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New guy old builder album

Weight distribution

Decided to weigh the Broncobra yet again after installing tube bumpers, spare and rack, new seats and frame, dash etc. a lot has changed since my first weigh in after the 302/C4 & top chop (2650 lbs.) & wanted to get weight distribution figured out. Sure enough shes heavier, but still a lot lighter than stock. Weighed in at 3375 lbs. ....1856 lbs. on the front & 1519 lbs. on the rear giving a distribution of 55/45 front to rear with quarter tank of fuel. If I remember correctly the B2's carry about 23 gal. of fuel so I'll round it off to 100 lbs. more with a full tank of fuel added to the rear plus the shock cage and other suspension components which I'll estimate at 150 lbs. added to the rear weight equals approximately 1769 lbs. .... just under 50/50 front to rear weight distribution & total weight of 3625 lbs. I still plan on moving the battery back to the rear & adding a second battery also which will place another few pounds to the rear. I would like another 5% to the rear, but know only 1 place I can find it and I'm not ditching her transfer case by going 2x4! Power to weight should be pretty high...I have my own idea what it is but since I've made so many changes to the power plant to detune for reliability, cooler running, fuel availability etc. since she was on a dyno, it would be just a swinging wild A** guess. lol
If I were going to race at any level I would go 2x4...that debate goes on all the time & I won't respond to replys castigating one side or the other, because to me there are really good reasons
that the desert trucks, pre runners and race trucks choose one over the other. I'm not racing and most of the time I just cruise and if I need the front drive I use it if not I don't...sure like the idea of a redundant system to get me home...blow the back shaft limp home on the front at least to a point I can get some help. On the river sand I run rear wheel only 90% of the time, but I'm locked, aired down and moving at a good speed over soft stuff. When I mis-judge my speed, *****y sand condition or distance needed to clear the *****y stuff, I end up having to 4 wheel out (if I'm lucky). I love 4x4 & that's what I wheel and build!
 
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Relocating the battery/s to the rear will make a big difference.
There is one really huge weight related factor that must be added to your build. And that is the substantial amount of lowering of the COG you have done already.
All things being equal, if you took a fully stock bodied B2 which have the dubious distinction of earning the title of The Roll Over Spacial with it's high COG, which BTW Ford engineers new of this potential problem when it first rolled off the show room floor.
Then do some off camber runs on those sand dunes with both B2's, the law's of physics would prove yours would win hands down, or should I say hands still up.
 






Cog

Rookieshooter,I have not calculated COG but it has been on my mind during construction...guess I'm just a bit lazy and depend on "feel" sometimes when probably shouldn't. Past experience in racing still dominates my thinking and quite a bit of that theory/experience is at some point detrimental to off roading. Getting all the horsepower possible out of my 302 has been so tempting but I think I've finally fought off that tempting and boastful approach to a level that makes some sense in "my" wheeling world. I have always considered weight as the enemy of performance also, especially the unsprung version and that weight which effects excessive over or understeer, dive or funky drivetrain characteristics etc. Hooking up... power transfer and braking. COG has always been a big concern in racing too. I remember that you referred to COG repeatedly during your buildup and I paid attention to your concern and I'm glad you brought it to my attention yet again as I ponder my suspension changes especially the front end. TTB characteristics are so interesting and challenging and definitely contribute to the rollovers through raising COG, which you alluded to, narrowing track & altering camber etc. that going wider, cut & bent Camburg type TTB is tempting, but SAS & linked is sure fire and time tested...cost effective too and much simpler for the average alignment shop to get right. At any rate thanks for the post you and 410 fortune have been inspirations during the Broncobra build, thanks.
 






Took a little more shine off by painting the aluminum door cap plate...kinda like the effect. Course the pop riveted 3/16 inch thick aluminum diamond plate strengthens the steel door cap to the point of being stupid stout...no weight limit stand on it!
 

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Sport door fabrication

Got back on the construction of the passenger side door cap. Photos show the inside panel for the front and rear sheet metal as well as the step cap welded up and installed for a test fit. Also show the completed folding light bar installed with lights bolted up securly in the driving position.
 

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Detail

Bracket detail.

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Shows the additional hinge welded in centered position, the tabs which stop the lights from being lowerd past horizontal and the bolts which extend from the support bar and are used to bolt the light in the upward or running position.
When I welded in the center hinge I placed a c clamp to hold it in place for welding, but after welding to the tube support bar I used an old welders trick to place the angle iron/hinge under tension, creating a spring. The hinge was left loose on the inside of the angle iron & the c clamp was clamped on the outside of the angle and the square tube thus slightly bowing the angle iron light support in an almost imperceptable arc. The hinge plate was then wedged up to it's position and then welded in as many places as could be reached while clamped and with a hot arc. Once released from the c clamp and hinged open the weld was finished on the exposed hinge.
The reason for this was to hold the light assembly up even when the safety bolts are not in place and tightened down. I realized on the test fit that if those lights, which have considerable weight fell from the upright position it was a certainty that some or all of the bulbs and lenses would be broken. The sping tension is considerable and would never allow the light to fall...enough force is required that I'm thinking a lever bar really is needed...so one more project, once the sping tension is defeated the lights are held by the same forces that I just described in the work light position...horizontal therefore no bolting is necessary in the down position. Those KC's stay right where they are adjusted to point- up or down!!!

