Sam P. 71 Bronco Tub rebuild.

[sp71eb]

Well this is a combination of today and yesterdays work. Yesterday I bolted up my front flares and put por15 on the backside of my dash. Today I modified a 70 dollar defrost vent:-X to fit my heater box size defrost hose. I used the universal vents that came with the kit and used some windshield urethane. I couldn't plastic weld the two pieces together because they are different types of plastic. I also needed to modify it to clear my vents and dash controls. Its not pretty but will be tucked well under the dash and will do the job. I then put the braces back on my tub and removed it from the frame getting it ready for the raptor liner it will get tomorrow. I also put body filler on my dash and got it ready for primer.

 

[slim811]

Great build thread, just curious does your 71 have Dana 44 or 30 front axle? Thanks

 

[sp71eb]

Great build thread, just curious does your 71 have Dana 44 or 30 front axle? Thanks

Its a Dana 44. I rebuilt it, installed disc brakes, and put a trac loc in it.

 

[sp71eb]

Today I worked for about 12 hours prepping the body for undercoating. I welded up the rest of the holes in the firewall and sanded the whole underside. After that lovely time I masked off the body and shot the tub with epoxy primer and seam sealed all of the floor and cowl seams. I then tinted the raptor with my basecoat and shot the front clip. I had planned to spray the whole underside, but the raptor kit only did the front clip and front floor pans. I have not decided if I am going to buy more raptor and do the rest of the underside or just leave it as is.

 

[sp71eb]

Well yesterday I went ahead and bought another raptor kit and did the rest of the underside. I'm glad that I did it came out really nice and will hopefully hold up better than just painting the underside. Also today was a good UPS day. I got my Extreme Custom Fab rollcage at work and I got my Corbeau Baja RS seats at home.

 

[Crawdad]

I've been watching a lot of guys do their underside of their tubs. So im learning a lot from you guys. Did you sand the epoxy primer before applying the Raptor liner? Do you have any advice on doing the sealant, in other words did you caulk every overlap and weld? Would it be a bad idea to seal the tub's cross members or is it a good idea to keep that space open (pic 1 in previous post 85)? Thx for any advice!

 

[sp71eb]

I've been watching a lot of guys do their underside of their tubs. So im learning a lot from you guys. Did you sand the epoxy primer before applying the Raptor liner? Do you have any advice on doing the sealant, in other words did you caulk every overlap and weld? Would it be a bad idea to seal the tub's cross members or is it a good idea to keep that space open (pic 1 in previous post 85)? Thx for any advice!

Epoxy primers and primer sealers have a "recoat window" you can find this in the products p-pages. What this means is you can topcoat the primer in a certain amount of time without sanding. The primer at this point is making a chemical bond to the topcoat. I sandblasted the underside of my tub about 8 months ago and I epoxyed the bare metal back then. I had to sand that primer because the primer had fully cured and would no longer make a chemical bond to the topcoat. If you sand a surface you are letting it make a mechanical bond. Think it of as making scratches in the surface for the paint to stick into. The primer I used has a 72 hour window to work in without needing scuffed and reprimed.

Your second question. Others may differ on this, but this is how I seam seal. I will seal on the outside any seam where water will flow or be splashed at. I also Seal any seams that will go into the inside of the cab. The idea is that you don't want water to flow down and sit in a seam. On the crossmembers I put some Eastwood internal frame coating inside of the before priming and left the seams open. I want any dirt and mud that gets in there to also be able to come back out. Usually rust starts where things stay moist and air cannot let them dry out and where you can't clean when you wash the vehicle. Also when I am done I will coat all of the interior of the rocker, crossmembers, and open seams with 3M Rustfighter I. It is a wax based internal frame coating. If you doubt it works, Almost all German cars use it on the inside of their panels on their vehicles. That is why I have a 2001 Passat with 168,000 miles on it, has no rust and I never wash it. Sorry for getting long winded but that is what happens when you ask a question;D.

 

[Crawdad]

Thx a bunch! Couldn't ask for more!

