Project: 76, Orange Special Decor

[gnsteam]

Last week I started removing the interior. Pulled the rear and passenger seat, floor covering, roll bar, and shifter boot. The rubber floor coverings held up pretty good for 45 years, just a few rips. These are the original floors which are still in great shape. The front floor pans are starting to get a little thin, at the seam between the floor and first bend of the firewall section. Anyone local to Lincoln NE, need a dealer installed roll bar?

 

[LUBr LuvR]

Those floors look great.....what most only wish they'd find. Are you sure you want to repaint that beauty?

 

[gnsteam]

Those floors look great.....what most only wish they'd find. Are you sure you want to repaint that beauty?

The exterior paint is shot. Most will say keep the patina, but I'm more of a shiny paint person. There are several dents throughout the body and the inner finders of the engine compartment are rusted through. I'm sure we will find more evidence of during tear down and media blasting.

 

[LUBr LuvR]

The best part about a Bronco is building it the way it suits you the best. Remember reading earlier posts where you were weighing out whether or not to repaint.

You'll have to chime in on the post where Paul was saying he hadn't seen a full black mat in a Bronco. Yours certainly came with one!

Enjoy the build, as we are doing the same following along.

 

[gnsteam]

The best part about a Bronco is building it the way it suits you the best. Remember reading earlier posts where you were weighing out whether or not to repaint.

You'll have to chime in on the post where Paul was saying he hadn't seen a full black mat in a Bronco. Yours certainly came with one!

Enjoy the build, as we are doing the same following along.

Thanks LUBr for the words of encouragement. I wrestle daily with the direction to go on this build. But in the end, I'm building this Bronco for me.;D

 

[gnsteam]

More progress last night. The hard top is completely stripped, glass, weather-stripping and anything that bolts on to it. I attached 2x4s to the bottom to keep the sides from folding over during handling. I also removed the wipers, wiper motor and levers. Then I removed the windshield glass.

Having the top unbolted, gave me the opportunity to fold down the windshield frame to reveal the hinge seal. I'm very please with what I found. NO RUST!

Tonight I will remove the doors tailgate and tire carrier. And if time permits the front and rear bumpers.

 

[Rox Crusher]

Looking great!

 

[gnsteam]

Thank you Rox. Last night I striped down the doors and rear lift gate. Then I pulled the doors Off the hinges. More progress.;D

 

[DirtDonk]

Having the top unbolted, gave me the opportunity to fold down the windshield frame to reveal the hinge seal. I'm very please with what I found. NO RUST!

Looks great under there! Did you happen to note which way the seal was oriented? Was the bead to the rear (facing the dash) or to the front (up against the hinge) instead?

Thanks

paul

 

[gnsteam]

Sorry Paul, I did not realize the seal had a bead at one edge, when I removed it. If I was wagering a bet, I'd say it was to the dash side. Because at first glance the seal appeared to be just a flat piece of rubber, but from the dirt build up against the dash side tells me there must have been something holding the dirt in place. Hope this helps.

P.S. Paul I just watched this video again of a 66 build that I'm following. It appears to show the bead to be at the dash side of the seal. This is a 66 and the windshield bolts in so it may be a different situation on later models.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, just a curiosity for me. Over the years most of the seals I've seen had the bead at the rear, but a few (more and more now) are being discovered unmolested with the bead towards the hinge. Blubuckaroo I think it was found his to be towards the rear/dash and it's original. Since he's the original owner he'd know. A couple of other members have reported the same.
Might not have had a specific position then, but whatever direction that person laid it out that day on the assembly line. Or perhaps there were instances where it helped alignment by holding it farther forward or less.

Yours seems to have been there since the beginning, so it would have been just another one for the list.
No worries. I'm sure they were installed both ways. Just keeping track of however many we can, to see how many were which way.

Paul

 

[FJB]

Looking good Fred. You are making great progress.

 

[sprdv1]

Thank you Rox. Last night I striped down the doors and rear lift gate. Then I pulled the doors Off the hinges. More progress.;D

Good stuff man....

 

[sprdv1]

Sorry Paul, I did not realize the seal had a bead at one edge, when I removed it. If I was wagering a bet, I'd say it was to the dash side. Because at first glance the seal appeared to be just a flat piece of rubber, but from the dirt build up against the dash side tells me there must have been something holding the dirt in place. Hope this helps.

P.S. Paul I just watched this video again of a 66 build that I'm following. It appears to show the bead to be at the dash side of the seal. This is a 66 and the windshield bolts in so it may be a different situation on later models.

Yeah I recall seeing that a while back

 

[gnsteam]

Not a lot of progress in the last couple days. I removed the tire carrier, front and rear bumpers and tailgate which I stripped down of its hardware.

Take a look at the top edge of my wind shield glass. Straight as an arrow cut.%)

 

[gnsteam]

Thursday afternoon, I picked up a donor frame to move the body off my frame. The donor frame is on loan from the restoration shop that will be doing the body work, which they will start after the first of the year.

If anyone is interested in looking up the VIN information of the donor frame, the VIN is U15LD49281.

 

[gnsteam]

A little more tear down progress today. I removed the antenna, headlamps, turn signal lamps, side marker and tail lamps. I also removed the old window tint from all the glass. That was a chore!%) This Tuesday night, I hope to have a few buddies over to help with the tear down.

 

[gnsteam]

Thanks to David, Mike and Gary. My new local Bronco buddies. We have everything disconnected from the chassis. We even removed the body mount bolts with no issues. Just put a wrench to bolts and they came right out.. Next up is to build bracing so we can lift off the body.

 

[gnsteam]

Today I took some angle iron I had on hand and fabricated door open and bed box bracing. I may add another brace at the rear tailgate. I'm leaving the front fenders and grill on to keep the front supported. If you all think I have enough bracing. The body is ready for lift off!

I also removed the heater box, dash and the remaining pedal assemblies. Making good progress.

Yesterday I stopped at the engine builders shop to check on the progress. He said the motor will be ready for pick in few more weeks. He needs to do the balancing work and final assembly. I also got an update from my transmission builder. I can drop it off in two weeks.

 

[gnsteam]

Taking another look at the body bracing. I decided to purchase some more angle and change it up a bit. I add an addition brace to each door. And changed the box bracing, with two straight braces with 45's at the rear corner.