Re-welding those "awesome" factory welds?

[Nightstick]

I got most of the stuff striped off my frame yesterday, I'm hoping to have the rear end off tomorrow and the front not too long after that.

One of the first things I noticed are the hideous welds on pretty much the entire frame. Has anyone ever ground down and re-welded those items? The things I'm talking about are the short frame rails, body mounts, shock mounts, etc. Here's just one example of the welds, the others are pretty much the same quality.

 

[needabronco]

It's been done, but I'm honestly not sure it's worth all the effort? I've seen several different frames from a bunch of different rigs, all destined for hot rods, and most had the same crappy factory welds.

 

[lowpressure]

yeah, i just recently did..........after grinding down i found out pretty quick that even though they look like boogers they tend to be pretty deep.

 

[JIMS74]

I ground them all down, and rewelded some with voids or lack of penetration. 4x4x289 made a great suggestion, to brace/truss the front spring mount with some plate to the top of the frame.
Jim

 

[garberz]

The Bronco frames have always been known to be stout. You don't hear much about frame failures from the ugly welds. I'd agree about it, "not being worth all the effort". A frame off resto can consume an awful lot of time. I'd rather spend the time prepping and painting the frame.

 

[dead road]

One side of my frame had the terrible welds and the other side was pretty clean. I figured someone was in training that day but it looks like the nice welds were the exception. With a sofwheel I just cleaned up the spatter that was away from the bead itself. I actually made it look alot better.

 

[Nightstick]

I don't think it would take more than a few hours to grind a weld everything back up. Time I have, parts to install I don't... Might as well give her a go!!!

I don't doubt that the frame is structually sound, but something more aesthetically pleasing would be nice.

 

[jw0747]

Those welds wouldn't win a beauty contest but they've held together for about 40 years so they're deep and solid.

 

[Viperwolf1]

If you want to do some welding on the frame weld up some extra strength where the steering box goes.

 

[Nightstick]

Not a bad idea at all, I was going to do the track bar reinforcement as well.

 

[mavereq]

i've been welding on my frame for along time now. i cut all the old suspension brackets off and there is a lot of rust underneath them.

 

[Nightstick]

Yeah I'm gonna put the F250 shock towers on. Is there something similar/stronger that people use for the rear shocks?

 

[mavereq]

the rears are tricky. i'm planning on building shock hoops and running tie-ins through the top of my fenderwells.

wildhorses has a few different setups that look like they give you a little more distance between your shockmounts. i have a set of their rockjock shock mounts sitting in my storage that i never installed if you're interested.

 

[mavereq]

forgot to mention that you need to be careful welding on that frame. it's pretty thin so if you run long welds you'll notice some warping.

 

[garberz]

Inboard shock hoop. Simple, long travel, weld in place. Here's the link, scroll to the bottom of the page. This is the shock mount that Wild Horses and BCB's sells.

http://www.crossenterprises.com/66-77bronco.html

 

[stupidboy]

I like seeing those welds, I wouldn't grind them, just clean up the spatter and extra mig wire.

 

[Nightstick]

the rears are tricky. i'm planning on building shock hoops and running tie-ins through the top of my fenderwells.

wildhorses has a few different setups that look like they give you a little more distance between your shockmounts. i have a set of their rockjock shock mounts sitting in my storage that i never installed if you're interested.

Do you mean like a coilover type setup? I'd have to see what you mean but it sounds like that's more geared toward trail use. I saw those rockjocks, I'll do a little more research and let you know if I'll take them off your hands, I'll send a PM if I decide to get em.

That underside hoop is pretty cool, anyone ever used one? How does it perform on road?

 

[mavereq]

just saw this thread the other day about the inboard shock hoops:

http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171216&highlight=inboard

 

[Skiddy]

most all the factory welds are booger welds, guess they do have good penetration to last this long