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All,
I am new to the Bronco world, though I am a long time Ford fan. I picked up a 71.5 Bronco last year as a project. I hope to get it back on the road late next year. In getting the Marti report, I was pleased to see that it originally had 4.11 Locker's front & rear among other options, but those are long gone and a PO put in 3.50 opens (D44 up front; 9" small bearing 28 spline rear). It has a 3 spd which I plan to upgrade to a SBF ZF (picked it up off CL awhile back and I just put in a 2" body lift to help with the install).
I have a couple classic Mustangs and have done ground up restorations before; but I've never done as much metal work as I am doing on this Bronco. I knew it had some rust issues before purchase. I am in the process of replacing the passenger inner/outer rocker (inner already welded in, outer only attached with sheetmetal screws right now), both front door posts/kick panels, splicing patches in on both rear posts (passenger done already), both front floor pans (passenger done already), and inner fenders. Truck was originally in New Jersey and then in Georgia till 2001, so that explains the rust. It was a bit worse than expected as there was some rust covered up with fiberglass (which is easier to remove than bad patch jobs), but I knew about the door posts/kick panels/inner fenders & rocker before purchase.
I am a bit stuck on door alignment at the moment. I started on the passenger side and haven't touched the driver side yet as a reference. I took measurements and have that reference diagram that many have posted elsewhere (of course the repro door posts seem to have the fender mounting holes in a slightly different spot than the original posts so the measurements are only so good). With reproduction parts as they are, I've had to rebuy some sheetmetal from different vendors (specifically one vendor's kick panel didn't seem to be bent/formed correctly at the door post) and that seemed to help. I have the door close to fitting right now using the stainless lift off hinges. But it swings a little low till it hits the striker and then rises to the right spot, though my door gap is slightly uneven at the bottom from front to rear (larger in the front than the back by maybe an 1/8"). I believe I need to tilt the door post forward a bit more at the top to get it to close level with the rear quarter, but I will need to trim the door post a bit to push the top any further forward. I have door hinge shims, but I'd like to see if I can get it aligned without the use of shims.
Are there any local to Granite Bay, CA bronco owners on here who have done door posts before that would be willing to spend some time lending their advice in getting my passenger side lined up? I've read a lot of the posts/tips on the various forums but after spending as much time as i have in trying to get it lined up (don't ask how many hours), I figure someone with experience could show me the way rather quickly. Once I get the passenger side done, I'm sure I'll get the driver side figured out. I'm happy to compensate you for your time. Or if there is something I can help you with, I'd be more than happy to. Attached are some pic's of my progress.
If I should have posted this in the Tech forum, I apologize.
Thanks much!
Chris
I am new to the Bronco world, though I am a long time Ford fan. I picked up a 71.5 Bronco last year as a project. I hope to get it back on the road late next year. In getting the Marti report, I was pleased to see that it originally had 4.11 Locker's front & rear among other options, but those are long gone and a PO put in 3.50 opens (D44 up front; 9" small bearing 28 spline rear). It has a 3 spd which I plan to upgrade to a SBF ZF (picked it up off CL awhile back and I just put in a 2" body lift to help with the install).
I have a couple classic Mustangs and have done ground up restorations before; but I've never done as much metal work as I am doing on this Bronco. I knew it had some rust issues before purchase. I am in the process of replacing the passenger inner/outer rocker (inner already welded in, outer only attached with sheetmetal screws right now), both front door posts/kick panels, splicing patches in on both rear posts (passenger done already), both front floor pans (passenger done already), and inner fenders. Truck was originally in New Jersey and then in Georgia till 2001, so that explains the rust. It was a bit worse than expected as there was some rust covered up with fiberglass (which is easier to remove than bad patch jobs), but I knew about the door posts/kick panels/inner fenders & rocker before purchase.
I am a bit stuck on door alignment at the moment. I started on the passenger side and haven't touched the driver side yet as a reference. I took measurements and have that reference diagram that many have posted elsewhere (of course the repro door posts seem to have the fender mounting holes in a slightly different spot than the original posts so the measurements are only so good). With reproduction parts as they are, I've had to rebuy some sheetmetal from different vendors (specifically one vendor's kick panel didn't seem to be bent/formed correctly at the door post) and that seemed to help. I have the door close to fitting right now using the stainless lift off hinges. But it swings a little low till it hits the striker and then rises to the right spot, though my door gap is slightly uneven at the bottom from front to rear (larger in the front than the back by maybe an 1/8"). I believe I need to tilt the door post forward a bit more at the top to get it to close level with the rear quarter, but I will need to trim the door post a bit to push the top any further forward. I have door hinge shims, but I'd like to see if I can get it aligned without the use of shims.
Are there any local to Granite Bay, CA bronco owners on here who have done door posts before that would be willing to spend some time lending their advice in getting my passenger side lined up? I've read a lot of the posts/tips on the various forums but after spending as much time as i have in trying to get it lined up (don't ask how many hours), I figure someone with experience could show me the way rather quickly. Once I get the passenger side done, I'm sure I'll get the driver side figured out. I'm happy to compensate you for your time. Or if there is something I can help you with, I'd be more than happy to. Attached are some pic's of my progress.
If I should have posted this in the Tech forum, I apologize.
Thanks much!
Chris
Attached Files
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