How do you attack this rust?....74 Build Start

[aaron6920]

IT RUNS!!!! After the initial running of the fuel pump we had a leak on the left side of the injectors. We had to take the upper back off and get the bracket bent differently. After that she fired right up!! I was stoked! After some tweeting of the distributor it ran perfect no misses. I had to take off to Iowa for a few days right after initial startup so I didn't get go run it a whole lot but it was pretty cool to be injected

 

[Karl's 68]

Great looking ride! We should get another north east Wi ride together going! Karl

 

[aaron6920]

Great looking ride! We should get another north east Wi ride together going! Karl

Hey Katl, that sounds great to me! We should line up a time.

Aaron

 

[aaron6920]

Well I finally got the fenders back on the beast ;D;D

They turned out to be a complete nightmare to get to fit properly. I was not impressed with the gaps and just how far off the fenders were. I should have taken some pics of the first trial fit. But here is a pic of the rig with fenders back on. I still have to drill out for the side markers and hook back up the electrical but you get the idea.

 

[aaron6920]

I also put a new exhaust system on her. I got the two into one kit from BC Broncos and that turned out to be a two week event in itself. I broke off an exhaust stud on one manifold and don't own a torch. After inspection they all looked really bad so I took both manifolds off and down to my buddies place that has a torch and with heat they still were extremely stubborn. I got the other three off but ended up breaking the stud that I had to replace originally . So I had to drill that stud out and use a 7/16 Heli-Coil for the new stud.

I had to order the heli-coil online so it took a little while to get here. But the BC bronco exhaust kit does fit very well. I welded the seams together on the tailpipe. I only used clamps on the muffler so I can actually take it apart again. I welded to the an exhaust clamp so that if I needed to replace I didnt have a muffler hanger welded to both pipes. %)

 

[Stutsmo]

Looks good from here! What fenders did you get the Dynacorns or the cheaper ones?

 

[aaron6920]

The kit does not include a tailpipe, I made one from pieces that you can buy from AutoZone. It actually turned out pretty well for a cobbed together tailpipe. Cheaper than taking to a muffler shop also.

 

[aaron6920]

Looks good from here! What fenders did you get the Dynacorns or the cheaper ones?

I don't think they are Dynacorn, I think the brand started with an S but I cant remember. They have the pre-drilled holes for the fender emblem and I found after that a better fitting fender has no pre-holes drilled? But oh well after some trimming and taking the fenders out in the lawn to really push on them they ended up fitting alright.

 

[aaron6920]

OK, so after moving into our first house last November life has been busy but fun as of late. Have a nice 3 stall garage that I got heated and insulated, 220 plug for the welder, all of this just in time for winter to be over .

But, nothing got done on the bronco since last summer so the last two saturdays I finally made some forward movement. I have had both new quarter panels from Jeff's bronco graveyard for the past few months. I have cancer at the bottom of the quarter and along the seam. The driver side is also all bunged up with dents and multiple gas tank drillings. SOOO time to Finally get after it.

I started by cutting a couple inches from the seam to access the spot welds. Then I was able to get at the many, many spot welds. The tough part is actually the two areas where the quarter is "sandwiched." The first part is lower rocker area and the second the taillight housing area. I tried to take a pic to show that.

This is a real PITA! I had to use by screwdriver and use as a chisel and basically bust out all the welds in these two areas. After you get through those two it is smooth sailing. I went through about 3 harbor freight spot weld cutters. I now have purchased a nice Blair made in USA spot weld cutter that can hopefully last a little longer.

 

[aaron6920]

I used Chassis Saver from Magnet Paints after I got the loose rust cleaned up and it really dresses up and protects the inner wheel area. It looks good and I am happy with the results.


Here are some tips from me anyway for fitting the new quarter:

1. You will have to take on and off and trim about 80 million times

2. Get the top seam lined up first and then go to the sides, it really seems to help I had the most trouble getting an acceptable gap along the top seam when I thought I was ok on the sides.

3. Use sheet metal screws to hold up the quarter in place and help you. I used #8 x 3/4" sheet metal screws and they are a life saver.

4. I had to adjust the welder feed up/less heat for the sides and more heat for the top seam. The metal seems like it takes more heat than the sides at least for me.

For being Taiwan fenders they were ok to start, lots of tweeking, the disappointing thing is the metal is much thinner than the original but what can ya do.

Here is some pics. Hopefully more progress to come.

 

[broncodriver99]

Lookin good man.

 

[aaron6920]

Lookin good man.

Thanks Bronco Driver!

 

[aaron6920]

Well just an update on the bronco project I got my passenger side striker replaced that was a real pain in the butt! There are several spot welds to drill out to get the striker out of there. The lip of the quarter panel was also rotten but the rest of the quarter is solid. So I needed to weld onto the quarter panel and smooth it down and it worked pretty well. I just lined up the striker the best I could from eyesight and then clamped and moved ...... until the door finally fit perfect on the striker. Here are some pics.

 

[aaron6920]

And a pic with the welds smoothed down. I still have to do a little straightening but overall I am happy.

 

[aaron6920]

Now the fun stuff! I ordered an NV3550 and we are going 5 speed Got the tranny out and here a couple pics:

 

[aaron6920]

Well I wanted to update the bronco progress, I have not been the best at taking pictures this winter but figured I would post a couple.

The NV3550 is in and shifting , since I had a C4 before I had to replace the column and make it smooth and also utilized a hydraulic slave cylinder for the clutch setup.

 

[aaron6920]

Also reskinned the driver door, my exisiting door was rotten so I bought a used door. I had to reskin it but the aftermarket skin was pretty decent.

I also had one bear of a time with the metal threaded plate that the door bolts into I had to cut them out, put new in and reweld it.

 

[aaron6920]

Had one section of floor that was bad so I just got done replacing that last weekend.

Also filled in the holes for the stock tire carrier, never been a big fan of that

 

[WheelHorse]

Dude, you're kicking butt and taking names. Great work and keep us in the loop.

 

[aaron6920]

Dude, you're kicking butt and taking names. Great work and keep us in the loop.

Thanks Man! Trying to keep moving forward. Exciting to think about paint coming soon