Need Input....

[sketts10]

I have a couple of questions... I have an 89 custom bronco in which I purchased a few years back and have slowly done a little work on every now and then. right now I am working on the interior (putting new bucket seats in, rhino lining everything, and fixing up everything else).

1-My problem is when I purchased my bronc the side panels in the back, the previous owner had used wood paneling like in a mobile home to replace the originals. I am wondering if there are original panels that would be best to put in there or make my own out of ply wood or something and then paint and maybe upholster. Please let me know what you think.

2- My second question would be if anyone has any diagrams or blue prints on spare tire mounts. My bronco did not come with one originally and I would like to have one mounted on the bumper. I have 2 inch tubular smitty built bumpers. I have a basic idea of how I want to do this but am just trying to compare it to what others (probably more educated builders) have.

 

[Justshootme84]

You almost need to make your own bedside panels if you plan to run any kind of speaker system back there. But if you're gonna Herculiner the floor pan and plan to wash it out after a mudding trip, I would leave the side panels off. That's what I've done on the 84 Bronco, gives you a little bit more room.

You might take a look at the link to "Miesk5's Homepage" in the Tech Articles forum. I have it pineed on the first page. There's sections on bumper mods and spare tire mounts that other Bronco dudes have built. I think the best mount for an oversize spare is on the bumper with a swing-away option. All you'd have to fab is the actual spare carrier that slips onto a vertical piece of tubing on the right-hand side. Some of the mounts use a bearing to make it easier to swing open.

 

[sketts10]

You almost need to make your own bedside panels if you plan to run any kind of speaker system back there. But if you're gonna Herculiner the floor pan and plan to wash it out after a mudding trip, I would leave the side panels off. That's what I've done on the 84 Bronco, gives you a little bit more room.
You might take a look at the link to "Miesk5's Homepage" in the Tech Articles forum. I have it pineed on the first page. There's sections on bumper mods and spare tire mounts that other Bronco dudes have built. I think the best mount for an oversize spare is on the bumper with a swing-away option. All you'd have to fab is the actual spare carrier that slips onto a vertical piece of tubing on the right-hand side. Some of the mounts use a bearing to make it easier to swing open.

Thank you, I will look into making my own. I will pry just use plywood and herculiner them for now until I figure out what I want to do for the long run. I have looked at those tire carriers and will talk to some people to see if they can fab one for me. Thank you for your input and if you have any more I am always open for suggestions.

 

[Bebop Man]

Thank you, I will look into making my own. I will pry just use plywood and herculiner them for now until I figure out what I want to do for the long run. I have looked at those tire carriers and will talk to some people to see if they can fab one for me. Thank you for your input and if you have any more I am always open for suggestions.

My '86 had some cardboard style bedsides. These I removed and used them as a pattern on a 4x10' sheet of diamond plate aluminum. I traced out the edges, and noted the location of the ***** holes, where I wanted the speakers, and arm rest / ashtray. That sheet cost me like $110 or so, and it was enough to do both sides and cover most of the tailgate.

I 've got pictures here:

http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh68/Bebop_Man/bronco/

 

[sketts10]

Thanks guys. Diamond Plate sounds good. I will have to think about these options. For my Spare tire mount, I want to know if you think that I should use a square steel tubing or if circular tubing that matches my smitty builts would be strong enough to handle an oversized spare? I will go and talk to the person fabricating it as well but I would like to know what you think as well. Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[WPW Bronco]

Thanks guys. Diamond Plate sounds good. I will have to think about these options. For my Spare tire mount, I want to know if you think that I should use a square steel tubing or if circular tubing that matches my smitty builts would be strong enough to handle an oversized spare? I will go and talk to the person fabricating it as well but I would like to know what you think as well. Thanks again for all of your help.

As far as choice of tubing shape, it's a matter of taste. I think that going with round tube to match your bumper would look and flow better. As long as you use .125 or .120 wall DOM tubing and a sound design, the round tubing will hold up as well as any square-stock. Gusseting joints and insuring that your pivot and latch points are staunch enough are the key to durability.

