Black Smoke Donkey

[Geologist]

Looking good! Who's bronco is that in the background?

[Kinder]

That's my son's Bronco, Bubba Smurf, his nick is TFB (Task Force Bronco). Here's the build thread.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4027

[Kinder]

I wonder what the load rating of my trailer is, it's squatting quite a bit this morning. Axle is rated 3500 lbs, pintle hitch is rated 20,000 lbs. 11 pack 2.5" lift springs?



On the other hand my 2nd row of folding bucket seats worked out great.

[Kinder]

BSD is getting ready for hunting season. Definitely time to finish that full float 9"!

[hockeydad4-22]

Ok - we need a like button!!!!

[Crazyone]

Lookin good Kirk! Now you need to lengthen the trailer!

[kbank6]

Looks Great, Were are you going and what part of the season?

[Colorado75bronc]

I agree, like!

[Kinder]

My trailer does look a bit short now, I'll think about it, the best way to do it would be to start over with a F100 bed.

I'm going out to help friends during muzzle loading this weekend and then I've got a second season elk trip planned as well.

[Kinder]

Not quite finished but it is set in, I removed the side skirts that use to sit on the tail gate and also removed the heater, I'll need to relocate it since my fender well location has changed in relation to the camper. I also plan to relocate the water tank to the passenger side and I picked up a new to me folding bench/bed out of a conversion van at the PnP a while back to will be a good replacement for the original plywood setup.

The gap behind the camper was intentional, some may not like the look, but I wanted a space between the tail gate and camper for outside the camper storage. Plans for this space are fuel/water containers, external ladder & fold up chairs or tables (the idea came from some builds over on expedition portal). I never did finish the cooler & fuel holder portion of my bumper and my current plans are to rebuild it for cooler & bike storage. The cooler will go low and the bikes will hang vertical and angled over the cooler. Once I sort out a means to secure the outside the camper storage the tailgate will come off so I can step down & out of the camper like normal, that door gets real short real fast.

And the qtr door space will be temporarily occupied by some F100 bedsides until I get them built, they match the body lines exactly.

[Kinder]

Doors! These are the original doors for the '68 tub, they haven't been bolted on for more than 5 years. Both driver's side hinges were popped at the pins & left on the tub by the PO, I used every "seized bolt" technique I'm aware of to get the bolts out without drilling them out. Success! The passenger side door lined up real nice and fits well, the driver side is way off and will need a bit more massaging to be okay.

I also did a little measuring of the PnP bench and will have to cut it down a bit so it fits behind the passenger seat. Phase 3 may include extending the camper into the space I left so I can put a 6 foot bed in that space. Of course I still have to finish phase 1 & 2 first.

[71 bass boat]

Looking good! I think it's awsome you did the stretch in your garage at home. What's your wheel base???

[Kinder]

All the pieces are collected, now I've got to do something about it.

Front axle will be a 609, no new parts and low pinion, I can't afford a $3k+ setup. Center is the driver drop 9" currie setup I bought from JTS, from the C's out it'll be Kingpin D60. I plan on retaining the monster brakes and the 8 on 6.5 lug setup. Those with sharp eyes will see the dually setup hanging off the hubs, I'll swap those out for singles that I picked up from Trei.





Rear will likely be a straight up D60, full float with disks, factory limited slip and 32 spline axles. It's hard to believe that this is a factory axle from a E350 Van. I briefly considered building a 609 for the rear as well, but I think I'll want the added strength of the 60 if I turn up the 4BT.



Width for both axles will likely be set by the front axle, after I yank the tube out of the C's I'll get a good idea of the actual measurement. I'm not against full width but I'd rather retain the stock width for squeezing it into narrow trails. On the other hand I really don't want to cut down the rear axle and deal with custom axles for that as well as the front.

[landshark]

great looking axle :)

That flange on the D60 should be setup for a 1330 or 1350 driveshaft BTW... i think the 205 rear spline count is 32? i wonder if you can pull one out the yard along with an F350 rear shaft and beef up the driveline?

[Jesus_man]

Yeah, a rule of thumb I like to try to follow is "Use off the shelf parts where possible". That way if you break something on a remote trail, you can buy said part and not have to have a custom one made. If you break an axle shaft on day one of your moab outing, you are likely done for the duration.

I am jealous of the 609! Just turn your 3rd 180* and get your t-case to twist the front driveshaft the other way. Viola! High Pinion! No problemo!

Good news is that if you ever get that HP 3rd, nothing you're doing now will be a waste!

[Justin]

On the other hand I really don't want to cut down the rear axle and deal with custom axles for that as well as the front.

This. I'd stick with stock sized stuff wherever possible, although that Dana 60 is likely 69.25" inches WMS to WMS up from the stock 57" in the rear. This was part of why I wanted to stick with 1977 and earlier stuff, as it's 65" front and 63" rear, hitting a nice middle ground. One option would be to just shorten one side, resulting in needing only one custom axle. The other perk is that you could line the front and rear pumpkins up, possibly making navigation easier in the rocks. The other thing to keep in mind is that most rear axles are 1-3" narrower than the fronts from the factory, helping keep more of the vehicle's mass inside the turning circle and increasing stability. It also helps turning radius.

[landshark]

I want to say the rear D60 out of the E350 is 66" with calipers.. but could be mistaken.. if only someone could measure!

