Off-RoadWeb Homepage Off-Road
Facebook Newsletter

Part 1: Transforming The Juice - Inside And Out! - Project Bronco

Part 1: Our Project Bronco Gets Full ’Glass and Corbeau Seating

By Dexter Roberts Jr., Photography by Christopher D. Philo, Perry's Fab & Fiber
Part 1 Exterior Interior Start Suspension Bedsides
  • 4. We’ve always liked the fiberglass body panels that Perry’s Fab N Fiber produces. Perry (who also heads up McNeil Racing) greeted us personally and had his team get started right away. Here, the stock fenders have been removed in preparation for the fiberglass replacements. Because Broncos utilize their stock inner fenderwells for body rigidity and support, it was necessary to fabricate a tube skeleton that would reside under the new fiberglass fenders and hood.
    4. We’ve always liked the fiberglass body panels that Perry’s Fab N Fiber produces. Perry
  • 5. Getting fiberglass bedsides mounted on a Bronco is a bit more complicated than installing them on a pickup truck. In this case, the stock sides needed to be cut out with a torch in order to make room for the ‘glass. We’re glad the gang at Perry’s knows what they’re doing—that’s a big piece of sheet metal being removed!
    5. Getting fiberglass bedsides mounted on a Bronco is a bit more complicated than installi
  • 6. We snapped this quick photo just as The Juice was about to go into paint. We dropped the Bronco off at our local Maaco, and had them paint the body gloss black, and the rear shell satin black. For the first time, we were about to be proud of the Juice’s finish.
    6. We snapped this quick photo just as The Juice was about to go into paint. We dropped th

7. In the meantime, we had ordered up a new pair of seats from Corbeau. The Bronco’s stock leather seats had been nice at some point in the truck’s life, but those days were long gone. We chose to replace them with Corbeau’s wide-version LG1 recliner seats, in black Microsuede. We’ve used these seats in a few of our project vehicles already and really like them—they provide the support we need for high-speed desert runs, but are extremely comfortable at all times (even during long highway drives). Plus, they recline to an almost flat position—when we’ve had to spend the night in vehicles outfitted with LG1s, we’ve reclined them to the maxed-out position and slept pretty comfortably.

  • 8. Installing the seats was an easy task thanks to Corbeau’s vehicle-specific mounting brackets. After the stock seats were unbolted, a few turns of the wrench secured the brackets, which utilized the factory mounting points on the floorpan.
    8. Installing the seats was an easy task thanks to Corbeau’s vehicle-specific mounting bra
  • 9. The seats simply bolted to the brackets using four bolts each. Seats play a large part in the driver’s interface with a vehicle, and this may have been the easiest and fastest way we’ve ever made such an improvement to the driver’s experience behind the wheel of this Bronco.
    9. The seats simply bolted to the brackets using four bolts each. Seats play a large part
  • 10. The Bronco’s old rear bench had seen better days. We’re not even sure if this particular bench originally came with the truck, as it was a different color than the rest of the interior. However, we like the functionality provided by the seats design—it can be folded and stowed in the front of the Bronco’s cargo area, just as Ford intended. For this reason, we chose to reupholster this bench, rather than replacing it.
    10. The Bronco’s old rear bench had seen better days. We’re not even sure if this particul

11. Corbeau had us covered, literally. We wanted the rear bench to match the new Microsuede front seats, and Corbeau makes matching fabric and sew-in logos available to customers for just this purpose. We then went to a local upholstery shop, and they re-covered the rear seat using the Corbeau materials. The result was fantastic, and we were extremely pleased. Now, we retain the functionality of the stock bench, but it looks and feels much better. Corbeau makes seat materials available to consumers for this very reason.

  • 12. It’s a matching set! The seats and bench made a drastic change to the inside of The Juice, and from this point on, occupants will enjoy the safety, comfort, and style provided by our Corbeau setup. We also ordered and received racing harnesses from Corbeau. These will be installed in the near future when the interior rollcage is built.
    12. It’s a matching set! The seats and bench made a drastic change to the inside of The Ju
  • 13. The Juice emerged from paint looking like a million bucks. We had to stop and admire the paintjob, which had been laid down flawlessly by Maaco. The front fenders from Perry’s Fab & Fiber add a 6-inch bulge on each side, and the bedsides add a 3-inch flare on each side. The fiberglass panels also provide larger diameter wheel well openings, giving the tires more room. It’s our hope that the 37-inch tires will no longer rub when the suspension is compressed. We’ll report back to you soon after we test it—there seems to be a big fitment difference between 35s and 37s on fullsize Broncos with long-travel suspensions.
    13. The Juice emerged from paint looking like a million bucks. We had to stop and admire t
  • 14. We love the look of this hood—it was what had originally convinced us to get our fiberglass from Perry’s Fab N Fiber. Although we still have to cut out the hole in the scoop, the hood’s aggressive styling seems to match the whole vehicle’s theme; this is a Bronco gets driven hard and fast, and it now looks the part.
    14. We love the look of this hood—it was what had originally convinced us to get our fiber
  • 15. The bedsides attach with the help of Autofab rivets. They’re good and thick—no flimsy fiberglass panels here. With fresh paint applied, the bedsides look so smooth and natural that you might miss them at first glance. But make no mistake—they provide a lot more room for clearance when the tires are stuffed.
    15. The bedsides attach with the help of Autofab rivets. They’re good and thick—no flimsy
  • 16. The edges of the fiberglass hood and fenders mimic that of the original sheet metal, with good results. The gap between the hood and fenders was even and thin. Good fitment is a must when fiberglass body panels are chosen and installed—if this isn’t right, the vehicle will look terrible. The crew at Perry’s Fab N Fiber knows just what to do to create and install fiberglass panels that fit perfectly.
    16. The edges of the fiberglass hood and fenders mimic that of the original sheet metal, w
  • 17. Once the ’glass was on, we drove directly to Camburg Engineering in Huntington Beach, California. We’ve been waiting a long time to get a long-travel suspension on The Juice, and the moment had finally arrived. Don’t miss our next installment—we’ll show you everything that went down at Camburg—and you’ll want to see it!
    17. Once the ’glass was on, we drove directly to Camburg Engineering in Huntington Beach,
Sources
CAMBURG ENGINEERING
7409 Slater Ave.
Huntington Beach
CA  92647
714-848-8880
www.camburg.com
Corbeau Seats
PO Box 708038
Sandy
UT  84070
801-255-3737
www.corbeau.com
Leddy & Hall Auto Care Center
n/a
310-644-1142
Maaco Collision Repair And Auto Painting
610 Freedom Business Center, Suite 200
King Of Prussia
PA  19406
310-533-6023
www.maaco.com
Perry's Fab N Fiber/McNeil Racing
n/a
San Diego
CA
619-463-1361
www.perrysfabnfiber.com
By Dexter Roberts Jr.
Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!

*Please enter your username

*Please enter your password

*Please enter your comments
Comments:
Not Registered?Signup Here
(1024 character limit)
Off-Road