Base Eruption Green & Line-X White Top Throwback Build, keeping the Steelies

[emkayw]

9/23/22 Update:
Added limb risers from Gear shade. I didn't use the included roof attachment because of the lightbar already in place. I drilled through the lightbar bracket from BAMF instead for the upper connection. The distance between the upper bracket and the trail site brackets seemed shorter so the wire was very long. I found a video on Youtube that 1Five1 Garage installed the same ones and just turned the brackets backwards vs the designed way.

I didn't like the silver look of the brackets, so I painted them black to match and bend into the trail sites better.

I did have to drill out the holes, pretty aggressively because the pins would not fit. At first I thought it was maybe the paint, but i really had to take a lot of metal out.

I also got some rubber washers to put in on the top in case it rattled some, blended in well.

Keeps getting better and better. Yours is the reason I went with EG after losing AMB.

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[USASAIL]

1-/6/23 Update:
Rock Rails/Step Installed.
I purchased these from the Local Tampa Bay area from https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/2021-Bronco-2Dr-Frame-Mounted-Rock-Sliders-p414971588

It took about 5 months from order for them to arrive. I went to pick them up today, and I asked, easy to bolt on? They said, you can weld or drill holes into the frame to bolt it on. I guess I thought in the description when it said bolt on it was a direct bolt on to pre-drilled holes. I asked if they could weld it on. No problem, the guys just got back from lunch and they welded it on for me and out the door in about an hour. The staff there was super nice and helpful. Props to them.

My one complaint on the product, and maybe I just need to get used to it, is the angle of the steps. They really angle up significantly and the step is about at the level of the bottom of the door frame. I have younger kids and was hoping this would help some, but I'm not sure it will. Time will tell.

 

[PelagosBronco]

Beautiful truck! You’ve inspired me to do something similar with my Bronco.

Quick question…Every auto painter I talk to says paint won’t adhere to the plastic surface on the modular roof (and grill). I even called my local Line-X and they said it won’t adhere. How’s your Line-X holing up? Any issues with the paint chipping/peeling over time (especially when removing and reinstalling the roof)? Any issues with the fit due to extra Line-X thickness? Thank you!

 

[USASAIL]

Beautiful truck! You’ve inspired me to do something similar with my Bronco.

Quick question…Every auto painter I talk to says paint won’t adhere to the plastic surface on the modular roof (and grill). I even called my local Line-X and they said it won’t adhere. How’s your Line-X holing up? Any issues with the paint chipping/peeling over time (especially when removing and reinstalling the roof)? Any issues with the fit due to extra Line-X thickness? Thank you!

No issues at all. It was my local (very high end bodyshop) that recommended LineX vs painting. They said paint would not adhere, but LineX will stick to anything. You're not too far in FL, call Crystal @ LineX Tampa. (813) 627-9603 . I dropped the roof off to them and then came back and picked it up later. I'd guess your local LineX doesn't want to take the time and care to do it as it's a bit more finesse job than just cranking out truck beds. The people at Tampa LineX are big off-roaders and loved doing a Bronco. I don't take the roof on and off, but there was no issue when it went back on. They did a great job with the seals and taping everything off.

 

[danzy55]

Here's the build so far (Few weeks in)
Reserved: 1-14-20
Built: 1-6-2022
Delivered, FL: 1-19-2022

Base 2Dr. 2.7 Auto, AUX Switches, Modular Bumper and Keypad are the only options I got. Out the door Price with tax, xplan and price protection $36,404.

I want to have a very subtle throwback look. I don't want to overdo it and make it look to much like a cartoon character car.

The journey so far:
I purchased through Mullinax Ford in Kissimmee, FL. They have no dealer fee's and would honor MSRP and XPlan (Internally). I had my XPlan pricing and PIN through the Mustang Club program (I don't own a Mustang, but for $35 it saved me hundreds). Even though I had my valid pin printed out they required my membership card (Never got one, and it can't be printed out online). A bit of a pain but we worked it out. The 2021-2022 Price protection was a bit of a snafu. The dealer hadn't experience it yet, and assumed Ford just sent me a check. I had to stay on them, and a day before I picked it up the protection finally showed up in their system. Pick up was easy, most of the paperwork was done in advance. It was the first Eruption Green they had seen and the sales reps really were checking it out as I was picking it up to do the final paperwork. I didn't have a trade, and Mullinax offered free delivery to Tampa Bay 90 miles away and drove it home for me.

Above: Pics From Sales Rep Upon Delivery To The Dealer

Above Pic: First View At Pick-Up (Final Paperwork)

Above Pic: Added Script

Above Pic: Lettering and Pre-Runner Bar first night (Kind of installed)

I had pre-purchased a few items prior to delievery that the first night I installed:
Sticker Fab Pre-Cut letters. https://www.stickerfab.com/collections/2021-ford-bronco I liked the red "R" look. (Can't remember cost, but probably under $20)

Bronco Script from Bronco Depot USA https://www.broncodepotusa.com/ (Also don't remember cost, but maybe around $50) They seem to be out of business these days, but great product.