[Kinder]

Improving the sleeping arrangements in the bronco camper. I scored some RV parts out of the PnP a few weeks back. I had to section both items to get them to fit in the small space. Over cab bed platform was cut down by 2" and the side seat frame needed 5.5" cut out of the length.

Bed over the cab is extended now, 6' long by 5' wide, a gain of two feet on the width.






The old side seat was a two piece plywood thing that was terrible, it was always falling apart. This piece has nice storage under, is hard mounted and has a back rest that folds over and adds width to the sleeping area.

[Moab Mike]

That's looking great!

[Rox Crusher]

That convertible couch / bed in the back is cool.

[Jesus_man]

Love it! We had one of those flip-over couch bed things in our pop-up. Was a little fiddly, but worked good.

[Kinder]

Installed the heater, defrost ducts and wiper setup today in anticipation of the forecasted weather. Heater hook up was straight forward minus the return coolant line. The box van used a "T" in the radiator line, those hoses cost $85+, and you guys know I'm thrifty. Luckily for me the Lego block Cummins has many options on the upper & lower radiator connection blocks, I pulled a NPT plug from the lower, sourced a 5/8" connection and viola heat. I had read that the cummins ran cold, but within 5-10 minutes of startup I had heat, we'll see if that continues when the temp dumps. Wipers weren't without incident either, I reused the '68 windshield frame so the holes are drilled wide, I extended the linkage long arm by ~4" so we'll see how it works out. I also upgraded to the modified Cherokee wiper arms, here's to clear vision.

[Kinder]

Hooked up the grid heater yesterday, it's been struggling to start on the first crank since it turned cold. When it's warm or recently ran you barely have to touch the key and it roars to life. The grid heater stumped me for a minute when I was getting ready to wire in the manual momentary switch (new cummins use a electric control module), the system is wired hot all the time and uses the ground wire for the solenoids to engage. A first for me, as hot is usually the signal wire. My thoughts on why is that it's a high amp system, I've read that it's close to 200 amps when engaged, so I'm guessing that'd burn out most switches. I'm sure a electrically minded person could post the real answer.

Of course it's warm this morning so it'll start easily, when the temps return to the low twenties I'll report on how the startup goes. I also have to sort out the block heater. It's got a short it in right now, it pops the breaker on a single 20 amp house line. From looking at replacements there seems to be a small lead that grounds against the collar, maybe that's corroded and just needs to be cleaned.

[Moab Mike]

It's got a short it in right now, it pops the breaker on a single 20 amp house line. From looking at replacements there seems to be a small lead that grounds against the collar, maybe that's corroded and just needs to be cleaned.

Corrosion wont pop a breaker unless it's grounding out. What does it look like? I bought a block heater from O'Reilly's for about $25 for my EFI. I have a spare BH cord if you need it.

[Kinder]

Well I was hoping that I could push my D44 through the winter until I had the 609 done, not so. Yesterday on the way home my truck started wondering in the lane, I slowed down and nursed it home. A quick inspection and I have a passenger side lower ball joint that has failed. I've had a set of Ford knuckles set aside to swap out my Chevy knuckles with so this morning I pressed in new ball joints and I'll get them swapped out this week. I guess its time to start the assembly of the 609 before I ask too much of the D44 again.

[Kinder]

PnP run yesterday yielded a rear auxiliary AC / heater unit from a Centurion Bronco. First time I've seen one of these monsters in person, too bad it was in the yard. I was able to get the unit, 30+ foot of heater hose, 30+ foot of AC hose and the wiring harness, someone had already grabbed the control switch so I'll have to sort that out. No plans at the moment to hook up the AC portion, but the heater will be plumbed ASAP to throw some extra heat into the back of BSD. It has a small profile so I think I'll be able to mount it under the rear bench or under the cabinet shelving by the bed rail.



And yes that's ALL the hose that was with it, it was like pulling out intestines, must use another 2-4 gallons of antifreeze.

[Colorado75bronc]

Nice score dude! I've often considered installing a rear heater even with my tub still being stock length

[Rox Crusher]

Well I was hoping that I could push my D44 through the winter until I had the 609 done, not so. Yesterday on the way home my truck started wondering in the lane, I slowed down and nursed it home. A quick inspection and I have a passenger side lower ball joint that has failed. I've had a set of Ford knuckles set aside to swap out my Chevy knuckles with so this morning I pressed in new ball joints and I'll get them swapped out this week. I guess its time to start the assembly of the 609 before I ask too much of the D44 again.

Do you think the extra weight of the 4BT contributed to the failure or was it just worn out ?

[Kinder]

Do you think the extra weight of the 4BT contributed to the failure or was it just worn out ?

It sure didn't help any, but no I believe it was on it's way out. I never did replace the upper on that side when I saw it was loose when we all did the steering upgrade. I ped in my trail spares on that side the other day, they should hold until I build the 609, which I'm going to start ASAP now.

BTW: GRID HEATERS RULE!!!

[Kinder]

I'm going to put the Donkey to work. I picked up a old beat up plow for it late last week. The plow has had a hard life so I'm stripping it down now. I'll do some repairs, rebuilding and replacing of parts to get it functional.

Here are the pics of it from the CL ad, I'll post up new ones when I'm done refurbishing it.





Bring on the snow.