greatest place to measure door clearance, but I guess its about all youve got right now.

71 CA Bronco · May 25, 2016

Yep, that's what I need. Thanks for checking. Ben Ferrari gave me a call yesterday and boosted my confidence a bit. I needed the pep talk. The clearance shortage is definitely coming from the front. Cowl/floor fitment. %) Funny thing I bought the pre-assembled floor and cowl in an attempt to avoid the fitment issues. You would think making these assemblies on a jig would eliminate poor dimensions.

I will be happy if I can get 35.3". I'm not too far off. I may need a frame straightener. ;D

71 CA Bronco · May 25, 2016

Thank you guys for all the info.
I'm not sure I could possibly pull this off without all the feed back.

suckerpunched · May 25, 2016

rob,
I hate to see you build yourself into a corner that is hard to get out of. here is another way of checking location of the front pillar and it's relationship to the front edge of the rocker panel.

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

Its definitely in too far on both sides. I'm off about 3/8" passenger side and 5/8" drivers side. I haven't tried the bottle jack yet.

Check out the floor on the drivers side its bent a bit in the corner.

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

Drivers side.

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

Check out the right side. The door pillar doesn't even fit the inner kick. its off about 1/4".

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

Passenger Side

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

Hey Suckerpunched,
Thanks for the dimensions. Do you happen to have the measurement on inside of kick panels like shown above? I just want to confirm my assumption that the pre-assembled cowl and floor are off not my tailgate connection.;D

suckerpunched · May 26, 2016

yeah I will post it in awhile

71 CA Bronco · May 26, 2016

suckerpunched said:
yeah I will post it in awhile

Cool Thanks!!

suckerpunched · May 26, 2016

I can't take a picture, my cage is in the way. and once you put the rocker panel on it that lower corner then has a radius. but the measurement of mine is 3.5 from the seam in the floor to the back edge of kick panel. don't know if that measurement really means a lot. ultimately the door has to fit in there, this is what I see. the outer rocker panel is about 39.375 long measuring the length below the door. thats not going to change. It wedges in between the striker post and the front door post and pretty much sets the distance between those two pieces making your door opening. Now certainly a reproduction rocker may not measure exactly the same as stock but it should be close. I guess you could bolt the door/hinges/and door post together and stuff it all in there. also the windshield frame needs the right gap between it and the upper door frames, thats a future can of worms. for me, the guide is the door fit. the quarter panel is fixed, the rocker panel is pretty much fixed too. door should go in and square up to those two pieces with a decent gap. with the hinges and door post all bolted together, you will see where the door post needs to end up.

Bferrari · May 27, 2016

Hey Rob, I agree, the door fit will be your tell tale of were your at. You should probably get some more reference points coming off the cowl to ensure your in the vicinity. If you have a bronco nearby you can pull some reference from check it out, if not, you are more than welcome to take measurements from mine if you want to make the hour and a half journey north. As an added incentive, I've got plenty of cold beer to make the measuring more bearable!;D
Let me know how I can help.

ntsqd · May 27, 2016

Can measure mine too if it will help. I'm about 5 mins East.

71 CA Bronco · May 27, 2016

Thank you. My Bronco brothas! Thom aka "ntsqd" introduced me to MartyG here in town. He has a 73 that we are taking measurements off this morning.

This could be a bad combination. We are both self employed, so we could easily get side tracked and just do Bronco stuff all day. Might be a recipe for income/marriage problems in the future.

71 CA Bronco · May 27, 2016

Bferrari said:
Hey Rob, I agree, the door fit will be your tell tale of were your at. You should probably get some more reference points coming off the cowl to ensure your in the vicinity. If you have a bronco nearby you can pull some reference from check it out, if not, you are more than welcome to take measurements from mine if you want to make the hour and a half journey north. As an added incentive, I've got plenty of cold beer to make the measuring more bearable!;D
Let me know how I can help.

Why that sounds like an awesome idea. Drinking beer and talking Broncos could get us in trouble as well. Actually, I will be up your way next Saturday. A week from tomorrow. I'll be hooked up in Santa Maria until mid afternoon. Let me know if you will be around later that day. Thanks Ben. You are a good man!

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