myscott22 said:
I am putting an NV4500 in my EB and had to cut out the tunnel to mount new one from Toms Bronco parts. There is a body support under the floor skin that looks to me that needs to be cut out also. After I cut it out do I need to do any additional braceing? How did you mount the new cover weld in place or bolt down so it can be removed for service work?
Funny, I just got done installing mine yesterday (NV4500/Atlas). The rib under the tunnel needs to be cut through. You don't need to add reinforcement. That same rib needs to be cut to install an NP435, a swap people have been doing to Broncos for over 30 years. You won't have any problems. In fact I originally cut through mine 8 years ago when I swapped in an NP435.
I made tunnel covers for both the NP435 and the NV4500 myself out of sheet metal. Absolutely make them removable. It makes the inevitable servicing much easier. The cover I made for my NV4500 was actually simpler because the NV doesn't stick up so high.
First time around I used no. 12 sheet metal screws which worked fine, but after removing the cover several times over the years some of the screws pulled out. This time I got fancy and used nutserts. More expensive and time consuming to install, but easier to r&r the cover now that the work is done.
