Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

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Wrightracing.net
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Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by Wrightracing.net »

I want to change my Bronco to a right hand drive, just to be different here in the US. Bad thing is, all the fast food drive throughs are on the left side [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Good work on the truck. I hope you are feeling better....
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Wrightracing.net wrote:I want to change my Bronco to a right hand drive, just to be different here in the US. Bad thing is, all the fast food drive throughs are on the left side [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Good work on the truck. I hope you are feeling better....
Thanks, Mate! I reakon it would be a hoot, pulling into the drive-thru and ordering from the "wrong" side. It freaks the cops out a bit too, so I'm told.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Its Monday and its raining (again). Since Friday I have had the flum so it's been difficult to motivate myself, but with the weekend weather so good, I did get some stuff done. Gave the cab a good clean out (dust, etc.) and sorted through some of the small parts, screws, etc. Can't for the life of me find the interior light door switches, but they will turn up sooner of later.
Saturday I finished strpping out the passenger door and started on the outside with the sander. There is a small crease on the lower part that will be under the stoneguard, so I didn't bother the fill it. A couple of hours sanding every square inch and then into the garage to weld up 2 holes from the westcoaster mirror mount. A thin cutting disc and a steady hand with the grinder and the welds were so smooth, they only needed sanding to make the repair invisble. I got a good coat of primer on it before the light ran out for the day:
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Sunday I did the inside area and around the hinges of the passenger door with the sand blaster, followed by the sander and applied a light coat of primer. While the primer dried thoroughly, I readied the hood for a coat of flat black on the raised centre section. I got an absolutely perfect coat on, and a bloody great bug came along, landed right on the wettest part and proceeded to do backstroke over a square foot or so. I managed to flick the POS off but it was too late to save the paint. I just walked away in total disgust and anger, worried in my temper I would damage the hood doing something really dumb. I went and painted the door inside body colour instead and got that perfect and not a single bug went near it. Today, I didn't go to work (called in sick) and fitted the now dry passenger door to the cab. It's all masked up ready to apply the stoneguard. I did the fender insides too, but the rain came again and finished the day for me:
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Fitted the speaker, wiring and central locking to the driver door, just need to plug in the wires and secure them and the door is ready for the trim.
More to come.
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Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by VintageIronFab »

I'm not sure down under but I would always recommend painting litteralky at the ass crack of dawn-- typically less wind and much better on the bugs. Shooting primer of course whenever :-)
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

