Inner kick panel...all fixed now!

[Bronco Paul]

Ok...so I'm installing a new inner fender, inner kick panel, inner rocker, and rocker panel on the driver's side. I've installed the inner rocker and it fits fine but the inner kick panel doesn't line up. It's clamped to the cowling and it's about an inch too long and the lower dash mount holes don't line up, it's about a 1/4 inch too low. The measurement from the edge of the inner kick panel sheet metal to the edge of the door striker post(door opening) is 35 1/2 inches both top and bottom and from the dash to the floor board is 15 1/16 inches so I'm thinking the truck is pretty square...has anyone else had this problem?

The area where the inner rocker panel should meet the indention on the inner kick panel:

The lower parts of the inner kick panel and the inner rocker panel...pretty sure these should line up...

 

[Past_Miner]

I'm having a hard time visualizing what you mean by the pictures you posted but I think I understand. It's been a whils since I did mine but I remember that that indention did not exactly line up. I do remember that the whole cowl sagged when I had it cut apart and I had to jack the whole assembly up with a floor jack and clamp/screw things a lot to make things align even though it seemed like it was square when I measured it. I couldn't find very many good pictures but this is what I have. I hope it helps.

 

[bk005]

I'm guessing cowl sagged on you. That indent should line up pretty close from my experience. I would lift cowl some and keep temporary fitting everything and see if lines up good.

 

[needabronco]

I believe you just learned a very valuable lesson when removing body panels on older cars. You really need to brace any thing that's structural before you cut the old metal away. This can help save you tons of time and make the job easier. It sounds like you can still save the job but be diligent when lifting the cowl to get everything squared up. Good luck.

 

[Bronco Paul]

Ok...so I've been doing some measurements and everything on the bad side(driver's side) matches up with everything on the good side(passenger side). The dash has the same amount of distance to the floor boards the floor boards are the same distance from the roof and before I removed the old sheet metal the door openings were the same top and bottom. I'm putting in a ton of pictures to show what I mean...

This is the Bronco with all the other panels attached...inner fender, inner rocker, and door post.

This shows the top where I've lined up the door post:

This is the bottom where the door post meets the inner rocker:

This is where the inner fender meets the firewall:

This is at the front of the inner fender to show that it's all lined up:

So now this is with the inner kick panel clamped on:

If the inner kick panel is lined up flush with the cowl(which I know...needs a patch):

Then the alignment of the inner fender doesn't match the inner kick panel...the inner kick panel is high:

Another problem besides the inner kick panel not slopeing down to meet the inner fender is that the indentation is about an inch low:

Which also sets the bottom edge low about 7/8 of an inch:

Now...if I align it so that the inner fender and the inner kick panel line up:

Then the cowling doesn't line up:

There's still the same problem with the indentation being too low:

and the bottom of the inner kick panel is still lower than the inner rocker panel:

and the out fender support holes also don't line up...they didn't line up in either of the ways I'm showing...

So...is it just a bad panel?

 

[suckerpunched]

I know you've been measuring, but what is holding the body up right now? Is there any weight on the floor that could be pushing it up? You might hang the fender to see how it lines up top and bottom, and bolt the door to the door post, see how it lines up. I gotta say it looks like the what is left of the cowl, windsheild support area has sagged and leaned back. At this point you just have to figure out what moved, and square it back up. I doubt it's the panel, The panels I have used have been surprisingly accurate.

 

[JohnJohn]

I will get my tape measure out when I get home but check these measurements against your tub.

 

[JohnJohn]

I just took measurement that may help you. From the drivers floor pan to the lower edge of the dash near the door pillar was 16" and 3/4" inches. The dash is not the best place to check because it is not welded to the tub but it may quickly tell you if the cowl has collapsed.

 

[Bronco Paul]

Ok...so judging by the amount of emails I get on this repair I'm assuming it needs to be concluded. First off...did I get it fixed???

Of course!


Now I bet you're wondering how I did it...