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Things are starting to fit together pretty well...fact is think I'll order about 60 foot of dom tubing next week for my shock cage and tube doors ...thinking suicide on the tube doors. Watcha' think rookieshooter...should I do it rat fink style?
 
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Ordering 60' foot of DOM tubing WOW! I'd feel like the fox that was just asked to guard the hen house if I could do that.
Hey, if it's a different style then I say do it.
Nice to see those doors come out so great after seeing so many hack jobs.
Really should not say hack jobs cause for the most part it may have been some guys first attempt at doing thin metal work.
It's the thin work that really tells your fabbing skills to some degree. As in. it's not too hard to weld 1/4" to 1/4" but do that on 16 or 18 ga and then to add some fun to it, do that in stick.
I really should get me another MIG since mine went south on me. Don't need an expensive one since I have the 220 arc for the heavy stuff.
 
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Makes me sad in my heart thinking about what 60' of dom costs right now lol. I think suicide doors are prob the best idea of all time, awesome
 






Door caps

Almost finished with the passenger side cap. Cut two 1 1/4" trim pieces which will finish the outside edge of the door cap. Then welded to the rest of the cap in sections following the original door contours. Cardboad templates were used extensively for patterns, shown is a tiny one to trim out the A pillar cap. Several test fits to make sure the 2 sections of cap would still fit over the door skins after each little section of the 1 1/4" trim was tack welded to the main body of the cap. I also waited until the final tst fit to trim the two sections of cap in the middle. Built the passenger side in about a third of the time it took to build the drivers side. Something to do with learning curve I believe. Curved section of trim was cut and fitted last of all. When it all fit I finish welded the inside edges first and with as little heat as possible to avoid distortion, then after another test fit outside edges last and again low heat to the tip & fast travel with small diameter wire. Finish up with grinder rounding off the outside edges and smoothed with a sanding disk. Final cleanup and washdown with solvent...ready for paint inside and out. Fit is very snug and sheet metal screws attach inside metal cap panel to interior truck panels only. Final touch is to mount the diamond plate step plate to match the drivers side with pop rivets. Next I'll put a longer piece of diamond plate on the cap of the tailgate cutout to match the door step plates.
 

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Tube

Ordering 60' foot of DOM tubing WOW! I'd feel like the fox that was just asked to guard the hen house if I could do that.
Hey, if it's a different style then I say do it.
Nice to see those doors come out so great after seeing so many hack jobs.
Really should not say hack jobs cause for the most part it may have been some guys first attempt at doing thin metal work.
It's the thin work that really tells your fabbing skills to some degree. As in. it's not too hard to weld 1/4" to 1/4" but do that on 16 or 18 ga and then to add some fun to it, do that in stick.
I really should get me another MIG since mine went south on me. Don't need an expensive one since I have the 220 arc for the heavy stuff.

Yeah rookie the diff is you would get on it and build something, me I'll stick it in the corner and pull it back out after the first of the year, then wonder why I bought it in the first place.
Your right about thin metal, to work it well takes some skill sets that develop with practice, but by building this part of my project using just basic and simple tools shows it can be done in metal and that the average Joe can build with steel and not have to rely just on fiberglass, plastic resin and Bondo or bankrupt the budget buying high dollar sheet metal tools. Course the wire welder or better yet TIG (best is both!) are nice to have and the prices for low amp migs have really come down in the last few years. I don't think I have burned 10 pounds of stick over the past 5 years, but you have shown everyone that a stick is all you really need, as far as welders are concerned, to do some pretty dang impressive work!!
 






Old styles

Makes me sad in my heart thinking about what 60' of dom costs right now lol. I think suicide doors are prob the best idea of all time, awesome

More I think about it, the suicides make sense. Drew out a couple of quick tube door sketches and then one using tube with sheet metal skins...not solid sheet, just in spots, never seen one done the way I'm visualizing this one...especially opening back ass'erds & removable...glad I built my seat support where it's quickly removable, as it seems that I am going to be spending some more time in the interior, with more than just the shock cage modifications.
 












More sheet metal

Door caps are ready for paint....finally, and took some shots on the final, final fitup cause when they are painted black they loose contrast with every other thing which is black.
 

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Tube doors

Started the removable tube doors today, finished the cap plate on the rear and got all the aluminum plate finished in black and pop riveted in place. That whole deal is done! Left the camera at the shop so no pics. Had a great day in the shop...weather here is just about as good as it gets, but still no rain.
 






As usual, nice work. Reminds me of a sheet metal tool I would like to have...a shrinker stretcher for light guage metals.
 






Suicides

DOM tubing back ordered....:salute:so Imarched right into it with some 1-1/2" inch mild steel I had on hand. Really started as a prototype exercise to amuse me, but it turned out that I kinda like it. I had the seat and bracket out on the passenger side already so I worked on that opening first. Since the bends weren't radical I used some pre-bent pipe and the rest were done in a pipe bender since my Huth was being used for a customer job. Bent the support bracket from 2"x3/16" steel in a heavy duty bracket brake. The pivoy was made from a grade 8- 9/16" bolt swinging on a 5/8" ID pipe welded to the 3/16" strap bracket. Still have quite a bit to finish as far as additional support for the hinge and haven't even started on the forward latch. Rat fink special for sure!
 

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I like those tube doors more than any other tube doors ive ever seen, dang those are awesome
 






Agreed, really nice! Will they have automatic door locks?

:D
 






Tubes

Thanks Jon finish this one & start on the drivers side...fun, fun!
 

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