[Bronco Al]

I found this gem on Kijiji in the fall of 2013 for sale by the original owner with no asking price through a search I had saved. I had been looking for a deal on a 78 or 79 for a while but decided not to call as I was afraid the price would be out of my reach.

The following spring (2014), the add was relisted with a price of $1500 firm. Well that was worth a look! After a phone call, I made arrangements to check it out with cash in hand of course... just in case. The quarter panels were a mess and the bottom of the tailgate was rusted out as is to be expected but the floors were solid. The owner said the truck had 340,000 km on it (about 211,000 miles) and the top had never been off... so no leaks.

He hated to sell it as it was their first new vehicle and was bought the same year as their first child was born, so there was that sentimental attachment. The Bronco had been repainted once for hail damage and I assume existing rust was also covered up at that time (more on that later). He had asked around about having the rust fixed again but of course could not get any firm answers so it was decided to finally let her go. I was satisfied as is and did not need to hear it run or go for a drive so a deal was struck for $1400.

I think it was the following week I brought it home on a flat deck, about an hour and a half drive. Though the truck hadn't been insured in 6 to 8 years, it started and ran great. The engine was a reman of unknown mileage and the gas tank not very old. The radiator was also relatively recent.

Photo from the original add on Kijiji.


In my shop after splurging on 17x9 MT's and 315/70/17 Duratracs.


Hung the driver's side quarter recently, working on the left passenger side now.


That's it for tonight, I'll post some more pics of what I've done up to the panel install as time permits.

Allan

 

[locopny]

do you plan to keep the racetrack trim on this? and the two tone paint? Or change it out to a "Victoria two tone"?--my favorite in that generation.

 

[79BroncoSpringTx]

I'm subscribed. Thanks for saving another 2nd Gen! Look forward to following your build.

Any rust at the top of the windshield?

 

[Scoop]

Looks like a good deal! Nice work on the quarter.
@locopny what is a "victoria two tone" paint scheme?

 

[mrbollero]

Woohoo! Glad to see you adopted this one! Great work so far- keep the pics coming.

 

[locopny]

@Scoop

This....
at least, that's how I've always heard it referred to when I had mine years ago. Think I've seen it in an old brocher once....should have actually bought that when I had the chance.

Note....not my rig, just one I found from google. Would have been similar to mine had I got mine painted

 

[Bronco Al]

do you plan to keep the racetrack trim on this? and the two tone paint? Or change it out to a "Victoria two tone"?--my favorite in that generation.

Thanks, agreed on my favorite generation. I'm not really a big trim guy, I've been driving a '78 F150 Custom for over 15 years. I do like the Special and Combination Tu-Tones from this era but not the one I have. The Victoria Two-Tone is a similar scheme from the late '80's to early 90's gen. If I do the Combination pattern I think I would pin stripe the borders in the absence of trim.

I'm subscribed. Thanks for saving another 2nd Gen! Look forward to following your build.

Any rust at the top of the windshield?

Thanks, your thread was one of the first I subscribed to when I signed up, glad to see you here. The original owner was happy I bought it as the only others to show interest would have likely been much less kind to her.

The only rust I have above the windshield is the result of water getting in through a poor repair of some unknown damage right at the corner of the A pillar. The inner panel is worse, I'll detail that repair after I finish with the quarters... hopefully before the end of next month.

Looks like a good deal! Nice work on the quarter.

@locopny what is a "victoria two tone" paint scheme?

Thanks. Given the amount of miles and the condition of the quarters I was surprised that the floors were nearly 100% solid. That makes it worth the price alone. I did full quarters on my '69 Mach I and that turned out great but boy was I in for a surprise in the Bronco.:doh0715:

As mentioned above, Victoria Two-Tone is a later gen term.

Woohoo! Glad to see you adopted this one! Great work so far- keep the pics
coming.

Now that I've figured out how to post pics, you'll never get rid of me!:goodfinge

@Scoop

This....
at least, that's how I've always heard it referred to when I had mine years ago. Think I've seen it in an old brocher once....should have actually bought that when I had the chance.

Note....not my rig, just one I found from google. Would have been similar to mine had I got mine painted

I had to google that one myself, hadn't heard that one before. Learn something new...:toothless

 

[79BroncoSpringTx]

So you joined this site in 2014? Been searching all this time? I will say keep it on the road as you fix stuff. I went crazy fixing and cleaning stuff. I've driven mine a half mile in 5 years! :twak

I look forward to lot's of pics. If you have any questions ask away! :toothless

 

[Bronco Al]

Actually I joined right after I found my Bronco in 2014. When I thought it was ready to drive near the end of 2015 I took it in for a safety inspection and it was failed for rust in the driver's door post as well as a couple of minor things I missed. So I thought if I have to fix the door post, the quarter panel will have to come off to do it properly...

 

[Bronco Al]

As I said the floors are in great shape. With the exception of a small area in the passenger foot well, this little bit creeping through the bed floor pinch welds is all there is for rust topside. The floor crossmembers are also rock solid.


