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Right Side Split

From 1983 Ford Bronco “That dirty old truck” — documented by Steve83.

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1983 Ford Bronco - Most Bronco owners have had to deal with this at some point due to the swingaway spare. The only lasting repair I've ever heard of is repla… 1983 Ford Bronco - The factory side reinforcing plate is boxed in the front corner, and the rear reinforcement is spot-welded onto it, beside the slot for the… 1983 Ford Bronco - Even though this t/g was never wrecked, and never had a large spare (31" at most), it has started to split, probably due to my aggressive s… 1983 Ford Bronco - I'm not so concerned with how it looks, but the noise is annoying, and the spare is getting looser as the tear gets lower. 1983 Ford Bronco - Even without the spare pulling on it, there's obviously more gap than there should be. 1983 Ford Bronco - This is about how it SHOULD look. 1983 Ford Bronco - The tab is torn along the rear of the 2 spot welds, leaving little of the side plate exposed. So there's no point in attempting to reattach… 1983 Ford Bronco - After forcing the rear skin forward into position, I crimped the lip along the top to hold it in place temporarily while I drilled a hole t… 1983 Ford Bronco - This heavy black pop rivet should provide enough strength to do the main repair. When the t/g is closed, this rivet will be hidden under th… 1983 Ford Bronco - The rivet doesn't interfere with anything, and I doubt anyone ever grips the t/g here, so the sharp edges shouldn't be a problem. I may sti… 1983 Ford Bronco - The break is now aligned so I can continue with the main repair. I removed as much of the old tab from the side reinforcement as I could wi… 1983 Ford Bronco - When I built this t/g, I painted the inside white for exactly this reason: so I could see what I was doing when working on it later (now).… 1983 Ford Bronco - I quickly fabricated this brace from some scrap steel. I predrilled the holes to be riveted inside, but not those that will be riveted from… 1983 Ford Bronco - Using the predrilled holes as a guide, I installed three 3/16" rivets. The reinforcement where the brace rests isn't flat, but it shou… 1983 Ford Bronco - The red brace is now attached to the rear (lower, inner) reinforcement, and it lies just under (forward of) the side reinforcement (rusty,… 1983 Ford Bronco - With vise-grips holding it up, I drilled & riveted the side reinforcement to the new brace. I used three 3/16" rivets here, as before. 1983 Ford Bronco - The 3 rivet heads are directly under this end seal, but they're flat enough not to interfere with it. The fine lines along the outboard edg… 1983 Ford Bronco - The black rivet is totally hidden, and the new brace should last longer than the truck (or at least longer than the t/g). 1983 Ford Bronco - Since this t/g isn't broken yet, I'm just riveting the skins together. After clamping the skins carefully with Irwin QuickGrips , I drilled… 1983 Ford Bronco - These plates (which have since been sandblasted & painted) can be riveted (& JBWelded if desired) across the break in the outer skin of any… 1983 Ford Bronco - This skin is torn badly, so it's getting the most-thorough treatment. The spot welds are ground away so the useless tab can be removed. The… 1983 Ford Bronco - The reinforcement is drilled & riveted to the front (inner) skin's thick corner plate. The front hole is riveted from inside. I chose not t… 1983 Ford Bronco - Once the reinforcement is secure to the front skin, the exposed rivet is drilled, but NOT set. It & the Irwin QuickGrips are removed to spr… 1983 Ford Bronco - With the tailgate standing on-end, the skins are spread to allow the JBWeld to flow in, and then quickly re-clamped and riveted. After curi…