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Bronco Designs Body Durability

377

Sr. Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
372
Loc.
The Bluegrass State
My current project is be built using a Bronco Design body and I have come to a point where I have some questions about the durability and strength of the body. My major concern is the front clip and mounting the battery. When I picked the body up Corey said the battery has been mounted on the box used to attach the body to one of the front body mounts on the frame. It looks like a really nice mounting location for the battery but my concern is will it hold the battery when being driven in some pretty rough terrain (where I live there are some roads that rival KOH). I’m kind of worried about mounting radiator and running into the possibility of core support becoming damaged due to terrain this rig will live in. I also know I have clearance issues with my headers and inner fenders wells too (351w based motor is causing this). I am giving serious thought to doing away with the inner front clip and building an inner clip with DOM tubing. If you’ve had any experience with using the inner clip in rough terrain and how it held up I really like to hear from you. If you have any ideas or advice on building a tube inner clip I love to see or hear about that too. Lastly I want to say I’m really happy with the quality of the Bronco Design Body and you couldn’t ask for a better person to deal with then Corey. I’m just really concerned with heavy components damaging fiberglass because of constant and some harsh conditions the rig will see. Thank you
 

Jluck

Jr. Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
118
My current project is be built using a Bronco Design body and I have come to a point where I have some questions about the durability and strength of the body. My major concern is the front clip and mounting the battery. When I picked the body up Corey said the battery has been mounted on the box used to attach the body to one of the front body mounts on the frame. It looks like a really nice mounting location for the battery but my concern is will it hold the battery when being driven in some pretty rough terrain (where I live there are some roads that rival KOH). I’m kind of worried about mounting radiator and running into the possibility of core support becoming damaged due to terrain this rig will live in. I also know I have clearance issues with my headers and inner fenders wells too (351w based motor is causing this). I am giving serious thought to doing away with the inner front clip and building an inner clip with DOM tubing. If you’ve had any experience with using the inner clip in rough terrain and how it held up I really like to hear from you. If you have any ideas or advice on building a tube inner clip I love to see or hear about that too. Lastly I want to say I’m really happy with the quality of the Bronco Design Body and you couldn’t ask for a better person to deal with then Corey. I’m just really concerned with heavy components damaging fiberglass because of constant and some harsh conditions the rig will see. Thank you

What does Corey say?
 
OP
OP
3

377

Sr. Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
372
Loc.
The Bluegrass State
Corey said the box had been used to mount the battery and radiators had been mounted on the core support in different ways. We didn’t have a really in depth conversation about durability in some conditions. Because I didn’t want to keep him there since he was nice enough to come in on a Saturday afternoon so I could pick my body up. I was hoping someone with some experience with Bronco Design Body could steer me in the right direction.
 

AZ73

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
3,541
I think a lot of it depends on the battery you're using. If you're using an optima 34/78 or Bronco rated Odyssey, they weight about 43 lbs. If you're using a Odyssey 34/78, it weights over 50 lbs. When I did my front end, I used extra welds there on the supports that the battery sits on (they tie the core support to the wheel wells), but the reality is those supports are what sits on the body bushing there. So the thickness of the support metal is what supports the battery (divided by 2 since there's 2 brackets there). The weight is not as pounding as you might think since the suspension takes a lot of the energy (the battery isn't being dropped on a solid surface, it's an absorbing surface). If you're really concerned about it, mount the battery to the frame under the passenger seat:

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285751&highlight=battery

or add a few welds to the supports where they attach to the core support and wheel well.

My original support was significantly rusted long before the weight of the battery helped push the weakened metal apart.
 
OP
OP
3

377

Sr. Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
372
Loc.
The Bluegrass State
I'm planning on using an Optima. I get what you're saying about it basically resting more then taking a pounding. I can't weld anything extra there since the whole front clip is fiberglass. The fiberglass is what concerns me that over time it could fracture or just plain break with a good enough jolt. The worse part the body mount box would be a great place to mount a battery. I just don't know that it will work since I am most likely leaving the inner fenders off so there wont be extra support from them. I have been thinking relocating the battery would be a good option though. Thanks for your help.
 

BroncoDesignTN

Sponsor/Vendor
Full Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
170
We have had the battery mounted on the box for 4 years and no issues at all yet! It has been put through the roughness of the sand dunes in MI and several off road events. No cracking or signs of trouble yet. Give me a call Paul when you see this and I'll go over a few things with you!
 

72pabronco

Full Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
172
Ive had my battery mounted to the front body mount area, and the radiator is mounted to the tray on the front clip for going on 7 years now. 16,000 miles on the build now and no problems. Mine is tub #4. So unless your going to do Baja at race speedi think it will be ok.
 
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