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Rept's Super Slow Re-Re-Rebuild (88)

85K views 609 replies 54 participants last post by  OX1 
#1 ·
Ok peeps, here we go again :duh

So after years of wheeling and not caring, ive pretty well thrashed the body on my bronco.




The whole cab is twisted so the full doors don't come even close to closing so we have to use the half doors any time we take the truck out, and then tarp it up so it doesn't get wet inside n the rain/snow.
So after going back and forth, we decided to go back to a bronco body on this thing. The cab/bed was cool and all, but it dosent really have much room for carrying much gear, and not being able to drive it on the road sucks. So I stared looking for a bronco project. I wanted to stay true to the trucks roots (I have owned it 16 years afterall) which meant the body has to be an 87-91. I wanted to find something clean because im not a sheetmetal guy, and the condition of the drivetrain was completely irrelevant because im just going to drop the body on my frame when im done.

So I snooped around CL for quite some time. Seen trucks come and go, but nothing really jumped out at me. Then one day I spotted a lift 4-door bronco on CL up in the Poconos. Only two pics of the exterior, but it looked like a decent buy for the price, so I made the trip. On an impulse i decided to go up there and see if it would be a decent beater to cruise around in. Unfortunately it was a bit rough around the edges, more-so than I would've liked for a street cruiser so I decded to pass on it. But while BSing with the guy, he told me about this bronco he had planned to restore, but it never really happened. So we go over to take a look at it, and its perfect. its a '90 in decent shape with no motor or trans. The perfect donor vehicle! So we struck up a deal, and I brought it home :thumbup


So here she is, in all her glory.




It was a parked in stones under a tree for 10 years, so while being absolutely covered in moss, appeared to be in decent shape!

He had put a body lift in it (homemade, about 2"), and he built his own shackle flip for the rear with some extra leafs stuffed in there for some more lift. And there it sat, never got around to lifting the front, or doing anything else to it.
 
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#139 ·
Finally, an update!

I got the driver corner finished





I knew i was going to be doing some tube work, so i ordered some stuff, and took a couple days to upgrade the bender:


New base with swiveling locking castors, and a hydraulic conversion courtesy of SWAG Offroad :imp
Just in case i might ever want to switch back to manual for some dumb reason, i added 1/2" holes to bolt it to the floor, and the castors are bolted in place via tapped holes in the base plate.
It is soo much easier to use than by hand! Wish i did this years ago, makes bending tube so much easier to do by myself. No spring-back on the bends either, which is a huge plus over manual bending. So with that done, lets bend some tube!



Monday i took some measurements and got the main hoop bent and tacked in place:




..and then bent up some side bars yesterday:










Man, i am super excited with how this thing is coming out!!Hopefully tomorrow ill be out there working on it again; i want to add some gussets to the bumper brackets, and then im going to start welding up all the seams :cool:

At some point, the bumper needs to come off so i can mount the winch, and then lay out the window ill need to cut for the cable to come thru. We're getting close to completion on this thing!!! :rockon
 
#141 ·
I usually just eyeball it :toothless

The center hoop, i have a jig for cutting the angles on that one, that i built years ago when making tube steps for a quad-cam ram. So i just set the hoop in there, and adjusted it til the angle was right. So no real thinking involved in that one.
The two on the end, one is a mirror image of the other. The first one was the driver side; i eyeballed it and cut it, and was damn near on in the first shot. The bottom end needed a second cut, the top end just needed some minor grinding. Then bent the second, copied the angles over to it, and mirrored them. I wish i could say theres more to it, but not really. Its just that ive done it a couple times before, and already knew roughly what theyd look like when cut. Ive used the paper trick before and it works pretty good, but not on such a heavy angle like the top has. You can get contour gauges that get you pretty close pretty quickly as well, but theres definitely an art to it i think. Usually i can get it pretty close on the first shot, but ive also made a lot of mistakes on cuts over the years too :toothless No angle finders; i find it easier and quicker to just eyeball it, and do some minor grinding if need be.

All that said, i spent probably an hour on those two pieces, but that does include setting up the smaller die in the bender. Once i had the shape, the second went quickly.



I bought one of these (carbide tipped sawzall blade), which has been a huge help in building the front bumper. Yes only one, and yes its still going strong. It seems its going to last forever, and makes nice straight cuts quickly.
 
#143 ·
Bumper progress!

Gussets for the bumper brackets:


I decided on two for each side. While im sure one would probably be sufficient, it just looked out of place with one, and i figure a second cant hurt.





Time to weld those seams!


...and more welding....


...and more welding!


So if all goes well, ill be removing the bumper wednesday to begin grinding all the seams and getting them cleaned up, then lots more welding & grinding after that :toothless
 
#144 ·
Looks good, now the fun part, grinding and blending! :banghead
 
#145 ·
Man, aint that the truth :banghead



So i did some minor grinding with the bumper on the truck, just enough so i could fit and tack the smaller tubes in place. Then, off she came!



Set up on my cart, outside in the sun, grinding away!


This part is gonna take a while :uhoh3
 
#150 ·
Welding is basically done :cool:





Mocking up window for fairlead
















This Powerwagon winch has an usual handle (it was also cut down at least once before i got the winch). It also doesnt clear the bumper.


Pulled the winch apart to modify handle, as i dont want to cut a notch on the bumper. The inside is nice and clean, and recently greased too


i straightened the handle and reassembled to mock up


Then bent a 90º in it in a different place. This is freespool...


...and this is lock




...and done!



