At what point is glass justified

[Humphrey]

So at what point of decay would glass be justified.

parts to fix tub at current, comes out to over $1900 Essentially everything in the tub except the tailgate is pretty damn shot and most likely not be savagable. Theres essentiallya whole in ever panel of the tub, except the Tail Light panels and the inner quarter panels. Add in the fact that this all will take alot fo time to replace, Id have to square the majority of the body up, and quite possibly make parts fo the tub that just arent available on teh vendors list, at what point for those that have gone to glass did you say hey the 3000 dollars for the swap was justified. I wish the glass bodies had uncut fenders.

Originally the bronco was gonna be a drivetrain and frame donor for a bII but the truck is intact and all there, there hasnt been any parts robbed off of it and its just all there(hard o find thing in these parts). Hence id rather invest the time and money to have a Early Bronco Body of some sort on it.

 

[Skuzzlebutt]

That's a stumper. I suppose it all depends on you, your finances, your skills, your tools, your time frame for completion, yada yada yada...
If it were me, and I had a MIG, I would go with all steel. I've used glass on other vehicles before with good results, but those cars weren't "Good Ole American Iron," like a Bronco.

 

[kuch68]

I went the all steel route and the only pieces I won't be replacing are the upper quarter panels, tailgate, hood, grill, and core support. It was an awesome learning experience and I am really making progress lately. I will probably have the drivers door area finished this weekend. Check out the thread:

http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70006

Gave me a good reason to get some good tools, welder, and a awesome knowledge base to tackle future projects.

have fun.

 

[SaddleUp]

Almost every piece (if not every piece) is available in the aftermarket through either the vendors or through Dennis Carpenter. (Many of the parts the vendors sell come from there) Generally speaking good old american iron (I.E. Steel) will look better once it's complete. (It's harder to get glass smooth) As far as the work involved neither one will be a simple task. With glass there will be a lot of custom work done to get everything bolted up solid and a lot of extra ground wires to run. With the right tools it is probably a toss up as to which one would be easier. That said if I had the choice and the cost was the same I would probably go with fiberglass to loose a little weight.

 

[Hogback]

It comes down to preference. I would think glass would be a mess to get aligned right, a mess to repair, bad about cracking. In my opinion there is a lot to be said for having steel under neath you and wrapped around you.
Steel is real

 

[broncomanbrad]

Contrary to popular belief, fiberglass is pretty easy to repair. I just bought a glass tub and it looks pretty awesome. One thing to consider is what area you live in. Is it a rusty type town? There are a lot of threads on this topic and if you search for "fiberglass tub" you should get some good results.

 

[Humphrey]

I went the all steel route and the only pieces I won't be replacing are the upper quarter panels, tailgate, hood, grill, and core support. It was an awesome learning experience and I am really making progress lately. I will probably have the drivers door area finished this weekend. Check out the thread:

http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70006

Gave me a good reason to get some good tools, welder, and a awesome knowledge base to tackle future projects.

have fun.

How much has that steel cost you?

How much extra time have you spent framing in the tub prior to disacembly to maintian the square?

How much time did you spend to get the body squared up before you started the dismantelly?



Equipment is availabel, so tahts not really an issue, nor is the time realy, it takes as long as it takes. Im just trying to find at what point is it mroe cost effective to just replace the tub with glass. The glass tub could be on in a weekend, the grounds could eb handled under the dash witha regular electrical grounding block and thena heavy gauge ground wire back to the frame/battery. The rear lights youd just ground back to the frame liek normal. Fiberglass isnt incredibly tough to smooth out, it jsut take as good bit of sanding, a gel coat. Most facory fiberglass aprts are incredibly smooth, except for maybe the fiberglass tops on fullsize broncos.


Basicly its cost analysis, let alone consideration for 15 years down the road.

At what point does a person in there right mind say "f this, Ill get a glass tub and be done with it"

 

[Pa PITT]

where you from ...i didnt see it in your profile ...
if you was close i've got 2 tubs , not off, not perfect, but i keep looking at them as I pass ....how much trouble would that be ...one i think would make another bronco .....
........................... papitt...............

 

[Humphrey]

I need to fill that out,

Located in Maine, were it snows, and rains, and 95% of the population lives within 45 minutes of the coast...

 

[Scott M]

if it ain't steel, it ain't real

just MHO (not that it's worth even .02). saw an EB w/ a glass front end two days ago and it looked terrible. just reaffirmed my beliefs. but yeah, glass is easy to repair.

 

[Humphrey]

I wouldnt do the front glass, Im just reffering to the tub. I dont particularly care for the one piece cowl nose.

 

[Jeepster]

glass it and be done with it. if the tub is that rotted its a nightmare to scare the rust away. If your gonna drive it (DD) it makes it a little easier on your mind knowing at least that part wont rust. Glass is not perfect thought. On the other hand Metal is, in my mind, best but your looking at mucho work and time let alone tools to do the job right. All-in-all its time or money........ I think in the end it all evens out one way or another. Glass might be faster($) but metal takes more time and in the end just about the same $.

The factor for me would be "uncut" If I were to do body work on my rig it would be to restore it back to "uncut"

 

[long6002]

Glass isn't a weekend job. Trust me, becuase I am at the tail end of a glass tub install. It takes a long time. Getting the old tub off took me, and a friend who is a professional 8 hrs. Getting the new tub on the frame is easy, and takes a couple of hours to allign, and bolt on. Running the grounds are super easy. The tough part is cutting the holes in the fire wall, and getting the steering, and master cylinder lined up. Then you have to get the clip all lined up, and bolted on. Also alligning the gas filler necks can be troublesome. Another thing to know is that the stock steering column does not bolt right on you have to fabricate a steel hanging plate.

However even with all of this work I would say it is still much easier than completely building a steel tub.

If I were you I would consider finding a used steel tub, that is in good shape, they are hard to come by, but less exspensive than both fiberglass, and new steel.

 

[kuch68]

How much has that steel cost you?

How much extra time have you spent framing in the tub prior to disacembly to maintian the square?

How much time did you spend to get the body squared up before you started the dismantelly?

It's tough to say exactly how much time because I had a lot of travel and time away from the bronco due to work and getting married. However, In the last month I got the whole rear section reworked (striker posts back) and the drivers door area was completed today. Only thing left is the cowl and inner fenders.

I would agree that after you factor in the additional time to redo nearly every part on the tub it is worth the money to either find a better tub that only needs a small amount of repair, or a fiberglass tub. I bought my bronco knowing that it was my "learning" vehicle, so I wanted to tackle the whole project.

good luck