Tow Hooks Amazon, about $60

JCR Offroad Pre-Runner Hoop. https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/BR6SB-P.html I bought this on their Black Friday sale, $199, shipping included.

Everything but the Hoop went on with ease. I had seen some other posts, some it just bolted right on, others had to work it in a little bit. For me the bolts were way off, compared to the bumper "Bronco Bolt" holes. It was off a couple of inches. I came to the realization it was above my ability to fix. I found a local shop in Seminole, FL Tony's Total Performance, they do some SEMA level builds. This was easy for them. https://www.ttpfab.com/ They think it was either early first run that just wasn't dialed in (Common with parts on a new vehicle) or in shipping it may have been tweaked just enough. They needed 3 guys and a ratchet strap, but lined everything up. $220 later, we were in business, I guess that JCROffroad has it on their site now for $499 and I was $419 into it installed I guess I'm ahead??

Above Pics Pre-Runner Bar not lining up

Tires were a must. I've been back and fourth on wheels, do I keep the Steelies, do I keep and paint white, or black? Do I go with an old school, Mickey Thompson style polished aluminum? In the end (for now at least) I decided to keep the steelies and go with BFG K02 285/75R16. No rubbing, and I think the look really works. Mavis Tire in St Pete $1,475 out the door, balanced and aligned.

Tint Was next $250 at Window Kote in St Petersburg. They have done a half dozen cars for me in the past and do excellent work.

So the last and biggest project(s) was a hitch and the top painted white. Watching this forum for months I decided against wraps or paint on the MIC. A local good body shop even said, not to paint it. They as well recommended LineX. I stopped by LineX of South Tampa about a year before the Bronco was actually delivered and met Crystal, who was a huge Bronco fan and serious off-roader. https://www.tampalinex.com/ She was excited to help. They were able to match the Wimbledon White Ford paint code to make it "period correct". I brought the Bronco by, they installed the hitch and removed the top to paint. To my luck it was about 40 degrees and it started raining on my way home, Yuk. They installed and wired a Curt hitch $490. LineX the top white was $800. Below pics of the final project.

Above: Curt Hitch

Above Pic: Top off. I think the 2Dr looks really good without the top on

Above Pic: Top Prep

2/21 Update: Added 3 AUXBeam 7" 178w Offroad lights on the bumper. https://auxbeam.com/collections/flash-sale-new/products/zd000484 $140 on their current flash sale per pair. I'm sure they are not the best lights money can buy, but I'm not a serious off road driver, and they won't get used too often. But I tested them tonight and.....Pretty impressive for the cost.

Install was drilled right through the modular bumper and wires run to the Auxiliary switch bundle. Easy and straight forward. These lights have the spots and they have a DRL option as well. Hooked up to 2 of the AUX switches in the overhead to utilize both.

Mid Install before hooked the harness up.

Above AuxBeam with the DRL, but no Spot on.

Above, testing the lights at dusk. Pretty impressive for the price point.

3/2 Update:
Factory rack added. Purchased second hand off this site, thanks NORCALGXP. I assembled the rack as a solid piece on the garage floor and then laid it across on top, and bolted it on. Super easy to install, no yelling or swearing which is typical when working on a car.

Would like to see a light bar (round lights) that could connect to the mounting points with the factory rack somehow.

4/29 Update:
Added M&R Driving Bumper Lights:
These were a bit challenging to install. The bracket was straightforward and you had to install each pod light to the bracket which was simple. The issue was the lights were not lined up well in the bracket and it required a lot of bending of the tabs and adjusting. I wish it was all preset for the recommended angles and then could adjust if you wanted from there. The lights are bright, at least all the people coming the other way think so

8/30/22 Update:
Yakima Rack Install:
The factory rack crossbars are pretty usless as actual cross bars. I haul small racing sailboats on the roof and needed a flat and wider rack. I had some leftover Yakima Aero Style bars from another car. I ordered the Yakima Timeberline Tower feet. Very easy to install, straps go around the factory rack and tighten it down. Set of 4 feet were under $200.

9/10/22 Update
Light Bar Mount WITH factory rack in place:
I have been searching high and low trying to find a solution to keep the factory rack in place and install a lightbar. I don't like the rectangular lightbar look and I want round lights. There just isn't any plug and play solutions that exist. So I had to go custom.

I ordered the 50" Pro6 Mounting brackets from Bay Area Metal Fab. https://www.bayareametalfab.com/2021-22-BRONCO-KC-50-Pro6-Gravity®-LED--8-Mounting-brackets_p_174.html
These are only made to work without the factory rack. I reached out to BAMF and they said it would not work with the rack. It adds too much thickness for the rack mounts to reach the bolts on the roof to screw it back in. Also the plastic covers would not clear. I figured a little bit of mod and I'd see if it would work.