VintageIronFab wrote:I'm not sure down under but I would always recommend painting litteralky at the ass crack of dawn-- typically less wind and much better on the bugs. Shooting primer of course whenever :-)
Between 11 am and 2 pm herg as it is sunny, cloudless or close to and zero to very LIGHT wind for me. Too early and the dew is still evaporating and too late, it is still too wet to put inside. I have a 1,001 small things to do if I can't paint, so progress is always possible. Now, every time I go out and look at it, I see the end getting closer. Soon I can drive it again, and it will be much better than before. :D
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Tuesday night (before it got too cold, I did some patchwork in the tub. The holes in the inner panel I covered with sheetmetal (primed inside). It's not a fancy job, but looks far better than the original disaster I inherited:
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The pic of the other side didn't come out well, but you get the idea. This area will be covered by a heavy coating of stoneguard and it will be behind the eventual bedcage and propane tank. I also made a frame for the fuel pump access and will spot weld this in tomorrow night (Thursday):
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Due to budget restraint, I've made a few plan changes. The EFI system will come out and be replaced with a surge tank and carb E85 rated fuel pump on the frame rail. The cost of setting up and running EFI on this is just too far out of my reach right now, due to our south pacific peso dropping like a stone again and postage costs for the required components. A DUI distributor and no-name brand air gap intake will go on the 5.0L along with a Impco adaptor and CA 425 mixer on top of the carb (Holley 500cfm 2 bbl converted to run E85). The gasoline part is only to get me to the next propane fill-up. I'll do some more tomorrow and hopefully have the front inner of the tub stoneguarded (along with the lower passenger door) done by the weekend ready to start thinking about paint (if the weather is kind).
More to come.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Saturday:
Nothing happened Thursday, but managed a good bit today. Got the fuel cover frame spot-welded in after drilling a series of holes along the edge of the opening. Before and after sanding the cover piece:
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Did the stoneguard on the passenger door, fuel cover and opening and did some of the front interior of the tub before the can ran out:
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Re-sanded the bug wreckage on the hood (it took a LONG time to dry enough to sand properly) and re-hit the flat black. Painting later in the evening seems to keep the bugs away and it turned out MUCH better:
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Saturday 2:
After a quick set-up, I used the last of the light, with help from my trusty 250w floodlight, put a perfect coat on the passenger door, then did the inside edges of the front fenders:
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Tomorrow, I have the day to myself, so I will either fit out the door, or rub down and paint the outside of the fenders. If I go to the auto store and grab another can of thinners, I will do both.
More updates tomorrow.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Sunday:
The passenger door is now assembled, just needs the wiring and a few cable ties, and the armrest bracket and it can have the trim:
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And I painted the fenders:
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During the week, I'll freshen up the radiator support and start fitting up the fenders, etc.
Cheers.
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AussieRod
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Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Tuesday:
I took a bucket full of small parts to work to run them thru the bead blaster next door, as my el-cheapo sandblaster is too slow most of the time, only to find out too late they can't afford the glass bead media! A multi-million dollar company can't buy a bag of media? Anyway, I came home in a huff and dragged out ol' faithful and bugger me dead if it didn't go gangbusters tonight! I got ALL the parts done in less than 1/2 an hour and had them painted by dark. I also took the propane tank brackets to work and the painter next door was blasting the rust off an old D6, so he gave them a quick blast, and I had them primed with zinc rich primer by lunch break. When I have time, I'll hit them with satin black:
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After dinner, I fitted the now dry armrest brackets to the doors and then started to do a clean-up of the radiator support. Then I went crazy for some reason and did this:
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And that is where I ended the night. The front fit-up I need to do to see if I am missing anything and to make sure it still fits. I need to make some shims for the fenders near the cab, but I can do that tomorrow at work. I'm hoping the weekend weather will be kind again so I can finish up underneath the tub and get it on the truck. Then I can start on the 9 inch and get it fitted.
More to follow.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Thursday:
Did a little more tonight. I made a few fender shims at work in different thicknesses and tried a couple on the LH side. After a few tries to line up the fender I found that with all the new harder cab and support bushings, the radiator support is a little too high with the original shim on each side (10mm), so I measured up what worked and will make some 8mm support shims tomorrow. I also need to make a washer/nut for the RH side support bushing to replace the rusted out original. No shim was eventually needed on the LH side and a 3mm shim on the RH side works fine, so when I have some daylight to work in, the RH fender will come off so I can fit the radio ariel to the cowl and prep the cowl for final fit (the ariel wire runs behind the rear of the fender into the cab). Once th cowl is ok to stay in place, I will final fit and align the fender. I've also ordered new front grille upper and lower chrome trims to replace the bent/damaged originals and new side markers ( I broke one fitting it tonight and both are old and faded). The grille is damaged, but will be ok for now, it will be replaced in the future. Hopefully I'll get the tub done and fitted over the weekend and then I can line up the cab and bolt it all down tight.

