Winds of Change

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Grille Letters

The giant 3D letters on the grill has always been something I didn’t really like. The white letters makes that worse. I’ve seen so many people post about putting the overlays on the letters. This is an improvement for the white letters but still a compromise to me.

So I started thinking about what I could do to change it to something I would like. I looked at eBay for pictures of the grille without the letters. Which started to spark some ideas.

At first I wanted to eliminate the “BRONCO” all together. I decided in the end that it would be too plain. I also thought about putting a light bar to carry the light all the way across from one headlight to the other. That too would have issues in that there would be a spot between the headlight and the custom light bar. Then would the light bar light match the headlight light? Again, another dead end idea that just had too many issues.

So, I decided it was really the “white” and the “3D” that bothered me. I was determined to do something different that what I have seen others do. That really comes down to a PlastiDip spray or the sticker overlays.

Removing the 3D letters is quite the ordeal. There are a couple of hurdles here. The first try was to just pull the letters off, thinking that they would just be glued on. Unfortunately, Ford got way more aggressive than that. Pulling on the letters just did not seem to be an option. There is some adhesive but also a mechanical attachment. To get to the inside of the grille, you really have to remove the whole front of the car.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1667437660445



Once you get to this point, you’ll realize that Ford used push-nuts on the inside of the letters. These are essentially something that cannot be removed because they slide over the plastic during installation but will bite into the plastic when you try to remove it. Now, I was left with the decision to go “all in”. And I did, by breaking the plastic pins on each of the letters so that the push-nuts could be released.

The interesting thing is that Ford put a different clip on each end. On the “B” and the trailing “O”.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1667437709023


The other letters just have 2 posts
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1667437739327


The other thing you might notice is the gate vestige from the injection mold in the field of the letter. This is in multiple letters.

Now how do I get all of this smoothed out? I started with some JB Weld Plastic Weld Putty. Which allowed me to fill in the big holes relatively well but still hard to get somewhat flat/even. The big holes in the end letters is the real problem area.
J-B Weld 8237 PlasticWeld Plastic Repair Epoxy Putty - 2 oz.

I had some regular JB Weld in the garage that is more liquid to fill in some of the smaller gaps. I then had to smooth all of this out as best I could. Using some razor scrapers got everything closer (including the gate vestiges). It was then time to sand it smooth. This is a delicate operation because you don’t want to sand anything outside of the letters.

Here is a picture before the standard JB Weld and the sanding.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1667437815191


Here is a picture with the standard JB Weld and after sanding.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1667437856799


I have ordered some overlay stickers and I will see if that is good enough or if it needs something more. The stickers have not arrived yet, but I will update this post with pictures/thoughts once they arrive and are installed.
So are those overlays coming on a slow boat from China?:crackup:. I've been waiting to see how it turns out. Some where I came across the part numbers for the Gloss Black letters for the grille. With hte Hot Pepper Red I was considering that option as well. Oh and where is that ceiling insulation?
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Jrl

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So are those overlays coming on a slow boat from China?:crackup:. I've been waiting to see how it turns out. Some where I came across the part numbers for the Gloss Black letters for the grille. With hte Hot Pepper Red I was considering that option as well. Oh and where is that ceiling insulation?
You are one interesting guy . Good luck with your quest.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 16EF4285-DFF3-4D49-98A8-6F57647F70AE
 
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So are those overlays coming on a slow boat from China?:crackup:. I've been waiting to see how it turns out. Some where I came across the part numbers for the Gloss Black letters for the grille. With hte Hot Pepper Red I was considering that option as well. Oh and where is that ceiling insulation?
The grille is still a work in progress. I currently have some sticker overlays where the white letters sit but it only looks slightly better than not having anything there. I’m doing some custom stuff in CAD and will be 3D printing some things. Some of this requires friends to help out with tools they have. It will probably be January before it is “done”.

I must be missing something because I have no idea what “ceiling insulation” you are referring to.
 

Winds of Change

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The grille is still a work in progress. I currently have some sticker overlays where the white letters sit but it only looks slightly better than not having anything there. I’m doing some custom stuff in CAD and will be 3D printing some things. Some of this requires friends to help out with tools they have. It will probably be January before it is “done”.

I must be missing something because I have no idea what “ceiling insulation” you are referring to.
Your garage appears to not have insulation in the ceiling. I thought living in Colorado you would have a heated garage. Thus insulation. Here in Chicagoland I have a attached garage fully insulated and heated.
 
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Your garage appears to not have insulation in the ceiling. I thought living in Colorado you would have a heated garage. Thus insulation. Here in Chicagoland I have a attached garage fully insulated and heated.
No heat in the garage, though installing insulated garage doors did help the winter temps out there. There are vents along the peaks of the garage roofs (2 different roofs) so heating would just leak out. Venting is good for the summer but not for the winter. It is something I have considered but not really dug into. We get so many 50º days in the winter that it hardly seems worth it.
 


