My stock '73 rust bucket

[bones]

Hey everyone - My name is Cory, I'm 25 and live in Brighton (really unincorporated Adams and just outside of Thornton on 120th Ave/Holly). First I want to say I'm very happy I found this site. CB.com is great but having people withing driving distance and being able to meet some of you (soon hopefully) will help keep the motivation up.

My story (pics to come soon, I promise)

I have a '73 Bronco that I bought from the original owner in 2003. At the time I was 17 and had been looking for a Bronco for a few years but running into issues with the trucks I was looking at. Sometimes it was just too much $$, other times they were heavily modded trail rigs (I love wheeling but wanted something more stock). I had all but given up hope when I thumbed through the AutoTrader mag at 7-11. I made a habit of reading through them the day the new ones were released when I saw it... A 1973 white and rust Bronco. The tiny pic looked good so I paid the cashier and sped home to call the owner.

An hour later I was pulling up to his house when I saw her. Just like he described. It was mostly white, with some rust on rear panels. A quick glance at the truck and up to the owners door. An older gentleman answered and came out and walked us around the truck. He immediatley pointed out all of the known problems it had. The rust, a missing tail light bucket, and a small leak. He handed me the keys and I jumped in for the test drive. It started right up, I popped the E-brake and killed it. I had never seen a 3-on-the-tree much less driven one. So after a little lesson on the shift pattern, I was off.

A couple loops around the block and down the street I knew I had found the one. I got it back to the owners house and we started talking business. I lowballed the guy $50 (I had the cash in my pocket, less $50) and we shook on it. He wrote up a bill of sale, handed me the title and told me to follow him to the garage.

Out there he pulled a dusty old box off of a shelf labeled "BRONCO" and sat down. Inside was EVERYTHING. The original dealer write up for the added options (which included cut rear fenders and a vinyl covered hard top), the warranty cards, original glove box manual, and TONS of oil filter box tops with the date and mileage he changed the oil. There were a few other odds and ends in there and some old pictures that he passed along.

Also in the garage was a '68 GTO with 35XXX original miles. The car was beautiful, but he wasnt letting that go.

I drove it around for a few weeks, replaced the quarter-panels, a striker post, and driver/pass floor pans and the body work was all but done. (A few small spots that need some attention but nothing some sheet metal wont fix.) And then it happened. I graduated high school and joined the Marine Corps. The Bronco sat neglected in my parents garage (not that neglected I guess) for the next 6 years. I did my thing, got a house and now have her sitting in my garage.

I would like to keep her as original as possible. The motor ran strong, the transmission didnt have any problems when it was parked and mechanically no major issues. My plan is to pull the body and go frame up. My buddy owns a hot rod shop and is gonna help with getting whats left done. I do need to clean the frame/engine/tranny/power steering up and hopefully put a small lift on it. 2 1/2" suspension and 32s I'm thinking, but time will tell. Also plan to do a power/disc brake swap and that should be about it.

Anyways-pics will come soon and I hope to make a meeting soon.

[PonyCorral]

Great story! Nice to hear of other PROJECTS! Welcome.

[Justin]

Welcome! Looking forward to meeting you!

[Entourage]

That is a great story - excited you found the club. Excited to see the pics.

[Kinder]

Great story, love the happy ending, welcome.

[airbur]

Welcome! Ok, so it's been like 24 hours since your post....where are those pics!!!???

[bones]

I know I know - the holiday and working nights made me forget to grab the flash card they are on... Coming soon I swear

[bones]

Finally got a few pics up but others were corrupted so I'll get more tonight or tomorrow. Also, the garage is a mess in the pics - long day of cleaning and cutting up box springs so the trash company will take em.

[bones]

With Nick's (flatliner) help, I started pulling the body today. After moving the Bronco over a little to make room to work on the driver side, we got the front end off. A few broken bolts, every many drilled out bolts, and some bloody knuckles and Nick suffering through a blueberry lager, we made some decent progress but B.S.ed a lot! Have an idea of what needs replacing and what can be fabricated at his shop, so the build is officially started!
More pics to eventually come. Its after 1am now and I'm clean so I don't really feel like crawling around under the Bronco right now. Not as bad as I was thinking it might be, but some rust where I wasn't expecting to see it and no rust where I did expect it. Such is life though