 

[sp71eb]

Yesterday I made some good progress on buttoning up the frame and starting my roll cage install. I welded in my O2 bungs and wrapped the exhaust coming out of the manifolds. I installed exhaust hangers on the rest of my exhaust and tightened up the exhaust clamps. I then installed the bestop frame and started my rollcage install. I put 5x5 3/16 floor plates where the factory cage was and started tacking the bars in place. I installed my seats to confirm they will fit inside the cage. The front bars took some serious trimming and fitting to clear the dash and e-brake pedal properly.

 

[sp71eb]

And here are a few GoPro pictures.

 

[sp71eb]

Well my roll cage is all tacked in place and I got my 3 point seatbelts installed. I think there will be some paint flying next weekend.

 

[sp71eb]

Saturday I made some good progress. I welded up the rollcage and had a friend of mine prime and paint the cage. I finished up my O2 sensor wiring and blocked the tub to get it ready for paint.

 

[sp71eb]

Finally Paint!!!

Yesterday Paint was flying. A friend of mine and I went ahead and finished blocking the tub, seam sealed it and masked for paint. We went ahead and got the tub and tailgate sprayed thanks to one of the painters at the shop. Hopefully next week I will get it out to get the bedliner installed on the tailgate and inside of the tub. Starting to look like something!

 

[SSDDBRONCO]

Looking good. What kind of bumper do you have?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[sp71eb]

Looking good. What kind of bumper do you have?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

The bumper in the picture is actually for a friends 4runner, he built it from scrach. My bumper isn't built yet. But I will start building my bumpers here in the next few weeks.

 

[SSDDBRONCO]

The bumper in the picture is actually for a friends 4runner, he built it from scrach. My bumper isn't built yet. But I will start building my bumpers here in the next few weeks.

Ohh now that makes sense to why the side of the bumper is long. Should look good.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[sp71eb]

Raptor Raptor Raptor

Today I bedlined, bedlined, and bedlined some more. I decided to just go ahead and raptor the inside of my tub instead of taking it to get a spray in liner done. Before starting my bedliner install I put some dynamat type sound deadener and heat barrier on the inside of the cowl to help with engine noise and heat. I then prepped the inside of the tub and seam sealed all of the inside seams. After a good cleaning with grease and wax remover I masked the tub and started spraying. I used 4 containers of raptor on the tub. I then sprayed the tailgate with one container and the inside of the fenders and my tunnel cover with one container. The liner came out really nice and I am excited to finally start reassembly.

 

[sp71eb]

Making some more progress. I went ahead and ran my front and rear wiring harnesses on the tub. Then with the help of a painter friend we sprayed some of the parts that will be satin black on the truck. I included a picture of the paint because I'm sure someone is going to ask what it is. The paint is Keystone Hotrod satin black KEY9810.

 

[broncoitis]

Wow! No grass has grown under your Ass since I last checked out the build. Great work and looks like it is gonna be a really nice Bronco for sure. Couple of questions:

1. Suprised that nobody mentioned it but are you gonna modify the front turn signals? For me I like the early versions that first came out with the bronco. Later on they made them bigger and not as integrated looking as the originals. Check out the Alice Turn Signal Mod on here if you want. Either way though it is gonna be a SICK Bronco!

2. You gonna paint the center of the front grill to match the rear center of the tailgate I suppose? Gonna look good. Keep it up doin a really nice job!

;D

Here is a link to the mod if you didn't see it before. Maybe you have though and I didn't notice.

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/the-alice-turn-signal-lens-modification

 

[sp71eb]

Wow! No grass has grown under your Ass since I last checked out the build. Great work and looks like it is gonna be a really nice Bronco for sure. Couple of questions:

1. Suprised that nobody mentioned it but are you gonna modify the front turn signals? For me I like the early versions that first came out with the bronco. Later on they made them bigger and not as integrated looking as the originals. Check out the Alice Turn Signal Mod on here if you want. Either way though it is gonna be a SICK Bronco!

2. You gonna paint the center of the front grill to match the rear center of the tailgate I suppose? Gonna look good. Keep it up doin a really nice job!

;D

Here is a link to the mod if you didn't see it before. Maybe you have though and I didn't notice.

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/the-alice-turn-signal-lens-modification

Thanks for the comments. I am going to use the newer style front turn signals. I already rebuilt the larger style square lights. Maybe down the road I will go with the older ones.

And yes the center of the grill will be black also. If things go as planned it will be painted this weekend.