Chris, for a guy that "doesnt " know what he is doing, you have really cowboyed up in a stellar way. the truck looks fantastic, you really do look like more than a backyard ape! but then on the other hand you evidently backed over a small honda, which in turn puts you back into ape status! Hahahahaha! seriously it looks great, cant wait to come up again and see your progress. heck maybe the warden will even allow me to escape the outlaws presence, and let me get dirty! keep it up Bro! Dan

 

There is a local Ford dealer that has a Mustang/car show that features some good looking street rides.
I getting a notion to restore my 84 Bronco in the same fashion as this.

I am sure that those Mustang guys would like to see a Bronco in their corral.

Broncos are the best trucks out on the road, or at least in the garage getting brought back to life!

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

I was able to set aside some time to install my E-fan. Read all about it here:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...n-install.html

 

I woke up last Friday morning at 4:30 am and get some touch up painting done. I painted the transition from the rockers to the door frames as well as sealed up the underneath some more. I'll take some more pics when I get a chance of that.

Tonight the wife was gone, so I had a spare hour to do some quick work. The only thing a had time to do was attempt to mount the tailgate and possibly align it...Ok so the dog escaped the back yard and the three boys were getting out of hand...at least a mounted the tailgate!

This is the easy part. Mount the tailgate swivels...one to the tailgate and the other to the frame of the truck. This will allow you to slide the tailgate into position without scratching either the tailgate or the mounting area. I was lucky enough to have a rolling cart that was as tall as the rearend of the truck...therefore I did not need an extra hand...that and I'm a frickin man (flexing)!!! Just kidding!

After getting the tailgate into to position, simply secure the bolts and tighten. there are 3 bolts per side and 3 nuts per swivel. Once I got at least one bolt in, I then mounted the brand new tailgate dropdown cables...Nice...pretty sure this thing has not had new cables since the assembly line!

Here is the result:





Height turned out perfect! I will need to loosen the tailgate mounting bolts on the underside of the tailgate to slide over to the driver side very slightly. Lookin good!!! Next objective is to get the internals installed!

 

I was able to get a lot accomplished in the last few days. Here is my progress to date:

I sanded and painted the new metal, where previously I had huge rust holes...you may want to view a few of my pics at the beginning of this thread to see how bad it ways:


I sealed and lined the underside of the rockers:


And I was also able to re-install my step-ups:

 

For those of you who thought the tailgate may be a little overwhelming to take apart or to work on...think again! Below, are some steps in taking apart and re-installing components into a new tailgate.

1) First thing is to take the glass out of the old tailgate, so as not to damage it while trying to get to the other components. This is easily accomplished by pulling the motor wires, getting your battery charger, and using your + and - clamps to activate the motor. If you find that it sounds like it wants to move but does not, reverse your clamps.
NOTE: the below pic was taken from the new tailgate.




2) Move the window half-way in the tailgate to access the window hold down nuts. There will be 2 per side. Once you take off the nuts you should be able to pull the window out of the top of the tailgate. Note: you may need to remove the weatherstripping prior to removal of the window. Simply pry the weatherstripping out with a screwdriver. There are two screws (1 per end) on the longer weatherstrip.


3) Next remove the bolts (x3) holding the tailgate latch mechanism.


4) Next remove the three screws from the latches. Note on this pic, there is a rubber window retainer at the top of the tailgate. Simply remove the screw and pull the rubber retainer out. Also you see the torsion bar located at the bottom of the tailgate. This runs the length of the tailgate...there are two bolts located at the bottom of the tailgate, remove the bolts and on the inside of the tailgate is located two brackets that retain the bar.


5) Next remove the two bolts located on the side of the tailgate that will hold the window slide in place.

 

6) Next remove the tailgate handle...two screws, a c-clip to hold the rod inthe handle and viola! Make sure you take the rubber grommet and install it on the new tailgate!


7) Next simply remove the rods and latch mechanism from the old tailgate. You may need to apply a little pressure to the driver side to bend iot out of the tailgate...no need to worry they are flexable and should bend back in shape.

A few misc pics...here are the two bolts that retain the torsion bar:


The torsion bar will attach to this point on the rear of the truck...two bolts. A word of caution if you are attempting to take the tailgate off...get a partner, tip the tailgate 1/4 open and then take off the torsion rod loop of the truck. If you try to remove this with the tailgate completely open...snap...you could break your glass!


8) Next remove the Motor...three bolts and its out.
9) Then remove the motor mount and gears. Should be 5 or six bolts...sorry did'nt get pics of this...pretty stratight forward once you get in there.
10) Next item to remove is the key cylinder and key/ window actuating mechanism. Simply remove the c-clip from the top of the mechanism, remove the u-shaped retainer clip adn you should be able to remove the actuator.

 

11) Installation is pretty much opposite of tear down:


Don't forgets some new weatherstripping:


Done!!

 

man i sure hate to sound like a broken record of a cheerleader but....... you are doing a stellar job Chris! Let me tell you all those door type mechanisms just give me the *******!!!! i end up mad, creating long strung out run on sentences full of bad words, and usually throw stuff ,and break something i needed!!! Nice Job, it really looks as though you will be winding down pretty quick. keep it up. Dan

 

Dan-O...Yep I was alittle intimidated at first, but once you start taking your time and think logically about what step needs to take place next in order to get the end result...it was'nt bad. Of course lots of other peoples pictures and other references really help! The piece that really bothered me was getting that latch mechanism out without disassembling all the rods to each latch and the tailgate handle. I found the easiest way was to "un-rod" one latch and then gently persuade that rod out of the tailgate first.

It really helps getting that window out first which was easiest step...once its out you can see everything else inside the tailgate.

As always, I'll keep ya'll updated!

Dan - how is your projects coming along? Gets some pictures up man!!!

 

looking great man. Ya know when you get it done ya need to take a road trip in it. I think Vegas sounds good, then you could help with mine...LOL
But serious Its looking great, good job..

 

Thanks Jay! Your Bronco looks pretty good? Are you talking body work or other upgrades? As long as you have me down during a long MN winter...on second thought I think my wife would kill me...I've already spent too much time on my Bronco!

 

really good work, great job.

 

Yeah Chris that looks really good! I really want to get back to the body on ours- to say that I am tired of motor/mechanical would be an understatement. I'll tell Austin to email my pics of my motor for ya. If he doesn't get on it quick, I'll snap a couple quick pics with the wife's phone. Installed pics of it- Austin has all the during shots.

 

Well, I had a 1/2 day off work yesterday and a full day of truck time today. I was able to sand and paint the A-pillars, inside rails and do some touch up and adjustment on other minor things. I was also able to fit and adjust the doors...pain in the rear!

Here are some pics...

A-pillars sanded and painted:



I also put in some new hinge pins in the passenger side...if you need pics let me know!


The biggest project was getting the doors on and aligned! Lee and I must have hung and adjusted these things 30 times! If anyone knows a trick, please let everyone know!

Here is the passenger side...just a reminder that there are no internals or door locks in the doors yet!



Drivers side (the outside door still needs to be sanded and painted):



The next step in the process is to get the driver-side door sanded and painted. The entire truck will then be cleaned and two-three more coats of Black Smooth Durabak will be applied.

Then I will add the internals to the doors, weather stripping, bumper, rear mounted backup camera, carpets and seats. It some point I will redo the interior with the same color scheme!

Finally...get the ball joints done and all new steering components swapped and an alignment!