Ricks Bronco: 1and 1/2 | Page 112 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Ricks Bronco: 1and 1/2

Cheers to that. I built my first early Bronco in a driveway. A steep, unlevel driveway at that. On jackstands come-a-long'ed to a tree to keep it from going over. :p:

Were the actually jackstands or cinder blocks:p:
 



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Wiper reservoir in the old location along with the old inner sheet metal.

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Here is the new tubed fender brace but no way I'm I going to mount a gallon of wiper fluid up that high where it used to be.

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Found the perfect spot. On the floor board about 2 feet lower then previous spot. Just behind the driver seat. And more centrally located.
Nine pounds relocated from that high a spot to the floor board lowers the COG a substantial amount. Don't need anymore lateral forces on the tire patch haha
 






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Started on removing the play grill. Getting some bench marks for the new install of steel grill.

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All squared up. At least it's a start. Thinking of taking the tubed steel inner portion of the old grill and add that :rolleyes: And also frame around headlights. Making the grill is a simple...making the brackets will be a little more fun.

That pillow is not for taking naps, it's for me bad knees. LOL Don't worry, I'll catch it on fire before it's done.
 






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Good riddens to bad rubbish.

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Enter the steel grill. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Yes I'm old enough to remember steel grills.
Just tacking up now.

And there will be no grinding of welds ha ha. I may even purposely leave a little slag drooling down the corners...for effect.
 






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Well that's about as Spartan as a grill can get. Combination of round and square steel tubing.

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Just fitting up with steel brackets before applying some paint.
Went to the same Steel supplier and found a drop piece that was $9 for 22'. Where as a standard length is 24'. He said I'll make you a deal. When he said $9, I said is it loaded yet?
And now it's part of this build as a grill. Imagine that.

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Instead of sitting around and watching paint dry, I decided to go to AutoZone and get me some wiper hose that will connect to the new much lower wiper motor.
I checked the motor out to make sure it can pump the additional length and the vertical push. No problem, but may shorten the life of the pump, but again I've got several of these things from people giving me B2 parts.
 






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I love everything except.....

START PAINTING IT BLACK!!!! Really, I do like everyhthing and obviously do what you want. Might as well use up the blue you already have!!
 






START PAINTING IT BLACK!!!! Really, I do like everyhthing and obviously do what you want. Might as well use up the blue you already have!!

I haven't forgot.

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Look what fell off my truck ha ha.


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Now that's a whole lot easier to pic your path with out some monstrous flares or doors as far as that goes. Like a said befor, riding trails with doors is like taking a shower with a rain coat on.
In fact Summer time = no doors period for the most part.
Needed to see how that superstructure I built flexes with the rest of the truck... Well any excuse to ride is better then none.
But do need to put an overflow extension on the new relocated wiper reservoir. Kinda got the floor of the cab wet.
Or was that me when the front end unloaded and about went over :eek:

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On this ride I pulled the pin on the rear. Now it will let that rear axle stuff that tire. Imagine what it would have looked like with out all that wheel well and lower body trim cut off.

Larger tires, locked front and rear sure would be nice.

At any rate the new grill I think looks good. Could have put a mitered piece at each corner but I wanted a Hey, that's definitely a built grill look.

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Now I have a real funtional grill/additional bursh guard.
Can't have enough front protection on these East Coast trails.
Hmm, after looking at that pic, somekind of bolted on screen in front of each headlight bolted to the square frame might be Trick. Something heavy like expanded metal?
Might just have to go back to my Steel Supplier and find a piece of drop metal for that headlight protection thing. And that steel frame will make a great mounting frame.
Then all 4 riding lights will have some kind of frontal protection.
 






looking good!! ya should do the round headlight conversion and make some bezels to fill in the empty hole ya got there but it looks beefy for sure!! :thumbsup: ... and the fender removal look like a snap lol ..... literally!! :D
 






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Funny you should mention about the headlight. One of the things I did today was to paint the area around the headlight Satin Black. Better looking I do believe.

No I'm not putting some round headlight in a square hole LOL. Not to mention the grill is rectangular not round. Now if it had a grill like an Edsel then maybe.
I feel about round headlights in a B2 as General Patton did about Pearl pistol grips.

Hey Terrible11, do you no why there is a hole that you can see into between the driver side headlight and radiator, and no I'm not patching it. In fact I cut it out on purpose?
When it comes to aesthetics it takes a back seat to funtionality.
See ya.
 






to each his own i guess ... idk i like the way round headlights look in a first gen and im tryin to skeem a way to inter great them on my 2nd gen for that early bronco look since ill be usin an older engine and a eb d44 imma try to build mine for trails and show (when ever i can seen to get the money and time) ... and btw it dose look alot better black like that ya dont notice its so open around the head lights :thumbsup: and i do under stand the function is for a stronger more durable grill which i like that alot and i like the idea as imo i would change a few things if it was mine but it is not. and im not sayin i dont like yours cuz i do !
 