Every time I go outside now and look at the truck, I start to feel a sense of achievment, like it might just get finished. If I hadn't been so busy/lazy the last year, it is quite possible I'd be driving it now, but so much always got in the way. Now, even with my second job, I'm finding it easier to get at least SOMETHING done EVERY week, if not every day. Having most weekends to work on it for more than an hour at a time has helped my motivation immensely, as that has been a real sticking point in actually making some kind of progress. Having to drop everything to drop off/pick up someone, or having to go here/there, do this, do that always made getting anything finished a PITA. Anyway, that's it for now. More over the weekend. Cheers.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
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Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Saturday:
Yesterday, I made 2 8mm shims for the radiator support, and also made a new bushing nut for the RH side front. The old "nut" was rusted away and useless, and I wasn't going to pay US$50+ postage for a $5 part from LMC. I also fount the front grille panel I was missing and sandblasted it for a coat of satin black:
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My new bushing nut, next to the salvaged LH one:
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Once I had the radiator support settled, I did a full fit-up of the front grille and associated parts to see what (if anything) I was missing. Apart from a few screws, all seems to be there:
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I've ordered new upper and lower stips for the front, but the headlight surrounds are also really secondhand, faded and the chrome is peeling in places. The grille isn't any better, so what I might do is sandblast all the parts and satin black them for a full frontal blackout. Later, I will get some new black accented surrounds and a new chrome/black grille to match the new strips and see which one I like better. I think it was navynuke who had a simmilar treatment on the front of his Bronco(?) and I liked the look. Anyway, tomorrow the RH fender comes off, the cowl parts will be sorted out and all hopefully will be fitted permanently very soon.
More to follow.
Broncow
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Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by Broncow »

Looks great. Been stalled for a while on the paint for the kids truck. Don't have the room to do it properly ourselves and really don't want to send it out. Seeing what you did gives me a little more confidence that we can get it done with the limited space available.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Broncow wrote:Looks great. Been stalled for a while on the paint for the kids truck. Don't have the room to do it properly ourselves and really don't want to send it out. Seeing what you did gives me a little more confidence that we can get it done with the limited space available.
Thanks. I'm not a painter's arsehole, but with a little practice, and understanding how much thinner to paint makes a good finish, it gets better. I can't afford to pay someone to do it, with paint jobs STARTING at $10K, so is is up to me. A GOOD paint gun helps, too.
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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

This guy has got to be shitting me, right?:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Headlamp-Ret ... SwBLlVFXh9
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Post by Wrightracing.net »

Ya, there are some guys on ebay trying to sell parts and Broncos for ungodly prices. I think they have been smoking something wacky. [WHITE SMILING FACE]

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Tchajagos
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Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by Tchajagos »

If you do all the body work and shoot down some primer I wonder how much a shop would charge to just lay down a base coat and clear coat. And then you color sand it and buff it. I don't know if a shop would even do that. Might have to take a auto paint course at the local community college to use their paint booth.


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Tchajagos
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Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by Tchajagos »

Those radiator core support washer nut things are hard to get off at the junkyard and lmc wants like $30 plus shipping each. Bronco graveyard wants $100 for a set. What did you use to make yours?


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AussieRod
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Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Tchajagos wrote:Those radiator core support washer nut things are hard to get off at the junkyard and lmc wants like $30 plus shipping each. Bronco graveyard wants $100 for a set. What did you use to make yours?


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A 2 1/2" ciainless stel sheet circle, a M16 bolt thread drilled and tapped to M12 inside and the exposed part drilled 12.5mm to clear the bolt thread (3/4" of thread inside) and tacked together inside a M16 nut. It fits perfectly into the Energy Suspension upper bushing.
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AussieRod
Posts: 2804
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:43 am
Bronco Info: 81 Bronco XLT, 250 alloy head crossflow 6, NP435/NP208, 4:10 gears, 31-10.5R15 M/Ts.
Location: Downunder

Re: Rod's 84 BabyBajaF100

Post by AussieRod »

Wrightracing.net wrote:I want to change my Bronco to a right hand drive, just to be different here in the US. Bad thing is, all the fast food drive throughs are on the left side [GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Good work on the truck. I hope you are feeling better....
This is also a good reason to go RHD...... the steering on my TTB is actually the correct way around: long tierod to long beam and short tierod to short beam.
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