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Tubed front end
- Thread starter Sabas
- Start date
has anyone tubed a front end on a Bronco?
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2001
- Messages
- 14,924
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2001
- Messages
- 14,924
Dusty
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2001
- Messages
- 2,965
[quote author=madgyver link=board=5;threadid=19412;start=0#msg148898 date=1056933822]
This is Dusty's rig (click here for more)
(snip!)
[/quote]
I had my front end apart for some mods recently so I pulled the tubular core support off and painted it, along with my shock hoops and the front part of my frame and undercarriage. Here's a pic of the core support by itself with the front clip (which I can remove in 5 minutes) sitting in the background:
I put a new page up with some pictures on it from during the rig's evolution since I posted that page that Madgyver linked to (about a year and a half ago). Check it out here if you'd like to see more:
http://www.dustyland.net/bronc0603/index.html
Dusty
This is Dusty's rig (click here for more)
(snip!)
[/quote]
I had my front end apart for some mods recently so I pulled the tubular core support off and painted it, along with my shock hoops and the front part of my frame and undercarriage. Here's a pic of the core support by itself with the front clip (which I can remove in 5 minutes) sitting in the background:
I put a new page up with some pictures on it from during the rig's evolution since I posted that page that Madgyver linked to (about a year and a half ago). Check it out here if you'd like to see more:
http://www.dustyland.net/bronc0603/index.html
Dusty
2badrotties
Just a Bronco guy !
Hey Dusty, That is a nice job on the web site. That is one awsome bronco. I wish I had a truck like that , OR a place to use a truck like that ;D Nice dog too !
Dusty
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2001
- Messages
- 2,965
[quote author=Sabas link=board=5;threadid=19412;start=0#msg149520 date=1057086266]
Dusty how hard was it to do & how much did it copst, I know you fabricated it. I am pondering the idea. My front end is somewhat rusty, so i figured on replacing it by tubing it.
[/quote]
If you have a bender its not that hard. The price of the tubing is negligible. I used 1"x.120 wall welded seam. If you have a bender and know how to use it, fabbing a piece like that is not too hard. Here's what I did:
1. Cut off the existing inner fenders and core support.
2. Bolt the outer fenders and grill back on, held up at the front end with blocks.
3. Place your radiator where it needs to be. This is one of the best parts about this mod. You can compensate for body lifts, longer water pumps and just get more room between the rad and the fan. Block the radiator in place with blocks and clamps.
4. Build some "FIFI" joints at each of the front body mount perches. If you have a body lift, you can use the body lift pucks here in case you ever want to take the lift out, the core support will set back down to stock height. A FIFI joint is a short piece of tubing with a round piece of plate with a hole in the middle welded to one end. This will bolt to the body mount hole and give you a place to land the rest of your tubing. Here's what the fifi joint looks like on mine:
5. Next, figure out how you're going to clamp the radiator in place in the final design, and build whatever brackets you need to do so. On mine, I integrated the stock bushing brackets into my new core support.
6. Fabricate some mounting plates for the fenders, one on each side, which you can use body bolts through to secure the fenders on using the stock fender u-nuts. You can see the flanges on mine in the pictures on that page. Bolt the flanges into place inside the fenders.
7. With the fifi joints, the radiator bracketry and the fender mounting flanges in place, now you can bend the main hoop of the core support. If you look closely at mine, its a single piece that goes from one fifi joint, outboard and turns up along the fender flange, then turns inboard and runs across the front of the top of the radiator, then back down the other side and back to the other fifi joint. It was tough to get all of those bends right, but practice and patience pays off.
8. Weld the main hoop in place to the fifi joints, fender flanges and radiator mounts. On mine, I used a separate piece for the lower part of the hoop between the two fifi joints for the lower radiator mounts.
9. Next, build the braces that go back to the firewall. If you plan them carefully, they can do more than just hold the core support rigid. Mine also and an extra bolt hole for the fender bolts, plus act as the lower bracket for the hood shocks. Start by building a couple of mounting flanges to bolt to the firewall, which you can later weld the tube support to. On the driver's side, put it is high up in the upper outside corner of the firewall corner as possible. On the passenger side, you can either go to the corner on the firewall below the slope for the heater intake, or if you don't run the intake, you can go directly to the back of the cowl, just under where the back of the hood goes. I built mine like the former, we did my brother's like the latter. The latter can be done with no bends in the support bar too.
10. When you fab the braces that go from the core support back to the plates you made for the firewall on each side, try to parellel the lip on the inside of the fender as close as possible. On mine, this require a slight jog near the firewall end on the driver's side, and a larger jog on the passenger side because of the slope of the firewall for the heater intake. Weld these into place when they're ready.
11. This is optional, but now you can build on whatever brackets you need for stuff now that you have no inner fenders or stock core support. On mine, I built a mount for the remote oil filter, as well as the aforementioned hoodshock mounts.