OK, I got ya. An early Bronco look with solid axle. Now that would not look bad.
Just as long as you took the Twin Trouble Beam axle out. Even if you did fix all the associated problems like the goofy ever changing camber, bearing problem and caster problem. You still have what Ford designed not for more strength or better off road capabilities but for a ride that would cater to the opposite sex due to lagging sales. A uni-sex axle if you will. Now don't even talk about the looks of a ttb vs a SA.
With that said 410 knows how to make a ttb work and this is the guy others came to for advice.
But round headlights with a ttb...well, it would give the impression that you took EB, one the best 4x4s ever made, removed the solid for a ttb and that would take someone with an IQ of an empty crab shell. How many EBs have you seen that have tore out the solid and put in a ttb?
Even on the other B2 site they have a logo (lack of proper name) a B2 with solid axle.
There is a B2 running around my area that has had the round headlights since I first started building mine and that was 5 years ago. I'll see if I can get a pic.
Back to the round headlights on mine. Since I do have the solid axle I still don't know with the pronounced rectangular grill if it would look good verses the rectangular headlights I have now? The EB front end makes the round headlights look good. Just like Will Smith made those black sunglasses look good in the movie "Men in Black"
Good luck with your idea and make it different then others. Who wants a build that everyone agrees on anyway. It's your piece of steel on canvas, not others.
I'd love to help ya in the SAS, if you need help drive up here and we can have at it.
Between both of us, were liable to get it right ha ha .
Or even just the axle with what brackets you got and we can weld them up. Could even make up some links.
 






thanks and i got rid if the ttb alooong time ago when i did my sas with a d30 :rolleyes: i am satisfied with the capability but not with the lack of strength of the d30 and when i do the ebd44 i will use the stock d44 rad arms but with heim joints on the end instead but i believe a 8.8 in the rear should do just fine but i will get a newer one with disc brakes of coures :D.. and yes like ive said to each his own and your are right truck buildin should be a form of art cuz why build 2 trucks the same?
 






i acctually love the round headlight idea, but then im a little crazy any way. wonder how i would go about puttin em in my first gen x? hmmmm....
 






Sorry, I forgot you did have a solid axle :thumbsup:
Sometime I get so caught up in my own build that I forget some details of others.

I did the newer 8.8 with disks including larger master cylinder and booster.
 






Have you considered protection for your radiator and tranny cooler? They look very exposed. You can get off the trail with a broken headlight, but a hole in the radiator or tranny cooler poses a larger problem. Maybe some smaller hole style expanded metal atttached on the back of the grill? I would be worried about mud, sticks, rocks, etc plugging or puncturing my radiator!
 






You would think that I would have learned from my first episode with a stick through my radiator. And it is a 4 core Ford MotorSport rad.
Look just to the right of the B&M tranny cooler and you can see where I've already welded up the aluminum radiator when a limb, on one of my before sun came up rides jumped from no where and poked a hole through it. Even with a hole in the radiator the temp never got over 185 deg.
During the months of late April and late may I went on over 25 before sun came up rides through some dense forested trails. It's a wonder there were not more holes.
Yes I really use this for a trail rig.
Now if the hole had of been lower?

In fact I think I need to get about a half a sheet of the expanded metal.
Just place on a jump shear and jump away the exact size of the new grill.
Ya, I like the idea of a full width expanded metal protector welded on the grill. Would make a tuff grill that much tuffer.
Now I know what they mean when they say Full Width.
Really could have not done that with the plastic grill with any amount of strength. Considered done :thumbsup:
Oh well, at least I did put a piece of the expanded metal in front of my relocated oil filter in the above pic.
The opening in the expanded metal is way too large, but it was what I had at the time. I think they make a 5/8" size where as this one is 3/4" or even larger.
The new metal will have the smaller diamond shape openings.
Could even weld a piece on the brush guard. Hmm
Hey got to get ready for the longer Fall Hunting season. Trail rides for me are really just secondary compared to the hunting. But it lets me get out in the great outdoors between seasons.
Hey, got to go the trout are biting up on the North Fork on terrestrials. Need to start planning my camping trip there with the mini micro camper.
In fact that is why I planned the swap before Spring Turkey season.
 






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I have several 1350 BW cases and as some of you guys know, since I lengthened my wheel base I built a custom longer drive shaft utilizing a Explorer shaft with slip joint that Incorporated the stock B2 male end that goes into the case.
Well today I went ahead and installed the case that I had the custom output shaft that got rid of the slip connection that goes into the case which is a slip joint affair.

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This removable cover came in more handy then I thought later.
The only reason I removed it at the time is that it only takes a few minutes to remove all the bolts including the two top bolts.

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The problem that I had was that I did not have the strength to put the modified one back in by laying on my back due to that poisoness spider bite that almost rendered my left arm and shoulder useless. After 13 months of weight lifting and stretch exercises it's starting to get better.
I thought that I could do it but found out...no way.
Called my son who said he'll be over tomorrow and I said OK.
After about an hour of feeling sorry for myself laying on the couch I got an idea.
I just rigged up a lift by laying a steel tube across from door to door and tied a rope to the case and used one big ratcheting cargo strap to ratchet straight up. Then no problem sliding onto spline.
Back a few years ago when I spent the time building that cover which is framed out below with 1/2" tube and new sheet metal hump that it would have helped so much as it did today.

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Here's the modified case with the flanged adapter that will get rid of one slip joint. Two slip joints worked fine with the internal spring but this will be less slop. Plus if I blow these 1350s up I'll be going to a 54 case which will have the u-joint end like this modified case does. But with no serious rock climbs coupled with the lightness of this truck they will most likely work fine.

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Here is what the case output end looked like before mod. Back in this build a few pages back is how I made the shaft. Now remember I had to make longer shaft no matter what case I used. I was surprised how well balanced it was.
 



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Sorry, I forgot you did have a solid axle :thumbsup:
Sometime I get so caught up in my own build that I forget some details of others.

I did the newer 8.8 with disks including larger master cylinder and booster.

yes i do and now the chassis has no body :D and now im out of money for now so it on the back burner again :(
 






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