Duffy's 77 Build Thread- Restomod, daily, re-uncut

[duffymahoney]

They didn't give me any choice, I had lots of evidence, but nothing they thought was good enough. Oh well.

[duffymahoney]

A lot of my parts had a strange surface rust on it. It wasn't deep enough to pit it. I found this amazing product. The rust litterally melts away. I have used it on so many parts. I just let them sit for say 48 hours, scrub a little bit, and let it soak for another 24 hours. It also removes paint! www.evaporust.com , I got it at o'reilly's. I got new rubber and handle for the parking brake from wildhorses. I am hopefully getting my rolling frame and body back this month! I would have to have it for the snowy winter and spend a long time with the wiring and install.

Here is the parking break. Sorry I don't have a before. I also got the stock 77 gas tanks fully finished. The stainless sending units are nice! Plus I got the new pig tails to make my wiring easier. I didn't powdercoat the parking brake, I was worried it has too many moving parts.

Next is getting the break and gas pedal powder coated, then the gas tank skid plates.

[duffymahoney]

I got the stock door lock mechanisms all dialed. I chemical dipped them with the rust remover and then took some hours with the dremel tool. I only have a few dirty- rusty parts left! I can almost see the light at the end. Someday I will get to drive it.

Should I paint these clear? Any protections? I only removed paint from the door striking part.

[duffymahoney]

I got a bunch of stuff back from the powder coater. I am sure glad I have a friend that owns a powder coating shop! I don't think I would have gone to this level without her help. I got both gas tank skid plates done, tranny mount, toms seat mounts, wiper motor mount, gas pedal and brake pedal assembly, head light bezels and trim, and the sport chrome trim from the rest of the bronco. I haven't decided on the black trim yet for the outside. I might end up doing the milled aluminum stuff. I think it really depends on the color I pick. Or I might get them re- coated in a satin silver. I really like that color.

[duffymahoney]

Here is my center console. It's a toms, but the paint wasn't good enough, so I stripped it down and had it powder coated. I then added a usb port and cable for my phone to connect to the deck, 2 usb power jacks and heated seats. I will be doing dual zone in all 4 seats. I will hopefully drive it a lot and on cold nights I think the heated seats will be a great addition. They fit great in the stock stereo location.

[duffymahoney]

Wiper and gas and break are all back together. I am running low on projects that I can do until I get the body back.

[duffymahoney]

I got Toms Bronoc seats back from the upholstery shop. I had to change the wiring for the seat heaters because of the fold and tumble rear seat. I have the wiring come out near the hinge.

While they were apart I changed out the foam. These seats are not comfortable at all. I would have sent them back but shipping would be terrible. I am now happy with their fit and finish.

[duffymahoney]

Here is where the rear heated seats wiring comes out.

[Ratch]

Looking good, I like all the detailed components. How is the body coming along?

[duffymahoney]

It's coming along. But it's taking forever. The axels go back on the frame this weekend. Then we need to test fit the inner core on the body. Then pull the body and sand blast everything. I really want the body and frame back before winter snows start.

[duffymahoney]

I finally got my vent windows done. Both of them needed new posts, all new rubber, both were dipped in the rust eating solution and then detailed and then I clear coated all the galvanized pieces. I used all stainless hardware and painted the springs. I brushed the stainless, which I still need to work on, it's a little splotchy. I am getting rid of all shiny chrome or shiny stainless on the exterior of the bronco. These little guys took a lot of work.

[Germd]

Duffy,
Looks like you're well on your way to making "lemonade out of lemons". Great job of the small parts detail. Wish I had a powder coater nearby I could trust.
Interested in more details on your vent windows. I'm debating just buying the whole window and hardware new -vs- rebuilding my originals.

[duffymahoney]

What would you like to know? The rubber uses rivets that you have to set in. Which are a pain. Same with the posts. I just used a medium green scrubby and got all the swirl marks out of the brushed stainless, I couldn't be happier on how they look.

If yours aren't rusted away, you should rebuild them. I didn't like the feedback on the new ones.

The small parts are all I have to work on, so I am going very over the top Next I am detailing out the gas door parts and filler tubes. Then I will start on my 4r70w. I am going to detail it all out, powder coated pan, stainless bolts etc... and a new lokar shifter.

I should be getting the tailgate stuff back from the powder coater this week.

[duffymahoney]

I got the fuel doors and filler necks finished. The rear filler neck has some issues, it looks like someone had trouble getting a cap off at some point. I straighten it out as much as I could. Toms said they will have new ones at some point. So I will probably use it till then.

The insides had this crazy yellow substance on them, it smelled terrible when contacted with water. I stripped both, chemical dipped them and painted both. Then got new door bumpers and cleaned out the plastics. The rubber for the plastic door is a pain to deal with! Took me like an hour to get everything off, without breaking anything.

[rguest3]

Takes a lot of time and effort to detail each part as you go.

Great job!