12. When you're done, take the whole thing off and weld up all the seams you couldn't get to with it in place.
13. PAINT IT! If you don't, you'll end up with this:
Hope this helps!
Dusty
Dusty how hard was it to do & how much did it copst, I know you fabricated it. I am pondering the idea. My front end is somewhat rusty, so i figured on replacing it by tubing it.
[/quote]
If you have a bender its not that hard. The price of the tubing is negligible. I used 1"x.120 wall welded seam. If you have a bender and know how to use it, fabbing a piece like that is not too hard. Here's what I did:
1. Cut off the existing inner fenders and core support.
2. Bolt the outer fenders and grill back on, held up at the front end with blocks.
3. Place your radiator where it needs to be. This is one of the best parts about this mod. You can compensate for body lifts, longer water pumps and just get more room between the rad and the fan. Block the radiator in place with blocks and clamps.
4. Build some "FIFI" joints at each of the front body mount perches. If you have a body lift, you can use the body lift pucks here in case you ever want to take the lift out, the core support will set back down to stock height. A FIFI joint is a short piece of tubing with a round piece of plate with a hole in the middle welded to one end. This will bolt to the body mount hole and give you a place to land the rest of your tubing. Here's what the fifi joint looks like on mine:
5. Next, figure out how you're going to clamp the radiator in place in the final design, and build whatever brackets you need to do so. On mine, I integrated the stock bushing brackets into my new core support.
6. Fabricate some mounting plates for the fenders, one on each side, which you can use body bolts through to secure the fenders on using the stock fender u-nuts. You can see the flanges on mine in the pictures on that page. Bolt the flanges into place inside the fenders.
7. With the fifi joints, the radiator bracketry and the fender mounting flanges in place, now you can bend the main hoop of the core support. If you look closely at mine, its a single piece that goes from one fifi joint, outboard and turns up along the fender flange, then turns inboard and runs across the front of the top of the radiator, then back down the other side and back to the other fifi joint. It was tough to get all of those bends right, but practice and patience pays off.
8. Weld the main hoop in place to the fifi joints, fender flanges and radiator mounts. On mine, I used a separate piece for the lower part of the hoop between the two fifi joints for the lower radiator mounts.
9. Next, build the braces that go back to the firewall. If you plan them carefully, they can do more than just hold the core support rigid. Mine also and an extra bolt hole for the fender bolts, plus act as the lower bracket for the hood shocks. Start by building a couple of mounting flanges to bolt to the firewall, which you can later weld the tube support to. On the driver's side, put it is high up in the upper outside corner of the firewall corner as possible. On the passenger side, you can either go to the corner on the firewall below the slope for the heater intake, or if you don't run the intake, you can go directly to the back of the cowl, just under where the back of the hood goes. I built mine like the former, we did my brother's like the latter. The latter can be done with no bends in the support bar too.
10. When you fab the braces that go from the core support back to the plates you made for the firewall on each side, try to parellel the lip on the inside of the fender as close as possible. On mine, this require a slight jog near the firewall end on the driver's side, and a larger jog on the passenger side because of the slope of the firewall for the heater intake. Weld these into place when they're ready.
11. This is optional, but now you can build on whatever brackets you need for stuff now that you have no inner fenders or stock core support. On mine, I built a mount for the remote oil filter, as well as the aforementioned hoodshock mounts.
12. When you're done, take the whole thing off and weld up all the seams you couldn't get to with it in place.
13. PAINT IT! If you don't, you'll end up with this:
Hope this helps!
Dusty
Dusty
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2001
- Messages
- 2,965
[quote author=2badrotties link=board=5;threadid=19412;start=0#msg149581 date=1057100922]
Hey Dusty, That is a nice job on the web site. That is one awsome bronco. I wish I had a truck like that , OR a place to use a truck like that ;D Nice dog too !
[/quote]
I had a nice shop at my last house (shown in the pic at the top of this thread). Now I'm down to a half a garage in my new house (PO built onto the house by building into the garage--EEEDIOT!). Oh well, its still a nice place to work so I'm grateful.
Thanks for the compliment on the pooch. I've seen the pics of your rotts, they're pretty bitchin as well. We have three mastiffs now and are waiting on two more.
Dusty
Hey Dusty, That is a nice job on the web site. That is one awsome bronco. I wish I had a truck like that , OR a place to use a truck like that ;D Nice dog too !
[/quote]
I had a nice shop at my last house (shown in the pic at the top of this thread). Now I'm down to a half a garage in my new house (PO built onto the house by building into the garage--EEEDIOT!). Oh well, its still a nice place to work so I'm grateful.
Thanks for the compliment on the pooch. I've seen the pics of your rotts, they're pretty bitchin as well. We have three mastiffs now and are waiting on two more.
Dusty
