More progress. Attacking rust, learning about windows, and planning junkyard trips.

[benhoger]

Not sure if I should make one continuous build thread or make each update a separate thread. Feel free to provide feedback.

In my last thread I talked about removing the interior body liner. A heat gun (definitely not my mother’s hair dryer) and the flat end of a pry bar did the trick.

My harbor freight angle grinder died and I finally got around to buying a new one. Ryobi this time around. I hit the interior with the wire wheel and it’s cleaning up nicely. I haven’t decided if I’m going to fiberglass the holes or figure out how to weld in some spare metal. I’ve never welded before.

I got the two fenders off to reveal some more rust holes (relatively minor) in the body behind the finders. Same story as the big holes in the cab, but almost definitely going to fiberglass these because they’re hard to reach.

Got the contact info for a glass guy. need to find out if he can replace the molding/seals on my rear quarter windows. Last owner painted over them and they’re in crummy shape. I’d like them OEM black. I found quite a few B2s in nearby junkyards online with the windows in good shape, but want to probe this glass guy first. Can’t seem to find any consistent info about it online.

The molding in the lift gate window is painted too. It doesn’t look like this window comes out, so I might grab a whole lift gate at the yard. Windshield molding is painted too, but i’ve already found that molding on ebay.

I’ve been spraying down the body mounts to get the ready to take them out. I decided to try and start loosening them and the drivers side bolts are completely rusted through. The bolt and the bushing just fell apart. This truck definitely shows it’s Pennsylvania roots.

Other than that, i want to brush off the rust from the frame and paint it. I thought about completely removing the body off the frame to do this but it is probably more work for me than it is worth. I’d like to learn how to do this one day. I’ll have to get what I can from underneath when replacing the body mount bushings for now.

 

[ecgreen]

I used Eastwood products on my rusty frame last year and it is holding up great so far. All you do is remove the flaky rust with a wire wheel and paint.

I basically lifted the body up about 6 inches off the frame and placed it on saw horses. I had just enough room to get under there and work. Of course if you have the means to lift the body right off, that would be a whole lot easier. Keep us posted!

 

[Josh B]

I got a free 87 Ranger from MN which was rusted underneath rather well, only good part it had a new engine. Spent a couple months in spare time with it up on blocks crawling around underneath it with a wire brush and chipping hammer, and a dozen cans of wmart 99 cent black paint. Drove that truck a lot of miles

 

[benhoger]

I used Eastwood products on my rusty frame last year and it is holding up great so far. All you do is remove the flaky rust with a wire wheel and paint.

I basically lifted the body up about 6 inches off the frame and placed it on saw horses. I had just enough room to get under there and work. Of course if you have the means to lift the body right off, that would be a whole lot easier. Keep us posted!

I guess i’m not even sure where to begin with lifting up the frame. Mind you I’m not terribly experienced, but I can figure this out. What’s involved. I can see the for the most part it seems pretty modular. It looks like I might have to take the steering column apart and probably drop the gas tank to get to the rear body mounts.

I got a free 87 Ranger from MN which was rusted underneath rather well, only good part it had a new engine. Spent a couple months in spare time with it up on blocks crawling around underneath it with a wire brush and chipping hammer, and a dozen cans of wmart 99 cent black paint. Drove that truck a lot of miles

Similar situation here. The engine in mine only has about 1100 miles on it. The B2 only has about 78,000 miles. Unfortunately when the vehicle first came to Florida way back when, it was issued a Not Actual Mileage title. It’s only one owner and they produced a lot of paperwork of maintenance. Between that and the car fax report, it’s doesn’t look like the odometer actually rolled over.

 

[franklin2]

If you want a easy way to knock the loose rust off, this thing works good. It needs a good amount of air, my dinky oiless compressor ran it ok, but I had to let it catch up once in awhile.

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

 

[franklin2]

On the fiberglass repair, I have used it before, it works well and gives a good repair on non-structural things like floor pans and body parts. I just mix the resin in a can, paint around the repair area with a paint brush, and then stick the resin cloth onto the painted area so it sticks. I then just start painting the cloth and saturating it with the brush. If you try and saturate the cloth and then install it like the instructions say, what a mess that makes.

I would try to put metal in like a floorboard area with the body mount below it. The fiberglass won't support the body as well as metal would. Even with the metal, you can use screws or pop rivets.

People get hung up sometimes on "doing things right" and welding panels in and making it all original. That is all well and good, I respect their abilities and taking the high road. But I seem to have the most fun with vehicles I have patched together however I could get them going, and getting them on the road and just driving them, not caring if I did some harm off-roading or getting a parking lot ding or two.

 

[franklin2]

And on the back glass thing; I have been researching that also. I have a 1984 Bronco II, it was supposed to have the aluminum trim on it with the glued in glass. It does on one side and still looks nice. Someone has replaced the glass on the other side with a later model setup with the rubber, and it doesn't fit that well. From what I can gather, you can't get the rubber, it is made with or comes with the glass from Ford. I am not sure how it all works together but it has little bolts and it bolts into the bronco body.

I have been scheming a little bit, just like in the other post where I mentioned getting ere' done. I have this idea I maybe getting rid of the glass on the one side, getting a piece of sheetmetal and cutting it and bending it to fit the original opening. Then painting it body color or black, and in the middle of it cutting a large hole and putting a access door like a contractor style truck cap. Or putting one of those sliding RV windows in it with the rubber around it. This would give great access to the rear cargo area without having to mess with the spare tire thing and opening the rear hatch.

 

[19Walt93]

I would rather see steel used for the floor repairs, welded in is best but I'd even pop rivet it before fiberglassing a floor pan. I used POR15 on my Ranger to cover rusted surfaces. You need to remove the loose rust before applying it and when it cures it catalyzes the rust and stops it's progress. I found that the only solvent that cuts it is the POR15 solvent, chip brushes worked best for me and they're cheap so you can toss them, if you're not going to cover large areas at one time buying a six pack of small cans worked better for me than trying to keep the lid from seizing in place. WEAR GLOVES and avoid getting it on your skin because it's near impossible to get it off.