 

[shift1313]

my 85 has an interior spare mount. ill try to snap some pics for you when i get a chance.

also where are you located? i have some interior panels from an 89 xlt that you can have. they are blue. they are going to the dump pretty soon i think. My 85 stock had the cardboard ones but they didnt survive .

 

[shift1313]

here are what the cardboard panels looked like



and here are the panels

the little holes at the top of the second piece are where the stock tire mount goes to. another point is one the wheel well and the third is on the floor by the tailgate(all holes on my truck now)

 

[sketts10]

Thank you. They actually look better than the ones I ripped out when I bought my bronco. They were really ugly fake wood grain. I have an interior mount right now but I want to get my tire out on the back. I am located in Oregon so I will go check the salvage yards to see what they have. I think I am more looking for examples of what to do. Thank you for your input, it is very helpful. I am just not great mechanically so I need all the help I can get. So thank you again.

my 85 has an interior spare mount. ill try to snap some pics for you when i get a chance.
also where are you located? i have some interior panels from an 89 xlt that you can have. they are blue. they are going to the dump pretty soon i think. My 85 stock had the cardboard ones but they didnt survive .

 

[shift1313]

im sorry i thought you wanted an interior mount( i didnt read carefully). The broncos that had exterior mounts had reinforced rear corners with thread-serts. If i had to make a rear mount for a bronco that didnt have this factory i would probably base it soley off the bumper(as in build the bumper from scratch). If you dont mind welding to your tube bumpers now it shouldnt be too hard. Can you post a pic of your rear bumper?

There is also the possibility of making one off of a hitch receiver but im not sure how stable that would be.

 

[sketts10]

im sorry i thought you wanted an interior mount( i didnt read carefully). The broncos that had exterior mounts had reinforced rear corners with thread-serts. If i had to make a rear mount for a bronco that didnt have this factory i would probably base it soley off the bumper(as in build the bumper from scratch). If you dont mind welding to your tube bumpers now it shouldnt be too hard. Can you post a pic of your rear bumper?
There is also the possibility of making one off of a hitch receiver but im not sure how stable that would be.

Ya, I think that I will have it welded to my current bumpers. I think that it will be the easiest and look the best. I don't think that it will be black powder coat but probably just a matte black until I can get the funds to get it all redone. There is just a ton of work to get done on the bronco as a whole but little by little it gets done.

I have uploaded a couple pictures (well atleast tried) it says that they are in attatchments. If nothing comes up I have pictures in my gallery.

 

[sketts10]

im sorry i thought you wanted an interior mount( i didnt read carefully). The broncos that had exterior mounts had reinforced rear corners with thread-serts. If i had to make a rear mount for a bronco that didnt have this factory i would probably base it soley off the bumper(as in build the bumper from scratch). If you dont mind welding to your tube bumpers now it shouldnt be too hard. Can you post a pic of your rear bumper?
There is also the possibility of making one off of a hitch receiver but im not sure how stable that would be.

I actually might take the arm rests off of there if that is possible. I will know forsure when I go to the salvage yard tomorrow. Whad did you use for the panels in the back?

 

[shift1313]

i havent used anything yet. im still in the slow process of cutting my old floor out. I dont know what i will use if anything. If for some reason these blue panels are still around i might throw them in but i have no desire to change the interior color to blue at the moment. I thought about some aluminum plate(not diamond plate) and i also thought about just welding some in since i plan on having removable rear 1/4s.

as for the arm rests. i dont know that they would really help, just the padding part is removable, the rest is all one piece plastic, but if you think they are usable let me know.

 

[sketts10]

i havent used anything yet. im still in the slow process of cutting my old floor out. I dont know what i will use if anything. If for some reason these blue panels are still around i might throw them in but i have no desire to change the interior color to blue at the moment. I thought about some aluminum plate(not diamond plate) and i also thought about just welding some in since i plan on having removable rear 1/4s.
as for the arm rests. i dont know that they would really help, just the padding part is removable, the rest is all one piece plastic, but if you think they are usable let me know.

