A pillar question

[Tamnative3]

I have my A pillar and doors done but at the top between the windshield and fender there is a gap. As everything that I had to remove was rusted and unidentifiable and as there is little to no information either by suppliers or any publications worth a bit what goes there and what is it supposed to look like.
Information on these trucks is pathetic, and the discriptions given by suppliers needs to be much more informative.

 

[DirtDonk]

I think the experts on bodywork here will still need to see a picture of what you’re talking about.
A lot of things can go wrong between the A-pillar and every other part of the body. Seems like everything was built off the A-pillars and cowl/windshield area on these things.
Any chance you can post up some pictures

To post directly, you have to become a contributor for a dollar a month. Or you can upload them to your user CP, in the “garage“ or “gallery” locations.

 

[Tamnative3]

Picture is in gallery under 74 Bronco

 

[EPB72]

Picture is in gallery under 74 Bronco

there will be a gap there 3\16 to 1\4 inch if you loosen up fender bolts you may be able to tighten it up,then your door may need readjusting ,,, BUT your hood should be installed in its near final postion , That Gap you mention is also the gap between the hood and fender ,,,, SO if there s no gap you probably wont be able to close your hood ....,,,

 

[EPB72]

 

[Tamnative3]

there will be a gap there 3\16 to 1\4 inch if you loosen up fender bolts you may be able to tighten it up,then your door may need readjusting ,,, BUT your hood should be installed in its near final postion , That Gap you mention is also the gap between the hood and fender ,,,, SO if there s no gap you probably wont be able to close your hood ....,,,

 

[Tamnative3]

There is no way that I could get a 3/16“-1/4” gap the A pillar dictates we’re the door and fender go and my hood is approximately 1/2” smaller at that point. There must be something missing.

 

[Tamnative3]

There is no way that I could get a 3/16“-1/4” gap the A pillar dictates we’re the door and fender go and my hood is approximately 1/2” smaller at that point. There must be something missing.

Plus the fender is attached in the original spot I never messed with that area I just replaced the A pillar.

 

[Tamnative3]

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just the way it was made originally. It would explain why so many rust issues in this area.

 

[jamesroney]

I think the experts on bodywork here will still need to see a picture of what you’re talking about.
A lot of things can go wrong between the A-pillar and every other part of the body. Seems like everything was built off the A-pillars and cowl/windshield area on these things.
Any chance you can post up some pictures

To post directly, you have to become a contributor for a dollar a month. Or you can upload them to your user CP, in the “garage“ or “gallery” locations.

Yeah, I looked at the gallery, and he put the door post in the wrong place, and didn't re-form the kick panel offset. So there's about 1/2 inch between the door and the cowl. You can tell it's wrong because the upper door frame is proud of the windshield drip channel by about 1/4 inch.

All of the people that said the gap should be ~3/16 are correct. Anyone that says it was ever 1/2 inch is in trouble.

Unfortunately, once you install the A-post wrong, the fender and door hinges reference each other off the hinge post. So the door and fender line up clean. But the door won't fit the windshield, and then the back of the door won't fit quarter panel. There will always be daylight at the weatherstrip. Even after you start bending and twisting door shells.

I have had to do some minor modification to the kick panel offset bend to accommodate the aftermarket A-pillar. Which is why I refuse to use a pre-welded A-post. It's only about 1/4 inch...but it might as well be a foot when you get it wrong. If you can fit a paint stick between the top of the fender to the cowl...that's about right. A pencil is too thick. Once the fender is right, you match the door to the fender, and it will be right. Every other car on the planet, you match the door to the cowl, and the fender to the door. But Bronco's are backwards. You locate the door post using the fender.

 

[Tamnative3]

Yeah, I looked at the gallery, and he put the door post in the wrong place, and didn't re-form the kick panel offset. So there's about 1/2 inch between the door and the cowl. You can tell it's wrong because the upper door frame is proud of the windshield drip channel by about 1/4 inch.

All of the people that said the gap should be ~3/16 are correct. Anyone that says it was ever 1/2 inch is in trouble.

Unfortunately, once you install the A-post wrong, the fender and door hinges reference each other off the hinge post. So the door and fender line up clean. But the door won't fit the windshield, and then the back of the door won't fit quarter panel. There will always be daylight at the weatherstrip. Even after you start bending and twisting door shells.

I have had to do some minor modification to the kick panel offset bend to accommodate the aftermarket A-pillar. Which is why I refuse to use a pre-welded A-post. It's only about 1/4 inch...but it might as well be a foot when you get it wrong. If you can fit a paint stick between the top of the fender to the cowl...that's about right. A pencil is too thick. Once the fender is right, you match the door to the fender, and it will be right. Every other car on the planet, you match the door to the cowl, and the fender to the door. But Bronco's are backwards. You locate the door post using the fender.

If you look at the bolt that holds the fender to the cowl at the front near the windshield is the original mounting point for the fender and has Never been changed (as in it came from ford that way) also the A piller is mounted in the same spots as the original and were 2 piece from Dennis Carpenter and are supposed to be made from the original ford dies. The doors are hung and work perfectly. There is No way that piller is in the wrong place.

 

[DirtDonk]

Then, would not that gap als have been there from the factory? Maybe the hood was covering it up?
If you did not move the fender, cowl, or windshield frame, and all you replaced was the hinge post, then how does the relationship between the other pieces change?
Sorry if I’m misunderstanding your original question, but I’m not intimately familiar with how that section of the body goes together.
As luck would have it, I’ve never had to replace one.

 

[Tamnative3]

The truck is new to me and I never really paid attention to that area until recently. I just thought there was something missing.

 

[DirtDonk]

Ahh, gotcha. Normally around here, we’d just chalk it up to the fact that Ford often did a very sloppy job of putting Broncos together. Which they did!
In fact, when you do find some of the oddball bits, it’s surprising that as many Broncos managed to be built as well as they were.
They seemed to put much more effort into their other vehicles.

Plus, with these rigs often being driven hard and put away wet, and add 50+ years of Previous Owners doing who-knows-what in the way of “fixing” them, it’s hard to even say how it came from the factory.
I don’t remember gaps exactly like yours, but there is plenty of precedent for ill-fitting panels.

Happen to have any pictures of it with the hood still on?

 

[DirtDonk]

One example of “how did that get past QC” is my friend’s ‘77 Ranger.
Passenger floor, where it meets the kick panel in front of the door, has a huge gap that lets you see down to the ground.
I guess they figured that, with the carpet mostly hiding it, nobody would notice/care.
Or maybe it was just intended as a drain to let all the water out that invariably got past the seams, seals, gaps and cracks?
Hmm, probably why his didn’t have any rust on the floor!