First we start off with spot welding in the inner rocker panel that I knew was right...and unless you've screw'd up your seat platform yours should be right also:


Then I clamped on all the other panels...Inner kick, door post, outer rocker, and fender. You should also have bolted the dash mount to the inner kick panel. Just a side note...if you look close you can see where I've placed a bottle jack to adjust the height of the dash:


And checked for proper fitting:

Outer rocker to inner rocker midway where the floor pan should be:


Outer rocker to the inner rocker at the end of the floor pan(my rocker had a slope of a little less than 1/64 of an inch from end to end...not too shabby! Yours might have a little slope, the less the better because everything will be based off how well the rocker lines up to the body):


Outer rocker to the door post (you might have a little gap...apply hammer! Use a plastic hammer...if you don't have one...get one! ...and I don't mean the mallet type...I mean the type that has the screw in plastic cap on one side and the rubber cap on the other, Harbor Freight has a pretty decent one). This needs to fit flush because you'll spot weld it there and then run seem sealer to keep the water out):


Outer rocker to front fender:


Front fender needs to line up to the edge of the hood, this is to make sure that the upper end of the door post is correct:


Outer rocker to rear striker door post...again...apply hammer:


Outer rocker to rear quarter panel...this was also a great time to repair any holes you might have!


I had an rust issue with the edge of the cowling:


So I replaced the metal...and did also fix the hole in the back...just forgot to take a picture. Also some may notice all of the popcorn on the front area...that's what happens when your welder runs out of gas!


Now everything should line up and fall somewhere in the measurements that are on the chart that JohnJohn posted...which you need to save and print out because you will refer to that a lot! I set the door in place to check the door gap...I have about a quarter inch all the way around, if your gap is larger than that you need to measure your outer rocker! My first one was almost a half an inch too long and I ended up with a half inch gap in the front! FYI...I got the door to stay up there for about five seconds...just long enough to take the picture! For measuring I propped it up with a 2X4:


I should also point out that at this time the inner kick panel and inner fender do not line up...don't worry...we'll fix that in a minute!


So...everything should be looking pretty good right about now and you should be basking in a glow of confidence...yeah...back to reality! Grab your tape measure and measure everything! Twice!! Three times!!! ...four times if need be! Because this is the point of no return...because if everything looks square (everything should match the other side of the Bronco...if you have another side that is!) we be welding! So...spot weld in everything checking measurements as you go. I also welded in the underside where the inner rocker and outer rocker meet:


It's so pretty!


So with that all welded...time to do another check to see if everything still lines up! Just a note...the gap on the window frame to the windshield is because the windshield is unbolted...I unbolted it so I could be sure that there wasn't any rust under it.


Ok...so now to make the inner front fender and the inner kick panel align. I also replaced the floor pan during this operation...so take the jack...and place it under the rear inner area where the floor pan, transmission tunnel, and the seat platform riser meet (it's the area in the upper right corner of this picture). You should be able to jack up this area and the inner fender and inner kick panel should align. I know this sounds crazy! ...jack up the rear floor pan and the front inner fender aligns with the inner kick panel! Trust me...it was Miller time after this happened! Up to this point I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get this thing back together...this is also the spot that most people that read this post end up emailing me wondering how I fixed it. You should also note that the area where the inner rocker and inner kick panel meet (spot with the big hole and two mounting holes for the lower fender support) didn't line up that great...not a big problem since you can't really see that area all that well once it's put together...some guys even cut one of the overlapping areas off which is not a bad idea seeing that it would mate to the floor pan better.


So...weld that guy in!


And while your at it...weld in the door post:


Clean up the welds...throw some rust encapsulator on it (which is what I've been applying on all the other panels):


Bolt the front fender and door on and there ya have it!


Well...hope that helps some of you guys out! Let me know if I something doesn't make since and I'll correct it.

 

[kbank6]

Okay, I see that you cwapped the old rusty floor pan for a new one last. I was told to do that first from a local shop. So is this a preferance as to when you change floor pans or is it easier to do this last??

 

[Bronco Paul]

The big reason I did it last is because I had a lot of sagging going on...so if I had installed the floor pan it would have just reinforced the sagging metal and I would have had to cut it free to allow me to move everything around in order to get it right.

 

[kbank6]

Fair enough thanks. I dont have any sagging going but just a lot of rust.