Hey guys and gals, I have a 79 bronco, needs some rust repair underneath on these braces. I'm not really sure what they are called and haven't been able to find replacements. Any help on proper terminology or places to look to buy would be great, thanks!

 

I bet those are going to be hard to find, if not impossible as far as a off the shelf replacement. I have never seen those in a replacement piece option.

They have a rocker and cab corner. https://tabcoparts.com/amfinder/ Yes this is a reg cab truck diagram and not a Bronco, but I think I see what you need? #10624? Not to sure what to call it though. I have two 79 "parts Bronco's" I could cut on for ya, worse case.

 

D8TZ-1010624-A .. Floor Pan Corner Center Member - Use with M/T & 4WD / Obsolete

1978/79 F100/350 Regular/Crew Cab & Bronco.
-----------------------------------------------------
D8TZ-1010624-B .. Floor Pan Corner Center Member - Use with A/T / Obsolete

1978/79 F100/350 Regular/Crew Cab & Bronco.

Bronco pics:

 

Pennsylvania won't inspect a vehicle with the ends of the floor braces rotten off. So.....I'm not worried about appearance as much as functionality on my rig, so I squared off the ends with a sawzall, boxed in the rot on the rocker side, then welded a piece of "2 angle iron as tabs connecting the floor braces to the rocker, then a sheet metal patch over the boxed portions, then brushed a heavy coat of oil based Rust-Oleum over it.

Ugly as sin, but effective. Stiffened everything up pretty well too.

Get creative with whatever scrap metal you have laying around, there's a thousand ways to do it if your not worried about how it looks.

 

Thanks for the replies, thanks ND for the info, appreciated as always!

I actually have thought of this way, was going to check into manufactured parts first. Any chance I could snag a picture of yours? I do have a good idea how I could get them close to what is in there now, and I am not building a show truck. This is a project I have lined up for my grade ten students in mechanics class. We are just going to start with the basics of mechanics on a multi cylinder engine, tune up etc. The welding and rust repair would be for in the future or for students that need enrichment opportunities!

 

Holy crap. you rust belt guys never cease to amaze me . the things you fix I wouldn't even know where to start.

 

Yes I always get a chuckle when someone from out west posts a dime sized hole in the floorpan and some surface rust, ant the title of the thread is: "Major rust! Can my cab be saved?" followed by 6 page write up on how he patched the hole. Bwahahaha we Fab entire cabs and beds from scraps back east buddy.

To the OP, I'll try to get some pics today. And good luck with your 10th graders, in the case of my kids, if it has chrome or carburetors on it, they don't want to hear about it. Give them a wiring nightmare that farts, pops, whistles, bounces, blows black smoke and requires 10k in electro/diagnostic tools just to get it out of the driveway, then thier happy. You know, because old stuff just isn't dependable.

 

Dime size hole on the floor pan ! I'd run away screaming like my teeth were on fire.

Well that may be a slight exaggeration, but I wouldn't buy it because if there's a hole in the floor pan there's probably more rust somewhere. pass on that one.

 

Ha that's funny, I'd love only a dime sized rust hole in my project!

 

Edited

Wrong year.

 

A little rust don't scare me! but holy crap! Glad I live in Idaho where I just look at pictures of east coast rust.

 

I know this has been covered before, but I would almost guarantee it would be cheaper to buy a rust free project out west and haul it or have it shipped home than to properly rebuld a rust bucket. I can guarantee it would be easier.

but as I said I admire the dedication to fix them because I don't have it.

 

I guarantee it wouldn't. I live in Canada, and to get shipped something from down south would cost over a grand for sure, likely 1500, then the difference in currency, border fees. That's just for the shipping, add in another.. few? grand for the cost of the project, and I'm likely around the 4-6 ish grand range?

This project I paid 42 dollars for(the price of a 24 pack of beer) from the original owners son in my hometown. With such a low initial cost, it's very cost effective to repair vs buy a more expensive one.

Then there is the whole thing about me being a teacher and actually wanting to teach students how to fix rust, replace panels, tune ups, engine rebuilds, etc. Pretty tough to teach rust repair on something that isn't rusty..

No disrespect, but im trying to target the people exactly the opposite from you. The people that are willing to dig in deep, learn how to fix something tough, rather than just buy it. There are definitely pros and cons to both, but I want challenging content for my students. I'm not one of those teachers who would give a participation badge to a kid that just wanted to get graded on a rust repair assignment, by starting out with something that ain't rusty!

 

My last one was a crew cab had 38 grand in it so what cheaper?

 

You spent 38 grand doing the bodywork yourself?

I think you may be over estimating the quality of fixing up I am looking at doing with high school students.

So far I have priced out pretty much every panel I need, and I'm right around 1000 bucks. It will maybe cost another few hundred by the time I get it welded all in. Doing a single stage paint job, driver quality, again another grand, maybe 1500. I figure I should have it driver quality all diy for about 3k, give or take.

Additionally fella's, and again I mean zero disrespect, but if you aren't contributing to my original post, kindly pass on by. My main goal is learning more about these trucks, not really interested in personal anecdotes and chit chat non related to what I'm trying to learn!