Time to learn some new skills - not SMB related

[daveb]

Perfect timing. I can help fix your Bronco Herb... I'll have to get some new work gloves though, the old one's don't fit so good.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by daveb

Perfect timing. I can help fix your Bronco Herb... I'll have to get some new work gloves though, the old one's don't fit so good.

............................

[BroncoHauler]

Decided to swap out the starter today. Damn that front main seal oil leak I've had since day-one on the Bronco sure does make everything an oily mess.

As I was pulling off the starter, I noticed that the jumper that went from the solenoid on the starter over to the hot contact of the starter had become unattached. I didn't know if it had been that way or it happened when I removed the stater.

So, I decided to reattach the jumper and then reinstall the same Mean Green starter I had just removed and see if it would start. Yep, first try.

So, I can now easily start and drive my hoodless Bronco, but today was kind of a hollow victory. All my issues are because of a single stupid jumper wire that came off.

I do now have a brand new hi torque starter sitting on my Bronco parts shelf.


Herb

[Glider]

Some weeks, ya just gotta take the small victories and go with them, because everything else is gonna bite you in the backside. I am sorry to hear about you flying hood incident, Herb. That's no fun at all.

[BroncoHauler]

Some level of redemption achieved. Doesn't redeem my bone headed move, but at least everything is back in place.

I definitely over-thought the fiberglass repair. First time working with fiberglass (repairing it, not breaking it), and the results were pretty good. I knew I was going go for contrast rather than matching the paint, so I went with black spray on Raptor bedliner. This was also my first time spraying with anything other than rattlecans, and I'm very happy with the result. Like most painting type projects, the prep and setup were far more time consuming than the actual "painting".




Close up picture for reference of the texture.



Herb

[Glider]

Lookin' good! Now you can tell folks that you planned the whole thing.

[BroncoHauler]

Not related to my hood project, but I did use the two remaining Raptor bottles I had to spray the front body panel of my teardrop (I had a stick-on gravel guard to protect against rock damage), as well as the fenders which previously had non-skid traction tape applied.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge was the body panel since it has an aluminum skin. I scuffed it up and applied an acid-etch primer (Raptor brand primer). Hopefully there won't be any adhesion problems.

For the body panel I used straight Raptor, but for the fenders (which serve as steps for roof pod access) I added Raptor's traction additive. Based on some online resources, I think the traction additive is just some sort of black silica sand which you can probably source elsewhere for less money.

After spraying:


Fenders:


With tongue box, spare tire carrier and jerry can carrier installed:



So far I'm a big fan on Raptor. I just need to have some standby items ready to spray when I have extra, mixed, Raptor in the bottle. I hate having the extra go to waste.


Herb

[larrie]

Looks good. I like the black and aluminum combination. The traction additive could also be ground up walnut shells. It is a standard additive that can’t be purchased at your local paint store.

[daveb]

When you were at Pedro did you have that roof rack? Looks very nice Herb.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by daveb

When you were at Pedro did you have that roof rack? Looks very nice Herb.

I may have had the crossbars on it at the time, but if anything, I only had the crossbars and a Yakima Mega Warrior roof basket on it at that time. I really wanted a spot to mount my Hannibal awning, so SoCal Teardrops added some mounts to the crossbars, and also modified the crossbars to accommodate my rooftop box. I can still mount my Mega Warrior, but it's more challenging now, needing long u-bolts.


Herb