so im mounting the 7 bronco front axel to the 56 frame but i'm wondering if i should simply but new shock towers cause the others were rusted and bolt em all up and box the frame and weld in sleeves, or simply use shock hoops for extra travel shocks, i just feel like it would be a lot less work cause i wanna get this truck up and driving, what do you guys think

 

You can do which ever you want it's your truck! But unless you are rock crawling or desert racing there really isn't a need for long travel shocks. That's just spending more $$ for fancy parts. I'm pretty sure some new stock style upper shock mounts would be much cheaper then an aftermarket shock hoop and long travel shocks. But if the shock hoop is what you want go for it.

You don't need to box the frame for the stock upper shock mounts unless you want to. Just buy some shorter grade 8 bolts and bolt the original brackets to the frame.

 

another reason i was thinking of using the hoops is because 3 of the 4 shock towers are rusted through and i cant seem to find any online

 

Are you talking 4 front mounts or the front and the rear shock mounts? If you need rear shock mounts they are easy. I need a pair of these for my truck too.


1978-79 Bronco Rear Upper Shock Mount


If you can't find replacement front shock mounts you might want to consider some 80's F250 front shock mounts. Just go with the 80's F250 4x4 shocks and you'd be set.

F250 Upper Shock Bracket


What's the shock hoops cost that you were looking at? It's been a while since I checked out the early Bronco parts. I think they were about $200 the last I checked.


But like I said if you want to run the hoops go for it. Just watch out on the driverside. Make sure the hoop isn't going to interfere with the steering box area.

 

yea the front has 4 shocks, by the way should i just go with 2 shocks in the front?
and those mounts look way more in my price range than the hoops haha thanks

 

You are setting it up. If you only want to run 2 shocks then run 2 shocks up front. 2 shocks will work fine and save you some cash on parts.

 

okay finally my dad wired the garage for 220 for my new welder so im ready to box the frame, what thickness should i use, like should i just buy the premade 1/8 inch plates of buy someother thickness and cut it my self, i only have a grinder to idk, and where would i buy it cause i dont have a metal shop anywhere close by?

 

I use either 1/8" or 10 gauge steel. Personally I prefer to make my own plates. It's takes some time but you can fit them to your frame the way you like them. If you buy pre-made ones you are kind of stuck with what you get.

To cut the 1/8" or 10 gauge plate I just use a cheap hand held jigsaw. I buy cheap ones because I have a tendency to burn them up. And it's better to ruin a $20 saw then $150 one. I feel the same way about grinders ( I've only got about 10 of them ) .

What I do is cut out the pieces with the jig saw and then do the final fitting/clean up with the grinder.

 

ohh okay haha sounds smart to me , yeah my dad would be pretty pissed if i broke one of his nice jigsaws

 

The jigsaws don't cut super fast thru the thicker metal but they work. Just don't force them, let them do the work. They will cut a gentle curve but on sharper curves or corners you will have to go at it from a few different angles. For corners I use a drill and drill a hole big enough for the jigsaw blades. And that lets you change directions with out any major issues.

And for drill bits I like to use the stepped drill bits. They save some time over having to change to different sized drill bits and they also de-bur the holes which is a nice benefit. But drilling thru the heavier metal with them will eventually dull them. But I just buy them as cheap as possible. I get them from harbor freight or off Ebay for around $10 for a 3 pack.



You need to post some pics of your project!! I'd like to see the progress you're making. I have to live vicariously thru others since I can't work on my own truck right now!

 

heres the truck when i first got it (let me know if the pic worked)
[IMG]<a href="http://s1093.photobucket.com/albums/i426/cwest73/?action=view&amp;current=P1013754.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i426/cwest73/P1013754.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]

heres the bronco a few weeks after we got it and dissembled it
[IMG]<a href="http://s1093.photobucket.com/albums/i426/cwest73/?action=view&amp;current=P1015718.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i426/cwest73/P1015718.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>[/IMG]

i have tons more pic ill upload em this weekend

 

i use a Harbor Freight SAWZALL for my straighter cuts and the the jigsaw for the curvy stuff..just finished boxing mine to the back of the cab.
To me its really time consuming, but its nice when its done!
I do spend a little more on the sawzall blades. the one i like the best so far is a milwaukee ice cutter? or something like that..good luck!

this is my bro in laws truck, just a little teaser for ya! LOL

 

Cool post up the rest when you get a chance. It looks like you are starting with a nice solid truck there!

The Bronco chassis looks pretty good too. I'm surprised the brackets were rotted away.



The sawzall would cut faster but I think the jigsaw much easier to control. At least with my Milwaukee Super Sawzall it is.

I scrap/part out a few vehicles. And I cut them up with my Sawzall. So I go thru quite a few blades. I tried those Milwaukee Ice blades. I actually bought a 50 pack of those turds! On mine all those cryo treated teeth just sheered right off of the blades. The only Milwaukee blades I've had any luck with are the "Torch" blades. But right now I'm having the best luck with some cheap blades I bought off Ebay. They are actually lasting longer then any of the Milwaukee blades I've used.

You bro in law's truck is pretty sweet!

 

hey those blades i use do say torch on them, you rang the bell, i guess its a bad case of CRS (Can't Remember Sh#*)
but thats the one. i found them laying in the back room at work so i just thought they would be put to better use in my garage!
this particular blade is real thick and long. it doesnt fold in two if you get a little sideways, and because of its thickness its easier to cut a straighter (not straight) line. of course i always have to finish up with the angle grinder. i always use oil on the blades and it helps cut and seems to make the blades last longer.
My brother in law is a member here, but he is not very active on the board. ive been tryin to motivate him but....

 

The thicker blades are nice since they won't bend as easily. For this reason I really like the Dewalt metal cutting demolition blades. They are almost twice the thickness of the torch blades and the teeth seem last longer. But they aren't very cheap and I sometimes have a hard timing finding them.

Lately I've been using "Blu-Mol" brand blades. I buy them off ebay and have been getting 40-50 blades for the price of 5-10 of the Milwaukee or Dewalt blades. They seem to be doing a good job. So I can't complain. I have bent a couple but that was from hitting something on the back side of what I was cutting. They didn't fold up like aluminum foil like some cheap blades. The tips just bend over a little. I just lay the blade on something hard and give them a hit or two with a hammer and they are good to go again.