Alright, sounds good. thank you for all of the ideas though.

 

[shift1313]

looking at your rear bumper, you can plate the inside and outside off to the pass side where the two small tubes are. If you take your plate to the high point if the tubes(rectangle) and weld on both sides with a tube welded through them, this should be a very sturdy mounting point. The plate on the outside can be an angle with gussets and serve as a pivot. Ill do a rough paintbrush to show you what i mean.

 

[shift1313]

not the best pic but hopefully you get the idea. So plate the inside and outside of the bumper spanning where those vertical braces are, welded all the way around. The but through both is for extra strength. On the pass side(or driver side) use some heavy angle(with gussets on the ends) for your pivot), then on the other side plate it in the same fashion and make a latch plate. It would be best to integrate a second pivot somewhere on the fender corner above or beside the tail light. It will mess your paint up but you can pull your tail light out and weld a reinforcement plate inside.

Another way to do it is plate both sides like that and build a triangle with pivots on both sides that drops like your tailgate. Between the top where your tire mounts and the tailgate you can add a link and turn your tire mount into a 4bar link. So when you drop your tailgate down the tire pivots with it. this is a lot of extra weight to put on the torsion bar in the tailgate and i suggest some sort of strut located in your linkage somewhere to help out.

i dont have the time right now but if you need to me to make some actual drawings to help explain this i can probably get to them later.

 

[Johnny Reb]

not the best pic but hopefully you get the idea. So plate the inside and outside of the bumper spanning where those vertical braces are, welded all the way around. The but through both is for extra strength. On the pass side(or driver side) use some heavy angle(with gussets on the ends) for your pivot), then on the other side plate it in the same fashion and make a latch plate. It would be best to integrate a second pivot somewhere on the fender corner above or beside the tail light. It will mess your paint up but you can pull your tail light out and weld a reinforcement plate inside.

Another way to do it is plate both sides like that and build a triangle with pivots on both sides that drops like your tailgate. Between the top where your tire mounts and the tailgate you can add a link and turn your tire mount into a 4bar link. So when you drop your tailgate down the tire pivots with it. this is a lot of extra weight to put on the torsion bar in the tailgate and i suggest some sort of strut located in your linkage somewhere to help out.

i dont have the time right now but if you need to me to make some actual drawings to help explain this i can probably get to them later.

Another thing you might want to consider -theft-----with the tire inside the vehicle----its safer--on the outside -it s a temtation to some thiefs.

 

[sketts10]

not the best pic but hopefully you get the idea. So plate the inside and outside of the bumper spanning where those vertical braces are, welded all the way around. The but through both is for extra strength. On the pass side(or driver side) use some heavy angle(with gussets on the ends) for your pivot), then on the other side plate it in the same fashion and make a latch plate. It would be best to integrate a second pivot somewhere on the fender corner above or beside the tail light. It will mess your paint up but you can pull your tail light out and weld a reinforcement plate inside.

Another way to do it is plate both sides like that and build a triangle with pivots on both sides that drops like your tailgate. Between the top where your tire mounts and the tailgate you can add a link and turn your tire mount into a 4bar link. So when you drop your tailgate down the tire pivots with it. this is a lot of extra weight to put on the torsion bar in the tailgate and i suggest some sort of strut located in your linkage somewhere to help out.

i dont have the time right now but if you need to me to make some actual drawings to help explain this i can probably get to them later.

I am pretty sure this is the route I am going to go. I have some fab designs that I think look pretty sharp and should work out well. Thank you for all of your help. If I run into any more problems I will be sure to let you know. Also I will find a way to lock the tire down somehow. I would tend to be very upset if I came out and discovered my spare was taken. It would not be a good day. So needless to say there will be some sort of lock. I will also probably add a hi lift mount for my hi lift jack. That shouldn't be too difficult. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[shift1313]

no problem, be sure to show us what you make.