4Door Bronco build

Ratman1979

Observer
Wow! Great to find this thread. Thomas has been talking about this project a lot and its great to actually see the progress. I own the blue one he built last year that went to SEMA. Guess I need to put in my order for a 4 door creation before he gets too many more!
 

patl

Adventurer
Hey Ratman
Saw you and your wife at the Supercelebration but didn't get to meet you. Understand the interview at SEMA with Car Crazy is going to be on Tuesday night. Congratulations- one of a kind. Thomas and Rick are setting up to finish the frame on the other 4 door at the end of this month. 4 link and all should be completed. Rick's frame will be similar to yours only longer, with air suspension.
 
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patl

Adventurer
Had a good day today. Roll cage is done with tie in to door post. Really tightened up the post.

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Floor is also complete with tunnel welded in. Tomorrow will finish welding out everything left and grind. Doors have to be welded out. Will also add 1 1/2" tubes to sliders. Adds a little more protection and gives a place for foot to step up. A little finish on the door fit and everything should be ready to go back on the rotisserie for the painters. Really starting to get excited!
 

patl

Adventurer
The way Thomas adds the last bend kicks the tube back up under the dash. Makes getting in and out easy. My '76 has a 2" bar coming straight down and isn't too bad once you are seated. That's what I love about the Bronco- plenty of room even for a big guy like me. Add v8 power and now we're having fun! Bought Rick's Lightning motor to go in this one since he has pretty much decided to go with a 408 stroker. Should move my Bronco most expeditiously, even with the added weight! Zf 5 speed and 4.56 gears will also help. Still haven't decided on transfer case.
 
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jesus_man

New member
I've been following this since a friend of mine brought it to my attention. Great work! I love the level of detail. I am excited to see it continue to progress!

The stock D20 is a pretty stout case and you mention you're not planning to crawl with it, so the ZF with 4.56 axles should be about right with the D20. Maybe just twin stick it?? If not, Atlas seems like the obvious choice. If you need a quote, PM me and I'll send you my contacts details. He has had the best price for several friends of mine and myself.

Addressing the cage. I'll admit, I'm no expert, but I have been rock crawling for 12 years and I have seen what holds up and what fails. My only concern with yours is lack of lateral support. If you flopped onto your side, there isn't much stopping the cage from collapsing. I realize cross-bars behind the drivers seats may not be practical, but perhaps you could add a couple gussets from the vertical posts to the "halo" up top at both the B and C pillar??

Just something to consider.
 

patl

Adventurer
Yes, good eye. We'll be looking at that today as we add the bungs for seat belt mounts, etc.
 

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patl

Adventurer
Ok- Added some lateral bracing. Can't argue with sound logic. Started welding out the sliders to the body. Going slow to keep the heat down. Tomorrow will add 1 1/2" tubes to sliders. Made a punch list- getting down to the little details to be finished.
 

partsflyin

Adventurer
Super cool build !

If you don't mind, tell Thomas his old friend Slim says hello!

Thomas is an extremely talented guy not to mention how good a guy he is !
 

patl

Adventurer
Since some of you have asked, here is a picture of Rick's build with the stretched half cab top.

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Thomas plans on having a full hardtop on his, while I will have a soft top stretched to fit mine. I'll probably have a half cab top as option for winter, but usually just run no top or a safari style in the warmer months. When I took the full top off of my '76 to build the roll cage, I liked it so much it was never put back on. Have a soft top for it, but after trying it on for fit, stored it also. That was 3 years ago.
 

8-Lug

New member
Your build looks great and it seems to be moving along quickly. Here are some pictures of others for incentive and ideas. The full top was in a magazine and the owner took 8 years to build if I recall correctly. The 'no' top was for sale recently.
 

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patl

Adventurer
I was at the show in 2011 at Townsend when the green 4dr showed up. It was a very ambitious project that turned out well. Here is a rendering of the same truck (not by me) showing a shortened rear door. This is how Thomas' Bronco will look- at least the body part.

4doormodify1.jpg

I personally like the way the half cab top looks, although I prefer no top at all. With a bikini or safari top and the windows rolled up you can go through a pretty good rain without getting wet. They all have their place.

We appreciate all the positive input that has come from this forum. Working with Thomas has been a real joy and definitely an ex-
perience. Things that I think are done and look OK aren't good enough for him. He will work on something until it's perfect. Goes a little slower, but I can't complain about the results. Nothing goes out of his shop half done.

Oh, and Slim, Thomas says hello and asks about your big green project.
 
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patl

Adventurer
Well, Friday is here again and I think the punch list is getting longer instead of shorter. Had to go back and move the E-brake cable mounts to allow for added length. Took a little while, but it's done. Tubes for sliders were bent and welded in.

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Tomorrow will weld out rear doors and fix a tail light panel. Hopefully it will all go well.
 

patl

Adventurer
This week has been a little bit of a struggle. Going over the body and fixing small spots that were missed earlier. The passenger side lower tail light panel was cut out and replaced, which turned into a real challenge. It seems the after market replacement panels are different depending on the vendor supplying, and the one I sourced was a 1/4 " too long compared to the factory part. Instead of taking a couple of hours to replace it turned into nearly a full day to cut and section it and make it work. Looks good finally, but was a lot of extra work that shouldn't have been.

The front radiator support was modified to allow more room for the Vintage Air condenser ,and the lower part was boxed in to add strength after removing some of the metal. Was also trimmed to clear the PS box.

Also, a puzzle for you home grown engineers- in a shortened rear door how do you get the glass into the door? Answer- take a hint from the early doors in which the upper window track could be removed. I had a 68 door we studied and figured out how to make it work. One side is no problem, but the side where the vent window was eliminated was a bit more complex.
Since it isn't completed yet, we don't have pictures. And Thomas and Rick are working on Rick's tubular frame for the rest of this week, trying to get all the four link and three link built, so we won't get back to the doors until after the weekend.

Project is still moving on, just slowed a bit do to the trial and error required to make everything work.
 
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