At what point should I just start with a new tub?

[Westby]

My first car aka my 74 Bronco I've had for 21 years had a fire two years ago and thru a bad mechanic and my schedule it's in worse shape then when I dropped it off. I'm still furloughed and have been spending my time working on it.

I'm planning on selling my daily driver to fund it all, but the quote I got for body work was 7500 in hourly and as I've found so far about 2k in sheet metal. crawling around underneath a lot of earlier repairs from back in the day are starting to show rust and hidden problems. At this point my windshield frame is ss, my tailgate, front fenders, and hood are new, and the engine is out of either a 79 torino or fairlane with a bunch of edelbrock bolt ons so originality isn't that big a deal anymore.

Dennis Carpenter is about 2 hours away and the shop I was going to use is within an hour of there so what do you guys think. I don't have a garage to work/store and the driveway I'm moving into next month is like a 35 degree incline so self restoration would be a bitch.

I'm at a loss.

 

[SteveL]

There were guys on here selling all new assembled complete bodies. You might be able to buy what you need assembled from them. I think the complete ones were like 12 or 15k.

 

[Steve83]

At the point that repairing your original to perfect condition will cost ~60~80% of new or more.

But if you can't do the job, and can't find anyone you trust to do it, either shelve it, or sell it.

 

[Timstrk]

Get with one of the new body suppliers and tell them what you have. They can build the rest to hang your existing new part on. Will cut down the total and all will be new.

 

[ngsd]

IF you can find a relatively rust free one that needs work, grab it and finish it before buying a new one. You will have an original and probably the same money. I bought one for 6500 that needed a couple floor pans and had cut rears. I paid 6500 and people thought I was crazy. For another 10k, this will be nicer than the re-pop at the same price and still original Ford. They are out there but pay up and get a good starter. Just be willing to pay more than you expect.

 

[Westby]

At the point that repairing your original to perfect condition will cost ~60~80% of new or more.

But if you can't do the job, and can't find anyone you trust to do it, either shelve it, or sell it.

It's my first car, it's my baby, it's not getting sold.

 

[langester]

If you have lots of time and not a lot of money fix it yourself for sure. If you have lots of money and not time buy another body or one with a usable body. I have recently finished up mine that was mostly rusted out. No way I could afford a new body, took me nearly 9 years but I saved money, but if I figured up my time,a new body is cheaper for sure.

On a side note, you should think about becoming a contributor to the site so you can post up pics directly. Pics always help with what kind of direction someone on here might point you as well.

 

[spap]

You know if you have to ask it’s time

 

[trailerjack]

If selling it is not an option and you don't have a good shop to do the work, get a new body.

Sound like you are in a time crunch, so those are your options if you're wanting to make it work.

Personally, I think I would look at putting the whole project in long term storage, and then when the dust settles I would take another look at how to get it done.

 

[hatleyjm]

This raises an interesting philosophical question that I heard once on Car Talk. Where does the soul of a car reside? If you change every part on the car out with something new, is it the same car? Does it have the same soul? Since it seems like money isn't the ultimate deciding factor for you, what is your level of sentimentality to the original sheet metal? If you think that the Bronco's soul resides in the original body, only change out the necessary pieces. It sounds like this will save you money but likely take longer at the body shop. If you think the Bronco's soul is somewhere else (or the Bronco is perhaps atheistic), and prefer to save time, get the new tub.

Obviously this is a jocular response to your question, but I am sort of dealing with the same question and have personally decided to just go the route of as-needed sheet metal replacement to save money.

 

[blubuckaroo]

I draw the line at the cowl. Cowl rusted out and the whole body is toast.
Others here may see replacing it worthwhile.

 

[Westby]

Well the wait time is over a year so cut and weld it is.

 

[Speedrdr]

Well the wait time is over a year so cut and weld it is.

At this point in the lifetime you've owned this EB, I personally think repair/rebuild is the way to go. So what if it takes a little longer and it's redone in stages? I know it is not the most expedient means, but look at the experience and new swear words you'll learn.
That's kind of how my rebuild is going, anyway.
Randy

 

[Mikesimp70]

If you’re not doing the work, rebuild will cost more and take longer. If you’re emotionally tied and originality is important to you then it doesn’t matter, spend the $$ and time as you will be happier when driving it!

 

[fordguy]

Get an original repaired tub from delconick, OG as the say. Less money than the new tubs. Somebody will buy your tub.