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Hood Deflector

Nothing really new here, as many others have already done this. But a couple of learnings for anyone that might be planning to do it.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL B31BD18C-F374-4A0A-A8C3-329A85415C07

Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 680A311A-1A91-4468-933E-2B9B30C362D8

  1. Aligning is the hard part and I didn’t get it 100% right. You can see in the second photo that it is a little higher on the left side of the picture. I think I got it positioned left/right pretty well though. To position it left/right, put tape on the hood at either end until you have it centered (within reason). Once you have that, then place a piece of tape near the center that goes from the hood to the deflector and then cut the tape along the edge of the deflector. I just used my fingernail to cut through masking tape. This is how you are going to easily find the center when the tape is exposed and you start at the center.
  2. The instructions say to pull the tape liner on the back side. That is what I did, but I don’t think that is the right way. I think you should start along the front edge of the hood. That will allow you to align the bottom edge of the deflector with the bottom edge of the hood.
  3. When you partially peel the tape lining, use a little bit of masking tape to hold the tape lining to the top side of the deflector. If you don’t do this those little buggers can easily get behind the deflector and you will have a really hard time getting at them. It didn’t happen to me because I learned this trick elsewhere. Just heed this warning and do it.
  4. Lastly just a plug to use CeraKote Trim Coating on this piece of black plastic and all the other pieces of black trim (so many of them!). I don’t have any connection to the company, I just like the product.
I think that covers it. If you are attempting this, good luck. I did it by myself but I would recommend a second set of hands if you have them available.
 
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Trunk Organizer

It’s not particularly easy to find an organizer that will work with the cargo management system but I found one that does. Amazon Link. You might even be able to use 2 of them if that was your thing.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 4DB61BE9-C39C-4ED3-A071-1830A0B3109B


You can fold it up to be pretty compact if needed and it slides under the shelf as shown above. It can also sit on top of the shelf if needed. This one happens to be a Cyber Monday deal right now.

That one works great for the ability to work with the cargo management system. Recently, Colorado decided that too many people were throwing their grocery bags away and started charging everyone $.10/bag at the grocery store. It’s a PITA but I understand why they did it. So I started looking for something that could serve that function for me. I found what I think is a really great option for the BS, although not compatible with having the shelf over them.

Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1675124216888

Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 1675124407891


The do collapse down somewhat flat, although still about 1.5” thick. There is a solid bottom part that can be used in the 1/2 open config or the full open config and still allows for the full collapse. A lot of little pockets if you need that sort of thing. There is an interior divider too, which you can just barely see in the one on the right in the picture above. They have handles which will make getting the groceries from the cart and into the BS easy. I think that they will fit into a grocery cart but I will find that out soon. In the position above, they will not move around while driving (normally). They claim to have a non-skid bottom but I have to call horse puckey on that. They do come with straps that could be used to hold them to one side or the other but with 2 of them there is no need for that.

I’m really impressed with the over quality of these. If you are looking for something similar I would recommend them for sure. I don’t get paid anything for this recommendation.
 
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Bump Step

I ordered the step without the built in brake light but they sent the one with the brake light. Not sure if I want that plugged in all the time. I like this one because it is all metal and the curved sides will hurt a little less if I bump into it. Bully BBS-1104L

Just want to add that if you buy this bump step, do not get one with the lights. The BS is not happy with these lights and error codes are thrown every time you step on the brakes or use the turn signals. It’s a little cheaper without lights anyway.

Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 6306E239-9090-4C59-BDD2-45353C9045D5

Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 8CDB0908-F3E6-4441-AA7C-9F0AD88BA7E4
 
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Trunk Organizer

It’s not particularly easy to find an organizer that will work with the cargo management system but I found one that does. Amazon Link. You might even be able to use 2 of them if that was your thing.
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 4DB61BE9-C39C-4ED3-A071-1830A0B3109B


You can fold it up to be pretty compact if needed and it slides under the shelf as shown above. It can also sit on top of the shelf if needed. This one happens to be a Cyber Monday deal right now.
Link not working. Can you re-post it?
 
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Link not working. Can you re-post it?
I updated the link above but I am also posting it here. Maybe one or the other will work.

Trunk Organizer for SUV Car, Truck, Auto, Minivan - 4 Adjustable Compartments Foldable Portable Trunk Organizer, Heavy Duty Durable Car Organizer, Removable Flexible Cargo Storage Bag https://a.co/d/2Ii2jjX
 


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Good choice with the 16” wheels and tires. I’ve never been a fan of the thin side walls but then I came from the days of 15’s with 33’s.
Question if you would be kind enough to answer , what is the total diameter of your wheel and tire combo. I am considering doing a 235/70/17 stock rim. And a discoverer AT3 4S that is listed at 30 inch but actually is 29 .8 inch. They said it will fit my first edition with a standard 1 1/4 factory lift . Your thoughts ?
 
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Thanks again , I read your post a few times and I am missing something, are you say that the 235/70/17 should work on my stock rims . By the way great looking flares best I have seen so far . Very nice work all the way around . Look forward to see what becomes of the bronco front grill .
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL EBF4462A-C97C-435E-8B09-2D068D1AFD6F
If the tires you are looking at are 29.8” actual, then that is pushing the upper end of the safe zone. I think this is where the variations in tire size at the same specs start to reveal what can actually fit. We know for sure the a 29.5” tire will work without issue. Does the extra .3” diameter mean there will be a rub? I’m not sure that anyone knows the answer yet but I think it is worth trying it. That is entirely up to you though.
 

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If the tires you are looking at are 29.8” actual, then that is pushing the upper end of the safe zone. I think this is where the variations in tire size at the same specs start to reveal what can actually fit. We know for sure the a 29.5” tire will work without issue. Does the extra .3” diameter mean there will be a rub? I’m not sure that anyone knows the answer yet but I think it is worth trying it. That is entirely up to you though.
Appreciate your input , when I have them installed I will report back to all on the forums. Thanks
Ford Bronco Sport Olive - Meanderthal’s BS BL 65B856F9-176D-40AD-B661-25C40056E524
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