Peter's 1973 Ford Bronco

[Ted O]

Sweet Bronco, wish I could find one to restore in my area...but doesnt look like thats going to happen..

 

[RFR2212]

Here was this weeks work. I finished the passenger hole in front of the wheel well, and the door post. I then went to remove the drivers fender to start the kick panel. No dice, that's not easy to remove. So, that is soaking in penetrating oil, and I decided to do the twinstick. The old broncograveyard setup isn't that great, and I had to cut and make my own parts for one of the shifters and then mod both shift rails. Still need to do some welding, and touch up work.

fixed

twin stick

 

[Rick]

OMG I forgot just how bad Illinois was with rusty vehicles... I've been spoiled for way too long now

 

[RFR2212]

OMG I forgot just how bad Illinois was with rusty vehicles... I've been spoiled for way too long now

No doubt! At that, how poor the paint was back then. To add to it, the previous owners have hacked spots, re-hacked and attempted to refinish. So I have to strip the surface of the glue which was used for the carpet, then sand blast the paint away. No wire brushing here, not good enough to strip all the garbage.
Don't worry Rick, there will be plenty of rust come Attica, I'll be willing to share!
Dave-No need for block measurements, I found my block, on my other c4 and d20 setup in the shed. So I'm okay there!

 

[taxx]

Dave-No need for block measurements, I found my block, on my other c4 and d20 setup in the shed. So I'm okay there!

I noticed! Looks good though! its getting there.

 

[RFR2212]

Here's this weeks work. I never planned to do more than close up the trans tunnel (in the backround of the photos) but the diesel exhaust took longer, so i kept pluggin away on the bronco.
With this rust, my door hinge post was not solid, so i could not hang the drivers door.
Here's the start:

Cleaned up a bit:

Finished for the day:

The post finished for now:

So where does this leave me? I must fill the hole from the rocker to drivers floor, finsih the front dr side inner fender and then a small hole on the pass kick panel and the interior is complete. Minor sanding work will lead to herculining. Then the electricals will be done, then to the shop for the cage and sliders! Every week, it gets one step closer!

 

[RFR2212]

Here's pics as it sits today with the new tires, which rub on the pass radius arm and the multicolor paint. Someday it will all match, not sure when though.
Herculiner has been ordered hopefully 2 weeks and it will be going back together.

 

[RFR2212]

Interior work is 95% complete for me. Interior has been herculined. In the process had an accident. When the roof was being lifted off, one whole side gave way because of rust. So, glass was removed and i took the roof to the crusher today. Still waiting on my new wiring harness for the truck. It has been backordered supposedly till tomorrow. Here are this weeks pics.
stripped interior:

herculined interior:

what's left of the roof:

 

[bmxking5]

Interior has been herculined. In the process had an accident.

I'm sure you can guess what I thought was your "accident" when working with the herculiner.

This is turning out really nicely. It doesn't even look like the same vehicle.

 

[RFR2212]

I'm sure you can guess what I thought was your "accident" when working with the herculiner.

This is turning out really nicely. It doesn't even look like the same vehicle.

haha, you know, when I was herculining it, Geralds dilemma did enter my train of thought, and then i laughed at his misfortune! I only got it on my arm, so I'm safe there! Tailgate is being rebuilt now, and will be herced tonight.

 

[CodePoet]

Looks real good man!

 

[taxx]

Looks Great. Your tires are gonna rub the radius arms like you said. Mine do. You can change the stops or just learn to live with it.

But the inside looks great. Word of advice though if you ever have to work on that twin stick, cut an access pannel in the tunnel there on the side. Its damn impossible to do it from the bottom. I tried to do mine that way so I would not have to cutup my floors. I ended up cutting my floors and gaining access and its SOOOOO much nicer. Just need a cover for it now

When is the wiring starting? I flipped through my old instructions to see if I left any notes, I didn't but if you have any questions just give me a call its all fresh in my head since I am going through it again with the EFI.

