1969 4BD1T Diesel & NV4500 conversion on 33's

[BradtheWelder]

Today I got to the point where I think I have got everything in place as good as it can be. I haven't welded it yet but might tomorrow. My problem with it is the gap between the front fender and door isnt right. But if I have to take off the mounting flange for the fender and move it I will. Also the inner rocker panel I made didn't work out so I'll have to make another one. I did start tacking in the floor pan. Pretty happy with that.

 

[BradtheWelder]

Today I decided to take the A pillar off again because I just wasn't happy. The door would sag more than a half inch. Then I thought about supporting A pillar instead of the door. It was a much better idea. Using my other jack, I used 2"x4" tube I had lying around with a spacer and tab welded it at the top. Now I'm very happy.

 

[BradtheWelder]

Today I decided to redo the A pillar one more time due to the floor to dash was not right as compared to some other Broncos and the pic I used from a fellow member NGABronco. The other pic below shows how I use the jack and rachet straps to adjust the angle. Hopefully that all makes sense. Haha

 

[Pa PITT]

.. Good work that door is fitting like a glove...
... & I guess those are store bought floor pans aren't they. What brand are they & As I need a set but a lot of people ay the ones they buy don't fit the stock curves making them harder to install.. But I need a set for this Bronco I have in my shop.

 

[BradtheWelder]

.. Good work that door is fitting like a glove...
... & I guess those are store bought floor pans aren't they. What brand are they & As I need a set but a lot of people ay the ones they buy don't fit the stock curves making them harder to install.. But I need a set for this Bronco I have in my shop.

They were bought from Bronco graveyard but they didn't have any brand on them. I wouldn't use my Bronco as an example of fitment due to almost everything getting replaced on mine. I'm kinda just making it all fit together. I'm not building a Bronco exactly as it would of been from the factory. I'm just getting everything fit the best I can.

 

[broncobsession]

Holy cow man! You should change your name to BradTheDestroyer.

 

[BradtheWelder]

So this is finally coming together. I got really irritated with the fitment of the tail light panel. The upper body line did not even come close. It was about 3/8" off. So to fix it I spliced the top of the old panel with the new lower part. The lower tail light panel is cut just below the body line so hopefully it smooth out nicely. I had to kind of cut it at the top so I may push it in so the upper part could fit over the lower part. The quarter panel fit up pretty nice.all I got to do is get the striker on and some patch work with the floor and I'll be done with the driver side.

 

[big a]

Lookin great!

 

[Pa PITT]

..Sweet keep any pictures of this repair coming.. I need to fix this on my Red ROJO Bronco.

 

[broncosbybart]

Nice work! I guess you got a new tailgate as well. It will all be worth it in the end.

 

[BradtheWelder]

Started to fit up the striker and rocker panel today. It's looking pretty good and went together surprisingly easy. Not a whole bunch of modifying with them. Nothing is final yet but it's screwed together now. One thing I did need to change was the radius of the upper striker panel did not match the radius of the "filler piece" but that can be changed pretty easily with some cutting and hammering.

 

[BradtheWelder]

Shutting the door on the bronco. Lines up very nice. There is a video below.

http://youtu.be/kEfZ4vRe5eQ

 

[BradtheWelder]

Tonight I got to work on the Bronco again. Some people will probably hate or like what I did tonight.

I cut the rear fenders.

I was dying to see what it will look like and I think I made the right decision. It's not final but gives me a good picture of what it's going to like when it's done. I cut up a passenger side front fender for the extra metal I needed to cover the old wheel opening on the quarter panel.

 

[big a]

Looks great! I love the look of the uncut broncos, but I really like where you're going with yours. I haven't decided if I'm gonna do the same, or just put flares on mine. I'm anxious to see how yours turns out!

I'm building a purpose built expo-type rig, so uncut just won't work for me.

Nice work!

-Andy

 

[BradtheWelder]

Looks great! I love the look of the uncut broncos, but I really like where you're going with yours. I haven't decided if I'm gonna do the same, or just put flares on mine. I'm anxious to see how yours turns out!

I'm building a purpose built expo-type rig, so uncut just won't work for me.

Nice work!

-Andy

Why won't uncut work for you?

I want for this exploring also. The last 7 years I have went into the Rocky Mountains and I love it. I want to do a rooftop tent but that is way down the road. But if I have to I will make a small trailer to tow with me but I want to avoid having another project for a while. But I think a trailer would be a lot easier of a project. We will see.

 

[big a]

Well, I don't want skinny tires to tuck into the rear fenders. I want to offset the tires/wheels out to add a little stability and I don't want to worry about getting into the fender. It's, just a much easier problem to solve by either cutting or welding like what you are doing. I also have mine lifted much more than I want to make clearance for the engine and oil pan. I'm probably going to end up with a 2" BL and 3.5" SL. I'd like to run 33s, but may have to go bigger to fill the wheel wells out.

I'm going to build a flat roof rack and tie it into the roll cage through the roof. I have a rtt, but I'm gonna build a trailer once I'm done as well! Then, projects will stop for a while so I can enjoy what I've built

 

[BradtheWelder]

I decided tonight the floor was in too poor of shape. It had to go.

 

[BradtheWelder]

I looked at the price of all the parts I need for the floor and it would end up costing well over $1000. I don't have that kind of money right now for this project. But looking at the channels that support the floor I realized they measure 3"x1" without the spot weld flange. I'm going to pick up some 3"x1" rectangular tubing with 11 gauge walls. It is only $3.60 a foot. I will also not be buying anymore Bronco floorboards and I will just make them fit myself. So the next part of this project will be quite different than any Bronco I've seen. I may lower the floorboards for different seat options. Stay tuned

 

[broncosbybart]

1 step forward, 2 steps back- or something along those lines!

I'm sure you'll come up with something cool!

 

[big a]

Nice work! I know its not fun when you're ready to turn a corner and find more rust. The fun part of these old broncos is they are blank canvases! You can fab what you need and just the way you want! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
-Andy