Replacing cut fenders with uncut fenders.

[Almost_An_Owner]

As all of you know—uncut trucks are harder to find and generally much more expensive. That said, I have two questions:

Question 1)
What's keeping me from buying a truck with cut fenders, replacing with uncut steel fenders and painting to match?

Question 2)
Any suggestions for the removing/replacing procedure? Most body shops could do something like that... right?

 

[Steve]

1. Time and money. Mainly money probably.

2. Are you talking about front or rears? Fronts just bolt on, so it's something you can do with basic hand tools. Installing new lower rear quarter panels is a bit more work. Yes, a body shop could do that but it'll be 'spensive. You can get new uncut rear lower quarters from JBG for under $100 each.

 

[bronko69er]

As all of you know—uncut trucks are harder to find and generally much more expensive. That said, I have two questions:

Question 1)
What's keeping me from buying a truck with cut fenders, replacing with uncut steel fenders and painting to match?

Question 2)
Any suggestions for the removing/replacing procedure? Most body shops could do something like that... right?

Welcome to the site!

1) Nothing, Only money.

2) Yes a good restoration shop should have no problem, again, it comes down to how much you can afford.

The real question is: How much more are uncut bronco's worth than cut (and how hard are they to find in your area), and how does that amount compair to the cost of paying someone to return it to uncut.....

Another qood question: Do you plan on doing a full restoration and keep it stock? Or are you planning on a reso-mod to do a little wheeling with?

Tell us your plans.

 

[Hal9000]

I see a few choices (for the rears that is)

1) remove and replace the complete lower rear quarter. It may be a bit labor intensive, but since everything is just mounting up to stock locations, it should just be a matter of being methodical. Any good body shop will be able to do this if you're willing to pay their hourly rate. In this case fitment of the panel and the panel seams will be the big issue. A lot of re-pop body panels that I've seen are off just enough that its nearly impossible to fit them correctly. I'd almost recommend finding a wrecker/part-out with uncut panels and buying them so you can use vintage OEM sheet metal. It always seems to fit better than the reproduction stuff.

2) Weld in just the cut section to your existing rear quarters. Grafting panels isn't uncommon on older vehicles, but it borders on being an art form. You may spend more time (or money) getting the new section of the panel properly fit, welded, and smoothed out; but the upside is that you won't have to worry about overall fitment of the panel.

If you have a mind to do the work yourself, go to www.hotrodders.com and start asking questions. The knowledge base at that site is phenomenal and the members are very nice.

 

[Almost_An_Owner]

My Plan.

All of your points are well-taken. Thanks. I'm in Minnesota, so the early broncos are either rusted to pieces or perfectly restored. Don't want a project and can't afford perfect, so I've resigned to the fact that I'll be buying something decent from a far-away land, where the broncos roam free from rust and corrosion. Then I'll drive it back here so it can rust to pieces. Damn salt.

Anyway. What I'm looking for: Any original color scheme, any year, low on rust, uncut fenders (?) and as close to "original" as possible (preferably with some engine work along the way.) I prefer the look of uncut and I don't need the tire clearance as it'll be my daily driver. Basically—a "Grandpa Bronco."

I've found quite a few for 7-10k that fit the bill. And most of them have had some restoration along the way. Rebuilt this, rebuilt that. New paint. You know the type—not perfect, but definitely not a "project."

There's a '69 I'm about to jump on. Cut fenders, newer paint and a "rebuilt" engine. Not exactly sure yet what's been rebuilt... but it's better than not rebuilt. Good price, too. Only bummer, in my mind, are the fenders and the fact that it's three states away.

Any pointers as my 5-month search/obsession comes to an end?

I can't wait to stop trolling Craigslist.

Kindof.

 

[TN1776]

As an EB owner, you will not stop trolling Craigslist!

I think replacing rear fenders as others have said would be a big job and if not done right would not look good. Either keep searching for a nice uncut or deal with a cut rig until you can afford to do it right.

