Duffy's 77 Build Thread- Restomod, daily, re-uncut

[duffymahoney]

Going uncut is going well!

 

[duffymahoney]

Rear cut outs are almost done.

 

[broncobsession]

Where did you find the cutouts? That looks awesome.

 

[duffymahoney]

I just bought full panels, then made the cutouts.

 

[thesnake]

You did really nice work on that rear quarter. Any "gotchas" you ran into while doing it?

J.D.

 

[duffymahoney]

You did really nice work on that rear quarter. Any "gotchas" you ran into while doing it?

J.D.

I have a kid doing all the body work, I get his input and do a write up. He said it wasn't "terrible". He stepped the panel in. Hopefully the rolling frame will be done and the body painted by the end of the oct.

 

[duffymahoney]

Here is my next project. I need to get these fully refinished. I'm going powder coated and stainless with a new wiper motor.

 

[duffymahoney]

Ok, I have been working on the gas tanks. I really want to keep my stock poly 14.4 gallon rear tank. I personally don't like how far down all the aftermarket tanks go. I can't get over the look of it. Plus 14.4 gallons is enough, it's about what my tundra has. I tried a few different paints on the tanks, first I tried bumper paint, then standard auto stuff then finally I gave my engine paint a try. The engine paint was by far the strongest and it doesn't scratch or scrap off easily and is resistant to gas. It smells nasty when curing, which makes me think it's actually going to hold. I used Dupli-Color Engine Enamel with ceramic.

The poly rear tank had a crack in the tank vent area, I used this technique ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbtUxJJs8G0 ) and welded the seam and then used gas tank repair caulk to smooth out the welds and make everything look great.

I will be running the aux tank as a reserve. I will put a transfer pump inline to re-fill the rear tank. Which should net me around 23 gallons. I plan on using the stock dash gas level switch to a relay, that way when I switch to aux it will start pumping gas from the aux to the main tank, I can slowly watch it empty to the main while still driving.

I plan on using the tanks vent with a new fitting for the efi gas return, then use a vented gas caps for both tanks. Is there any reason this won't work?

I got Tom's Bronco's new stainless fuel tank sending units, then I will be using bronco graveyards new 77 stainless gas tank nut. Mine was broke. Along with new straps and new bolts.

 

[duffymahoney]

I got the door panels done today. The door panels were originally from Toms but I didn't want the carboard backing. I also don't want screws showing so I used push rivets again and made templates to match the stock holes. I then used bronco huts fiberglass panels for the vinyl to wrap onto. They work and look great!

 

[Germd]

I agree, he probably still can, but he would call me with facetime and show me the bronco and vin, and show it run. It made me rest easy. Which opened up my wallet. Having possession of the rig made it so he could answer questions, take pictures of whats needed. Hopefully it scared him and he stopped.

I'm confused why the cops chose not to prosecute the guy since there appears to be enough evidence that this was a scam and the guy had no intention of delivering the truck. Did they give you the choice of taking possession of the truck or prosecuting and hoping to recoup some of the money? Just seems like mail fraud across state lines should be something the feds would be all over and you would be dropping the case into their lap. Sadly, I think prosecutors use actuarial tables these days when deciding whether or not to prosecute civil cases, rather than whether a law was actually broken.

Anyways - I'm glad you were able to gain possession of the truck so the guy at least has to start over to scam someone else. Looks like you're going to have a very sweet rig.

 

[duffymahoney]

They didn't give me any choice, I had lots of evidence, but nothing they thought was good enough. Oh well.

 

[duffymahoney]

A lot of my parts had a strange surface rust on it. It wasn't deep enough to pit it. I found this amazing product. The rust litterally melts away. I have used it on so many parts. I just let them sit for say 48 hours, scrub a little bit, and let it soak for another 24 hours. It also removes paint! www.evaporust.com , I got it at o'reilly's. I got new rubber and handle for the parking brake from wildhorses. I am hopefully getting my rolling frame and body back this month! I would have to have it for the snowy winter and spend a long time with the wiring and install.

Here is the parking break. Sorry I don't have a before. I also got the stock 77 gas tanks fully finished. The stainless sending units are nice! Plus I got the new pig tails to make my wiring easier. I didn't powdercoat the parking brake, I was worried it has too many moving parts.

Next is getting the break and gas pedal powder coated, then the gas tank skid plates.

 

[duffymahoney]

I got the stock door lock mechanisms all dialed. I chemical dipped them with the rust remover and then took some hours with the dremel tool. I only have a few dirty- rusty parts left! I can almost see the light at the end. Someday I will get to drive it.

Should I paint these clear? Any protections? I only removed paint from the door striking part.

 

[duffymahoney]

I got a bunch of stuff back from the powder coater. I am sure glad I have a friend that owns a powder coating shop! I don't think I would have gone to this level without her help. I got both gas tank skid plates done, tranny mount, toms seat mounts, wiper motor mount, gas pedal and brake pedal assembly, head light bezels and trim, and the sport chrome trim from the rest of the bronco. I haven't decided on the black trim yet for the outside. I might end up doing the milled aluminum stuff. I think it really depends on the color I pick. Or I might get them re- coated in a satin silver. I really like that color.

 

[duffymahoney]

Here is my center console. It's a toms, but the paint wasn't good enough, so I stripped it down and had it powder coated. I then added a usb port and cable for my phone to connect to the deck, 2 usb power jacks and heated seats. I will be doing dual zone in all 4 seats. I will hopefully drive it a lot and on cold nights I think the heated seats will be a great addition. They fit great in the stock stereo location.

 

[duffymahoney]

Wiper and gas and break are all back together. I am running low on projects that I can do until I get the body back.

 

[duffymahoney]

I got Toms Bronoc seats back from the upholstery shop. I had to change the wiring for the seat heaters because of the fold and tumble rear seat. I have the wiring come out near the hinge.

While they were apart I changed out the foam. These seats are not comfortable at all. I would have sent them back but shipping would be terrible. I am now happy with their fit and finish.

 

[duffymahoney]

Here is where the rear heated seats wiring comes out.

 

[Ratch]

Looking good, I like all the detailed components. How is the body coming along?

 

[duffymahoney]

It's coming along. But it's taking forever. The axels go back on the frame this weekend. Then we need to test fit the inner core on the body. Then pull the body and sand blast everything. I really want the body and frame back before winter snows start.