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New guy old builder album

broncobra22

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Joined
July 21, 2011
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City, State
Oklahoma
Year, Model & Trim Level
1985 Bronco 2
I started the 1985 Bronco build shortly after I found a lifted B2 up in Hayes Kansas for sale I arranged a purchase price and was quite pleased to find the body almost rust free and in running condition, I knew that most of the little truck would be sold for parts and that most of the body and all of the interior were history anyway. The body lift was a most 3" which greatly facilitated the install of the Boss 302 V8 and C-4 transmission.
The install was one of the easiest I have ever done and the least difficult part of the Broncobra build to date.


Posted some photos to my album of current B2 project...4x4 junkie kindly helped but I am somewhat computer challenged which means I'm making this way more difficult than I would have imagined (his instructions were VERY clear) it's me that needs remedial aid or more with my computer, camera and online skills which are virtually Non existent

Bronco2 is an interesting platform to work with and has nice inherent lines, I just sold a 1987 to my next door neighbor and he is in love with it! My daily driver is a 1987 Eddie B. edition (auto) that I bought new, it currently has about 94,000 miles on it, the only major problem was replacing a waterpump on a sub freezing Oklahoma night in a 40 miles per hour wind. I will never sell it!
I have owned Jeeps, early Broncos, full size Broncos and several B2's...I like them all but my favorite is the B2.

I never understood Ford's marketing strategy for the B2, no V8, no removable top or doors just to list a few of my pet peeves...and barely put up a fight during the great liberal rollover debates and witch hunts (wasn't built to be a sports car or for mass yuppy transport at high speeds.) I guess you get my drift I kinda like 'em.
 
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move your mouse to a pic thumbnail, and a box pops up. Click on the line that says img before it

then make a post here, when you have your cursur where you want your pic to show up, just right click, then left click on paste.

try it right here if you want. I can fix mistakes.
 






Since you have the pics loaded into your album, you can do it this way:

Right-click on the pic you want while viewing it, then select "Properties" or "View Image Info" (or whatever it is called that your web browser provides for you to look at the picture's web link). Highlight the entire link (triple-click on it), then right-click on it and select Copy. Now above the text box where you're typing, click the yellow Insert Image button (has the little mountains on it), backspace out the text in the box that pops up, then right-click in there and select Paste (this will paste the picture URL link you just copied a moment ago). The click OK.

You will then see a text string with IMG tags on each end in your post inserting the pic as below.



To see how I did it, just click the "Quote" button at the bottom of my post to see how it's formatted.

It seems I've seen your username somewhere before... was it on Cardomain? If so, you can link your pics directly from there into your posts here as well the same way.



Very nice BII, by the way :thumbsup:

.
 
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Broncobra



I'm a metal fabricator/machinist/welder by trade, mostly retired so I guess I don't relate to plastic for most body/interior components, they are very useful and functional, but I make an effort to build mostly with metal and fabricate much of what I use and adapt uncommon parts and designs when they are indicated and practical. The rear of my Broncobra demonstrates the use of existing parts to create something that appears different and yet extremely practical at least for my own use. I used the original liftgate as the base for a "fifth wheel" type cutout which allows the spare tire rack to extend and then pivot the tire to the ground before being unbolted for use. I spent a considerable amount of time on this feature because I have a bad back and can't safely handle the weight of tire and wheel and of course I wanted a safe design to prevent injury to others also.

I also used 14 gauge steel to cap the cutout area after first filling the cavity with foam and glassing over to seal the foamed cavity.
 
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Broncobra roadster

Been working on this project for the last 19 months, on and off, lot of stuff left to do. Basically wanted a 4x4 desert truck that didn't look like it was just bought from a catalog.
 
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Broncobra



Lucked into a 1970 4 bolt main engine that a friend had, but the heads were garbage. I align bored, decked, checked and rebuilt using all forged crank, rods and aluminum pistons. Heads are the World steel Windsor jr. 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust...I went hydraulic flat tappet, comp cam, lifters, springs & push rods. Balanced & blueprinted.
Used Edlebrock Torker2 intake (had to match up to the heads, off by quite a lot) and a new Holley carb with a major rebuild...propriatery work really don't know what the guy does to these things, but gets more "performance" out of a 650 Cfm than most tuners get from 785cfm & he does it for cheap...Waco Texas boy.
I used the James Duff headers and boy were they a pain to install, even on the engine stand, but they seem to perform well on this engine.
 
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Broncobra



Motor uses Fox Mustang dual sump pan with dip stik, highflow reverse rotation water pump, serpintine belt, 130 amp single wire alternator and performance under drive pulley (saves about 15 hp), bolts up to a small bellhousing which mates to a Ford C4 built by TCI and has full manual valve body/reverse shift pattern through a Hurst Promatic rat chit shifter. lol
 
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Broncobra



Interior dash and console completely rebuilt using 14 ga. sheet steel and a small amount of steel tube. Grant wheel, steering column/dash connections fabbed from steel also, I left plastic from the wheel to just a couple inches past the lock assembly. All the wiring, controls and ductwork removed from the firewall.

Tach and speedometer are autometer, VDO gauges were used for fuel, oil pressure, water temp, oil temp, vac and transmission temp. Seats are adjustable on custom built frames, 5 point belts are attached to hard points.



The photo above shows the construction of the steel steering column enclosure where it enters the dashboard. On the left side is a removable fuse panel cover plate.
 
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Broncobra



Truck style double bars out of a Toyota pickup, had to fab custom bracing in order to use them in the Bronc. Had only 3 attaching points for lights so I built a bar to attach 5 KC Hilites to help spot deer, feral hog or coyote in the night....big pigs will mess you up bad!
 
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Broncobra


I kinda like this view, shows the steel door & gate caps from a nice perspective
 
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I like the truck a lot. :thumbsup: Hope to see ya some day.
 






re:

Thanks for all your help and 4x4 junkie also, on the photo issues, I don't think I would have ever figured it out without your help. I meant to Google earth Humbolt, Ka. and will do that this evening. It would be good to meet you also, I would like to go anywhere that is cooler and has green grass...I mean it's dry in S.W Ok. I didn't know that I truly might need the Broncobra desert truck for serious! I had planned a trip up to little Sahara to run the dunes and sand this fall but not going if the heat doesn't lift a bit. Probably just stick with the dry sandy river beds of the Canadian river for now. Catch 'ya later my friend. Rick C.
 






Broncobra-Dash



This was the start of the dash demolition/build/install...I couldn't beleive what this would entail.
 
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Broncobra- Dash



Looking a bit more organized
 
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Broncobra- Dash



Dash was bent out of 14 ga. steel & had 9 bends in it. Fabrication is similar to Japanese paper "origami" only using metal.
 
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Broncobra- Dash



Test fit up prior to cutting instrument panel gauge holes.
 
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Broncobra- Dash



Holes were marked off and hand cut with a plasma torch & then cleaned up to final size with a large pipe fitters conical shaped grindstone mounted on a grinder...resulted in a perfect fit up!
 
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Broncobra- Spare rack



Photo shows the tire and rack in the locked forward position for driving operation



This picture shows the spare tire rolled and locked in the extended rack position; from this position the wheel and tire can be pivoted straight back and down.



This shot shows the tire and wheel as it starts to pivot down.



Wheel and tire are now ready to be unbolted from the safely lowered position.
 
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Great build. I like the tire carrier and lowering system you have there.
 



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Great to see another Chopped top Bii. Nice looking build. Looking at the stock dash removed reminds me just how much work goes into just that part of the build let alone all the other mods you've done.
I'll clean up those deleted posts.
 






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