 

[RFR2212]

One step ahead of you dave... I have 1/2 in 1/4in aluminum spacers for the fronts to mess with (want to see how the new knuckles space the wheels) and I have an access panel already in that mix. I think I may have the wrong twin stick. I must have ordered a j shift and think I've got a tshift. I dunno, but I welded angle iron to the shifters and the twin stick rods go down into notches in the angle iron. It works for now. I've got a spare tcase that might get cleaned and installed. I'm having problems getting the front 4x4 to work. It just won't shift, regardless of where the rear is (the pills shouldn't be a problem.) Wiring has begun. I hope to have the wiring in this weekend, and the disks swaped. If this is the case, I'll get it out of the garage for awhile, order my rear springs, install those after vacation and have it to Danville first week of May for the cage, sliders, and hboost lines. Less than 2 months and it should be very road worthy!
Dave, PM me your phone incase I need to call you.

Looks Great. Your tires are gonna rub the radius arms like you said. Mine do. You can change the stops or just learn to live with it.

But the inside looks great. Word of advice though if you ever have to work on that twin stick, cut an access pannel in the tunnel there on the side. Its damn impossible to do it from the bottom. I tried to do mine that way so I would not have to cutup my floors. I ended up cutting my floors and gaining access and its SOOOOO much nicer. Just need a cover for it now

When is the wiring starting? I flipped through my old instructions to see if I left any notes, I didn't but if you have any questions just give me a call its all fresh in my head since I am going through it again with the EFI.

 

[taxx]

One step ahead of you dave... I have 1/2 in 1/4in aluminum spacers for the fronts to mess with (want to see how the new knuckles space the wheels) and I have an access panel already in that mix. I think I may have the wrong twin stick. I must have ordered a j shift and think I've got a tshift. I dunno, but I welded angle iron to the shifters and the twin stick rods go down into notches in the angle iron. It works for now. I've got a spare tcase that might get cleaned and installed. I'm having problems getting the front 4x4 to work. It just won't shift, regardless of where the rear is (the pills shouldn't be a problem.) Wiring has begun. I hope to have the wiring in this weekend, and the disks swaped. If this is the case, I'll get it out of the garage for awhile, order my rear springs, install those after vacation and have it to Danville first week of May for the cage, sliders, and hboost lines. Less than 2 months and it should be very road worthy!
Dave, PM me your phone incase I need to call you.

HAHA. Sorry I just noticed this. I'll pm my phone now but I am assuming with our conversation Sunday night your all set. Now come make mine run

 

[410Fortune]

Man you have put in ALOT of work in on this body! Only an EB is worthy of those man hours.

I heard "Accident" and "Herculiner" together and almost lost it!

 

[taxx]

Only an EB is worthy of those man hours.

Its a tough choice between spending 1500 on new panels and spending HOURS refurbishing the thing and just dumping 3k into a new fiberglass body ready to go.

The steal just looks soo much better. Can't wait to see this thing all in one color.

 

[RFR2212]

Yeah, it's comming slowly. The interior is solid! The only further I could have gone was rebuild the body mount on the pass side, but if you saw it, you'd realize it will suffice. It should be in the garage this morning for disassembly for the knuckle swap. It's getting close!

 

[RFR2212]

So i got to finishing what i can do on the truck now. I don't have sockets big enough to remove the knuckles and really should be working on finals, instead of the truck. So, today I just cut off the rockers, removed the front plow mount and ordered parts. I bought some new leaf springs/bushings/u-bolts for the rear, hubs and a new turn signal, and some greaseable bolts for the leaf springs. The leafs should go on next week, and then the following week will be dropped off for the cage, sliders, hydroboost, disks and steering. Once that is all done, the truck will be road ready! Drive it a bit, make sure all the kinks are out, and it will be ready for the 10th Anniv run!
Here's todays work:
Uncut rocker:

cut passenger side rocker:

cut drivers side:

plow mount:

plow mount gone:

Overall I think I had a good day gaining clearance.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

sweet job looks great.

 

[RFR2212]

Just have a few new pics of the truck since the rockers were cut and the plow mount removed. It's starting to look like a wheeler!

I'm looking foward to getting the new springs and getting them installed, and thend do a lil tail trimming. The back corners behind the tires need to be hacked up to meet the front rockers...