It is hard to find an EB with no rust. Most of them have some. Floorpans are not terribly difficult to replace and if you have some basic welding skills, I would not shy away from it. Fenders are where details count and having just done a bunch of body work and paint myself, I can say it takes forever as an amateur who is still learning how...

Good luck!

 

[Heus33]

I replaced my cut fenders with uncut, and then I cut them again %) - if I can do it anyone can.

Heres a great site that shows a good step by step process.

http://bigskybroncos.com/repairs.html

 

[DirtDonk]

Take TN's words to heart. Rust is everywhere and, if you're not extremely careful (and lucky) you'll still need craigslist to buy stuff to replace all the stuff that the PO (previous owner) slapped on there years ago and is now worn out!
Yes, you can find a great no-rust truck out west here, and there are some very nice trucks and good deals out there, but more often than not, even they have rust. Just in harder to see places. I bought mine in CA when it was only 6 years old and it was already rusted through in the kick panels and floor boards! Well, ok, it's first couple of years were in Montana, so there's that. But you get my point.
And since they're all 30+ years old now, you might just look at a Bronco like any other car or truck you'd want to buy. Feel how "solid" and clean and apparently well-maintained it is before looking at features and goodies. Yes, it's great to find one that has a lot of expensive bolt-ons already added, but if they were just thrown at it and the rest of the truck is falling apart, you're money ahead if you go with the one that feels right.
I think there have been plenty of members here that have bought a nicely outfitted Bronco, only to sink another ten grand and the next ten years of their lives into it to actually make it "right". A friend went to L.A. (350 miles) to get one and spent a day scared whitless with the thing wandering all over the road acting funny. And yes, literally falling apart. In fact, a front wheel came off in my driveway when we jacked it up to see what that "funny noise" was!

In other words, long drive with the potential of a return flight or not, TEST DRIVE, TEST DRIVE, TEST DRIVE. Then crawl under it three times to make sure you don't miss anything. And take a friend who also knows cars to catch anything you miss.
You know, standard operating procedure for a vintage car buy.
I probably haven't said anything you don't already know. I'm just reminding you amid all the excitement. That friend I mentioned wasn't even a friend yet (known only through this site and our Yahoo e-mail list) until he had to stop by my house because he couldn't make it all the way to his with his fairly well outfitted Bronco. A change of spindle, hub, bearings, caliper and trackbar bushings later (and new underwear) and he was back on his way.
Good luck!

Paul

 

[Hal9000]

X2 on that.

I've got another perspective and even though it doesn't sound like the path you want to go down, I think it's worth mentioning for the benefit of others.

Spend less on the front end and buy a non-running vehicle.

Sounds dumb huh? But keep in mind what DirtDonk wrote. You're going to drop extra money and effort into your new toy no matter what. A friend of mine paid over $7000 for his bronco two years ago, and still doesn't drive it because he's fixing all the little issues it has (wiring, trans, heating/cooling system, interior, brakes, etc. etc. He also had to fix some severely rusted floorboards and will eventually need to repair severely rusted rocker panels and inner fenders, but those won't keep him from driving it. Once he gets the vehicle on the road, and is comfortable with it, he'll start putting money into the mods he wants.

On the other hand, I bought a non-running example a few months ago for $1400. Before I drive it I need to fix the brakes, some wiring, wheels/tires, steering, shift linkages, and some minor engine issues (these are all in the works). Once I get that done, I can start putting money into the mods I want (again, already in the works), only I'll have an additional $6000 at my disposal before I get to the same point that my friend is at. I was hoping to get mine running before winter hit, but honestly, it probably won't happen till spring at this point. I can live with that.

We're both planning roughly the same mods and will hopefully get our broncos on the road at about the same time so at this point the only difference is that he went for a running vehicle and I started with a "project".

As an added benefit, I can say that I saved a piece of precious metal that was destined for the scrapyard or to be parted out.