DrLathrop
Full Member
My battery tray, brackets, body mount, core support & wheel well all had some cancer going on so I finally got around to fixing it over the last few weekends.
I rented a plasma cutter from Sunbelt Rentals at Lowes. Awesome tool for a $50 rental. Cut out the cancer. Used cardboard to make repair panel templates & cut out the new metal with the plasma before returning it. I got the sheet metal from Tractor Supply for repair pieces to the wheel well, core support & for a new battery tray. I ordered the body mount/core support bracket & inner and outer battery tray/core support/wheel well brackets from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard. They arrived quickly & just as described on their website.
Sheet metal screws holds everything together for now until I can swing the purchase of a welder & have some time to practice to prevent making a total mess of the area & all the time making the repair panels. I have never done body work so be gentle.
The new & el cheapo battery tray was made from some sheet metal, brackets from walmart & some machine screws with nuts & lock washers. I covered the battery tray with some left over spray on bedliner that I had in the paint basket in the garage cabinet.
I will disassemble the area to primer/paint while masking off the areas that will be welded then paint over those prior to completing the repair. All together it cost me about $115 in materials & a few weekends to get it done at a lazy pace.
Hopefully anyone else having to do this similar repair can get ideas & a good visual from this post.
I rented a plasma cutter from Sunbelt Rentals at Lowes. Awesome tool for a $50 rental. Cut out the cancer. Used cardboard to make repair panel templates & cut out the new metal with the plasma before returning it. I got the sheet metal from Tractor Supply for repair pieces to the wheel well, core support & for a new battery tray. I ordered the body mount/core support bracket & inner and outer battery tray/core support/wheel well brackets from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard. They arrived quickly & just as described on their website.
Sheet metal screws holds everything together for now until I can swing the purchase of a welder & have some time to practice to prevent making a total mess of the area & all the time making the repair panels. I have never done body work so be gentle.
The new & el cheapo battery tray was made from some sheet metal, brackets from walmart & some machine screws with nuts & lock washers. I covered the battery tray with some left over spray on bedliner that I had in the paint basket in the garage cabinet.
I will disassemble the area to primer/paint while masking off the areas that will be welded then paint over those prior to completing the repair. All together it cost me about $115 in materials & a few weekends to get it done at a lazy pace.
Hopefully anyone else having to do this similar repair can get ideas & a good visual from this post.