Tomorrow im going to do some touchup on a couple welds & corners, then pull the cap back off the winch to reseal it (it still needs rtv on it). Then ill throw the whole thing back on the bronco for some proper 'finished pics' :cool:
 
#151 ·
Looking good, can't wait to see some color on it! :thumbup
 
#152 ·
Thanks :thumbup

Honestly probably just going to be semi-gloss black. The truck will be Magnetic or something similar, with all accents (flares, door handles, all trim, etc) black, so i think the bumpers will look better black rather than color. Im currently debating powdercoat, or just painting them myself. I feel like blasting, plus PC on both bumpers will be pretty pricey.
 
#153 ·
PC ain't cheap and as much as I love it... I'm coming around to the idea that a DIY bed-liner or similar product is far easier to repair when needed. You're not generally a "street queen" kinda guy, so that's something to consider. I always wonder if that "Hammerite" stuff is actually worth a damn.

Thing looks awesome and I dig the little mod on the winch switch over butchering your beautiful new bumper. I caught some chrome flaking off of mine during the last car wash and immediately thought of yours. One of these days. :thumbup
 
#155 ·
I agree, after powder coating many car chassis (probably 35+) I'd paint over powder coating, especially on a 4WD. Powder coat can chip or crack and once it does, it acts like egg shell that you can pick away and peel. (think power washer) If exposed to UV, the color tends to fade and once it chips, it's impossible to touch up. If you do go the PC route, BE SURE TO SANDBLAST YOUR BUMPER FIRST. They may tell you it's unnecessary and that you get good adhesion without it, but trust me, I have had them done over raw steel and it just doesn't last.

Good luck either way.
 
#156 ·
I guess ill paint then :toothless

I was concerned about the PC chipping, but also figured itd be easier to paint, if im not the one doing it :toothless

I was worried about bed-liner peeling off from a rock and not begin able to touch it up properly, i suppose its the same for PC.

Ill have to run out and get some cleaner and primer for next week; id love to have them both totally done in the next week or two so i can move on to the next phase of this project!
 
#160 ·
That's not too bad of a weight penalty. Off-road bumpers have a reputation of being a lot of extra weight, but looking at the finished pics, I figured it has to be under 150 lbs. I never weighed the stock bumper when swapping to the vented style. I'm thinking that was in the 40-50 pound range, but my memory may be way off. Yours may be only 80 lbs heavier.
 
#159 ·
Another vote for painting. Depending on what access to materials / tools you have, I vote base coat / clear coat. I've done a few frame off's and helped with several more. A good epoxy primer on the frame, followed by a decent base coat / clear coat (you could get go matte or use flattener in the clear if you like) is much more durable (in my opinion) than powedercoating on a vehicle that gets DRIVEN.

Based on having access to the pieces being sprayed is the key of course. Otherwise there are several good products out there than can be brushed on and most importantly - can be EASILY and cheaply touched up as needed.

Powder coating (at least in my opinion) is VERY sensitive to the part being stripped totally clean as well.
 
#161 ·
Yeah its heavy and awkward, but i feel like its mostly due to its size. Ill try to get a weight on it this afternoon cuz now im doubting myself :toothless



Dont own a paint gun, so itll have to be rattle can :shrug I hadnt considered brush-on paints. Honestly, i dont know sh*t about painting properly :toothless
Recommendations for a good brush-on paint? ive got ~3 months invested in these bumpers, might as well take the time to paint em properly too.
 
#162 ·
You don't need a spray gun or a compressor to get some GOOD paint on those bumpers.

Any DECENT auto body / paint supply store will have the ability to put automotive grade base coat in a aerosol spray can for you. It's not overly expensive either. That same place should also carry SprayMax 2K clear coat (A 2 part urethane clear in a spray can). It's more durable than any normal spray can paint. The bond is chemical and physical.

You could also check POR 15 or Rust Bullet for and Chassis black / coat for brush on options.
 
#165 ·
If you want to save time with the Rust Bullet, be sure to buy the Rapid Fire Coating Accelerator. Dry time is reduced from 4 hours to 30 minutes, while maintaining optimal coating performance. Rapid Fire also helps eliminate CO2 bubbling typically caused by excessive coating film application. This is a real issue, if you put it on thick instead of 3-4 thin coats, which they recommend, with sanding in between if over a 12 hour period. (see application below) It actually gasses off and leaves a bubbly, dull area, kind of like dried foam. This becomes even more of a problem after you open the can, once air is introduced, it thickens and eventually hardens in the can. So, every time you use it, it is getting thicker. The sell a an aerosol called Bloxygen which
uses ultra pure Argon, an inert gas, to drive the oxygen out of partially used containers of Rust Bullet
Coatings and preserve the paint for future use. While I'm on the subject, wear rubber gloves as you will not get this stuff off your hands; also be sure to clean the can rim and lid thoroughly, or you will never get the cover off without destroying it.



RUST BULLET® COATINGS
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
 
#167 ·
Synthetic rope saves ~20 lbs over wire, so your wire is probably around 23 lbs. My winch arrives today...I'll be using a hitch cradle for the time being, and deciding between building it into a bumper and/or adding a front hitch, so the sub-65 lb total weight with synthetic is a big selling point for moving it around!

I'm digging the look of your bumper and seriously considering tackling something like that myself, although the accordion frame horns on '92-96s are annoying to figure out what to do with. I may also revisit my old plan of a permanent rear bumper mount.
 
#168 ·
Thanks :thumbup

I definitely want to switch to synthetic rope at some point.

I dont think adapting for the accordion frames would be too bad. I have a rough idea on how i could modify mine to work on a newer frame, but its difficult putting into text.



So i went over to Eastwood today, bought some epoxy primer, and their extreme chassis black. Supposed to be pretty durable, and its an aerosol so i dont have to worry about trying to brush it on the bumper, and into all the crevices. Hopefully i can start painting them in a week or two, but first i need to deal with this:



I dont want to cut the sheetmetal, so im modifying the clutch lever again. If all goes well, ill have this sorted tomorrow!
 
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