And this boys and girls is why you don't weld patches over rust. You can see the outline of where a large patch was welded over what was only rust around the wheel lip.


This is the full view after the driver's side was removed. From my experience, the driver's side seems to rust out faster in areas where the roads are salted in the winter. To make matters worse, the splash guard in front of the rear tire was missing, accelerating the rotting of the door post and box structure behind the post. The box structure in the rear also rotted out on the side where dirt and sand accumulated next to the quarter panel.


I decided to start with the 'easy' part first, so I tackled the rear.


I started by making a patch to fix the damage. I made relief cuts where the bottom corners needed to curl in and at the break just above the middle.


The patch was then used to trace out the cut lines and the inside cleaned out. It was actually very clean inside and will be coated with Eastwood's internal frame coating when I have more areas ready.


The patch tacked in place. Strange I did not take an after photo but this area is finished and coated in epoxy primer.


Right around the corner at the rear was this area. The bottom of the panel just below where the tailgate hinge mounts was removed to make it easier to repair and access the rot underneath.


Patch welded in and ready for grinding.


The section of panel just below the tailgate hinge mount.

 

[379sinvb]

Cool project you have here Al. Is that an aftermarket ac system I see?

 

[Bronco Al]

Thanks Rick. When the original owner bought it new off the lot, it didn't have ac so the dealer had it sent to a third party installer. He said it was the worst money he spent on the thing. In a vehicle with light colour interior and paint, I've had little to no need for ac here on the Canadian prairie so I pulled it out.

 

[Fitzy]

I really need to learn how to weld better. Too bad I only have a little Harbor Freight stick welder.

 

[Bronco Al]

Having both mig and tig I avoid stick as much as possible. Welding in general is not an easy skill to teach yourself.

 

[Bronco Al]

I forgot to take a pic of that repair below the tailgate hinge so here it is. The grey coating is zinc rich epoxy primer powder coated... really stout stuff. The quarter panel isn't welded on yet, waiting to ready up the other side first.


This is the worst of the rust on the floor. Having read many build threads on this forum, I'm sure a lot of you can appreciate my relief.


When Rick(379sinvb) asked if the Bronco had aftermarket ac I had to think about what picture could have clued him in. There wasn't anything obvious, what Rick actually saw was a temporary panel I had made for my tailgate window switch. I used one of the wiring diagrams from Steve83's Supermotors page (before he was banned) to wire up relays in my gate and that required the use of a '92-'96 dash switch. It works great!

 

[79BroncoSpringTx]

Yeah I'm envious of your floor pans. You're doing amazing metal work. :goodfinge I love mig welding. Would love to try tig again. Did some way back. Stick I'll pass. I would think mig would be relatively easy to learn. Just takes patience.

Keep up the good work. An no such thing as to many pics! opc1:opc1:opc1:

 

[mrbollero]

This is the worst of the rust on the floor. Having read many build threads on this forum, I'm sure a lot of you can appreciate my relief.

W

Yes, yes I can. You are a very lucky guy. And very skilled! Beautiful welds and some awesome fabrication there.

 

[wyatt earp]

What transmission is in it? The shift lever and boot look like a newer setup.

 

[Bronco Al]

Yeah I'm envious of your floor pans. You're doing amazing metal work. :goodfinge I love mig welding. Would love to try tig again. Did some way back. Stick I'll pass. I would think mig would be relatively easy to learn. Just takes patience.

Keep up the good work. An no such thing as to many pics! opc1:opc1:opc1:

Thanks Mark. I prefer tig for it's precision and cleanliness but mig just gets things done way faster. Lots of pics on tap, just don't want to spend them all in one place. Pics make it so much easier to 'splain things.:toothless

Yes, yes I can. You are a very lucky guy. And very skilled! Beautiful welds and some awesome fabrication there.

Thanks. Just scratching the surface bollero:armed just scratching the surface.

What transmission is in it? The shift lever and boot look like a newer setup.

The transmission is a ZF5 from an '89 F250 with a 351W. The truck had only 100,000 miles on it. I swapped in the windsor for the better parts selection and approx. 80 pound weight reduction.
It's a snug fit and I had to modify the NP205 shifter because it hit the back of the tranny. You can see how much further back I moved it by the adjustment in the transmission cover. I'll do a much more detailed update on this area later.


I didn't take any photos of the crossmember as I fabbed it as I did nearly all the welding underneath the truck where it was bolted in... easy welding jig. Front view.


Rear view. The tubing is mostly inch and a half, 3/16 wall square. For the main frame I welded two tubes side by side to make a 3x1.5 frame. I'll take some decent pics when it comes out for coating. The exhaust is hand fabbed from 409 u-bends and straights and will get heat wrapped at least to the end of the muffler. The muffler is barely visible below the frame from the side.

 

[huck2080]

so where do i send my truck for you to do the bodywork ?