Help with Oddball Aftermarket Brackets in rear of '76

[SpudBoy]

Just wondering if anyone can fill me in as to what these brackets are meant to be for? Scroll down to bottom of pix ... They are heavy aluminum. Odd thing is they don't match size (obviously) or mounting direction, nor are the flat surfaces parallel to each other so I don't think something was meant to be mounted across the bed to these. Based upon logic, since one faces forward and the other the tailgate, this suggests to me that whatever they were meant to mount should point in opposite directions. The rig originally had an aftermarket heavy duty bumper with extra mount for gas cans and cooler, so a gas can mount doesn't make sense to me. Maybe a high lift jack??? I am trying to figure out if they are worth keeping and re-using for something else. If anyone has seen something like this, or even a guess, let me know. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[DirtDonk]

Interesting. Can’t remember if I’ve seen this before or not. But certainly plenty of accessories were made for the Broncos back in the day.
Do they look old and original? Or were they that shiny when you got it?
Any other unusual accessories bolted to the bronco?

 

[Madgyver]

Previous owners attachment points for whatever he had or was into.

 

[toddz69]

Yeah, those are previous-owner-added.

Todd Z.

 

[SpudBoy]

Interesting. Can’t remember if I’ve seen this before or not. But certainly plenty of accessories were made for the Broncos back in the day.
Do they look old and original? Or were they that shiny when you got it?
Any other unusual accessories bolted to the bronco?

They are "as made/seen" - I am 100% positive that these are not OEM and something an owner put in at some point. I was just hoping that they would ring a bell with someone ...

 

[Steve83]

You could guess 1000x, and you might even guess right. But what good would it do you? If you have a use for them, use them. If not, and they bother you, remove them. Same for any Ford part you find.

 

[Broncobowsher]

100% not original. Doesn't even look like anything from the era in the aftermarket.
Looks like a prior owner had a need for something and had some scrap structural aluminum laying around that was made to work.
Work for what? It will either be a guessing game, or a sleuth game of tracking down a prior owner and hope they are still around and then might remember why they did that.

Short answer, some random scrap metal bolted to the bronco.

 

[SpudBoy]

100% not original. Doesn't even look like anything from the era in the aftermarket.
Looks like a prior owner had a need for something and had some scrap structural aluminum laying around that was made to work.
Work for what? It will either be a guessing game, or a sleuth game of tracking down a prior owner and hope they are still around and then might remember why they did that.

Short answer, some random scrap metal bolted to the bronco.

Pretty much what I thought, just hoping someone might be a sharper tack and had a bright idea I could use - I'm never afraid of someone smarter than me ... thanks to all.

 

[SteveL]

If I had to guess attach point for tie downs or bungees

 

[Soylent]

I would guess for a hi-lift jack as the small attachment is opposite direction of larger one.

 

[DirtDonk]

Or hold down points for scuba equipment, or specific camping gear, or muffler bearing re-packing fixtures.
The list goes on...

Paul

 

[SpudBoy]

I would guess for a hi-lift jack as the small attachment is opposite direction of larger one.

Good guess ... but as someone said, doesn't much matter. Just figure out what to do with them ...

 

[Speedrdr]

Good guess ... but as someone said, doesn't much matter. Just figure out what to do with them ...

The best thing you could do is figure out a use that ALL of us EB owners need and then market and sell them to us! I am an optimist, by the way. Lol

Randy