The mounts come with a full gusseted piece across that would not allow the rack feet to drop into place. A few minutes with the angle grinder the the lower gusseted part was removed. The removed a lot of the paint so a little touch up rustoleum worked fine. It would all be covered, but just wanted to cover the exposed metal. I also had to notch the bolt area out a bit to get it to slide in. Shouldn't be any problem as it's really sandwiched in from the rack anyway.

I still had the problem of the roof bolts "being too short" with the added thickness of the mounts in there. Local Ace Hardware had sleeves that had 2 female ends that basically extended the bolts. They screwed to the Bronco bolt and then a new bolt with screw inside it. I had to slightly bore out the plastic rack feet so it would fit with a larger drill bit. There is a lot of thick plastic around the "bolt holes" so its not a problem. I had to trim the outer side of the plastic a touch too to clear the bracket. Couple minutes with a Dremel. The new bolts I had were a touch to long to tighten down, so I had to stack a couple spacers in to get a tight fit. Plenty of clearance above.

Next issue was the trim cover for the racks. They didn't fit over, so back to the Dremel. Just had to trim about 1/4 " from the bottom and make a notch for the upper gusset to clear. Little trial and error, but trimmed up well. Not 100% perfect, just glad I'm not a dentist. But it works. I also put a little sicky soft pad (for furniture feet) stuck under to the bracket. Just in case it would shake and touch the paint. I don't think it would, I can shake the entire car off the brackets. But better safe than sorry.

UPDATE 9/16
Added the KC Gravity Pro LED 6 50" with 8 lights. Simple to bolt on, but a 2 person job just to get the bolt in the far side. I haven't wired it yet. I'm going to do the windshield channel instead of the pre-wire. It seems like the pre-wire in the car is a smaller gauge than is needed. I'm getting the windshield re-caulked next week (Ford Recall) and will wire it after that. I like that the lights are still low enough for me to put boats on the roof and not be a light issue. Only Issue I have is the right side KC light, won't accept the KC cover, it's just too loose. Doesn't matter what cover I use, It seems to be on the light being out of spec.

9/23/22 Update:
Added limb risers from Gear shade. I didn't use the included roof attachment because of the lightbar already in place. I drilled through the lightbar bracket from BAMF instead for the upper connection. The distance between the upper bracket and the trail site brackets seemed shorter so the wire was very long. I found a video on Youtube that 1Five1 Garage installed the same ones and just turned the brackets backwards vs the designed way.

I didn't like the silver look of the brackets, so I painted them black to match and bend into the trail sites better.

I did have to drill out the holes, pretty aggressively because the pins would not fit. At first I thought it was maybe the paint, but i really had to take a lot of metal out.

I also got some rubber washers to put in on the top in case it rattled some, blended in well.

1-/6/23 Update:
Rock Rails/Step Installed.
I purchased these from the Local Tampa Bay area from https://www.srqfabrications.com/store/2021-Bronco-2Dr-Frame-Mounted-Rock-Sliders-p414971588

It took about 5 months from order for them to arrive. I went to pick them up today, and I asked, easy to bolt on? They said, you can weld or drill holes into the frame to bolt it on. I guess I thought in the description when it said bolt on it was a direct bolt on to pre-drilled holes. I asked if they could weld it on. No problem, the guys just got back from lunch and they welded it on for me and out the door in about an hour. The staff there was super nice and helpful. Props to them.

My one complaint on the product, and maybe I just need to get used to it, is the angle of the steps. They really angle up significantly and the step is about at the level of the bottom of the door frame. I have younger kids and was hoping this would help some, but I'm not sure it will. Time will tell.

So next projects:

Ditch lights

Hook up overhead lights

Any ideas (this place is great) I'm all ears.

Love the truck so far!!

question about the LineX
1- how's it holding up
2- what prep did they do, any sanding or just cleaning then sprayed it? Thinking about doing the same.
thanks

 

[OrlandoOBX]

I’m in Orlando, ordered my Bronco from Brandon ford in Tampa, which I kind of regret. Don’t live to far from Mullinax in Kissimmee, looking at ordering my Maverick from them.

 

[USASAIL]

question about the LineX
1- how's it holding up
2- what prep did they do, any sanding or just cleaning then sprayed it? Thinking about doing the same.
thanks

Holding up just fine, 0 issues. Not sure how they prepped it.

 

[Dadsquatch]

I'm loving your Line-X top. They did a great job, and the light texture doesn't seem bad at all (and provides protection from branches/limbs while off-roading). The Line-X seems like it would be a great way to "strengthen" these otherwise shitty tops Ford/Webasto produced. The cardboard core doesn't really bother me, but the thin plastic layer over the cardboard is what bothers me. That's where I think the Line-X can come in handy and help thicken/strengthen the top up.

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