Forgotten 1986 Ford Bronco II
I found this retro ride up in the Adirondack Mountains and needless to say she needed some attention. The history is a little cloudy but apparently somebody had been living in it in the past, which the rough interior showed. I owe my dad a huge thanks for teaching me all I need to know to get this Bronco II back on the road. Performance Auto Body in Amsterdam, NY, check out some of his complete muscle car restorations on Facebook.
Step 1
A thick coat of dust, a family of mice, a skipping engine (which refused to start after I got the truck off the trailer), and a handful of dings/dents. I mean I’ve seen worse places to start.
Step 2
I could kick myself for not taking a ‘before’ picture but the entire roof needed to be stripped and painted. What a time I had with that.
Step 3
Of course, the original headliner was ripped and hanging down. I sandblasted and primed the rust I found, but the new headliner came out pretty good. Thank you to Soft N’ Cushy Auto in Schenectady, NY for the headliner material, it was a great match.
Step 4
The fiberglass lift gate had its fair share of chips, cracks, and faded paint. After some wet sanding and a couple coats of paint and clear, I couldn’t be happier with the result. Before I put it back together, I took the faded and weathered interior piece and gave it a few coats to match the rest of the interior.
Step 5
Oh boy, what a mess. Apparently the truck had been in a small accident which gave the driver’s side fender a nice whack. All of the paint and bondo had to be ripped off ASAP. I had a great (not great at all) time taking a hammer and dolly to that thing and making it as straight as I could possibly get it. Once it was roughly in the shape it needed to be (which was a nightmare because of all the bends), I had to slick a thin coat of Rage body filler over it to smooth things out and bring back that original shape. After a new coat of paint and some buffing, you’d never know the difference.
Step 6
I don’t really know how or why, but the cowl panel had some gnarly dents. I had to take the antenna and wipers off and go at it with the stud gun and slide hammer. Sanding between all the little bars wasn’t fun but the end result came out really smooth.
Step 7
The hood was really rough between the dents and paint. My dad surprised me with a fiberglass scoop that he found on EBay for my birthday. Problems solved, work created. I won’t get too into detail, but I found out the hard way, fiberglass makes you really really itchy. I haven’t finished the hood yet, but pretty soon I’ll get a coat of paint on it and throw it back on the truck. The Bronco II is only a V6 but I think the hood scoop will make up for it. Maybe future V8 swap???
Step 8
I was just about ready to finish the hood and get the truck on the road… but I’m meticulous and my dad and I both know I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t go through and paint the rest of the truck. Then I decided to do the door jambs too. So far, I’ve only got the driver’s side dents pulled and filled. I have a lot of work left ahead of me, but it’ll be worth it once it’s done.
Step 9
I recently bought an ‘84 square body in need of some loving. Yes, I’m excited to have the Bronco II done, but then I’ll have to make the decision whether to sell it in order to build the K10 or keep it and find a place to store it for the winter. Either way, I’m gonna need more WD-40…
