Ignorant Inheritor Needs Assistance

[samst145]

Hello All,

I recently inherited and shipped (after two years of sitting in a mine in PA) a frame-up restoration 1968 Bronco 302 to Centennial (restoration from the ground up minus the body...engine rebuilt, fuel injection, disc brakes, etc.) from my father. I have many things I would like to modify to make it more Colorado worthy but have almost no clue where to start. I am currently working in the Middle East but plan to return in early October. I am looking for someone to help me evaluate the truck and assist in constructing a list of items to purchase over the winter to make it much more trail ready for next season. I am an engineer, mechanically inclined, and am not afraid of doing the work myself. I would also be happy to turn this into a mini event with a few participants as I will be new to this scene and will be looking for partners in crime moving forward.

I am not asking for anyone to donate time gratis and am more than willing to pay an hourly fee for the consultation as well as provide quality craft beer and something on the smoker...likely pork as I have been swine deprived over the past few months :). Please reach out to me here with a post and I will shoot out a text/email upon my return.

**NOTE TO ADMINS - If there are several responses to this post, I would really appreciate some guidance in vetting "safe bet" individuals if you are familiar with them. This comes not only from a knowledge basis but a safety standpoint too. Thanks so much in advance for your support!! Please send personal messages to shaneamcmanus@gmail.com for recommendations.

Thanks to all for the consideration and I look forward to meeting up with the group in the near future :)

Best Regards,
Shane

[ZOSO]

Shane,

Welcome to our slice of heaven. You came to the right spot. No one here in this group will steer you in the wrong/unsafe direction.

[Justin]

x2. Starting with a list of current modification and end goals will help. Is it lifted, have tires, etc. Do you want a mall crawler or trail rig (or something in between), and how hard a trail do you think you'll want to do?

[Digger]

Like Justin said, throw out some end goals and we can help you plan backwards.

We have builds from fully stock restro to hardcore rock buggy to serious restro-mods. For a small group, there is a lot of knowledge tied up in this club, some of the best in the EB segment.

Welcome!

[Gunnibronco]

Welcome to the club. You've found the right place to help get your rig on the road. We have a great group of guys, with amazing knowledge & experience. Its a fairly tight knit group, no need to worry about who's offering help.

[Jesus_man]

Welcome to the Bronco world. There are many *ahem* diseases associated with this little rig. And I am sure you'll experience them all as you go thru your rig.
Bronco-creep = while I have it apart, I might as well do...which often time results in a full frame-off resto.
Bronco-itis = thinking about broncos nearly 24/7

In any case, I also have complete confidence in all the members here to steer you in the right direction. And the guidance you'll receive will likely be from direct experience as well.

We have rules tho and you've already broken one...POST PICTURES! We love to over these machines!

As others mentioned, we need to know what you want in the end. You want something that will be at home on the street and a mild trail or two, or something like Penrose trail system (being ~ 9 of 10):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4x2AZEb33k - sorry bad example of "crawling".

[hockeydad4-22]

As far as bad advice, not to worry anything offered up that is not great will be corrected by those who know better.

Welcome to the illness that is contracted as soon as you seriously consider ownership of one of these wonderful time and money wasters

[sykanr0ng]

Welcome.

Your tetanus shots are up to date, right?

[Kinder]

There are quite a few of us on the south end of Denver that can help when the time comes, of course offering up food and drink will guarantee a good turnout.

[Eck]

Don't listen to any of these guys, they don't know what they're talking about! Just listen to the voice in your head that tells you to, "while its removed, I may as well..." Just kidding- this club has helped me more than I could've ever expected. You're in good hands when you return. And welcome to the club.

[EFI Guy]

Welcome aboard! Craft beer, smoked pork,.... You're gonna fit right in.

[TOOLMAN]

Welcome! ^^x2.

[DanHall]

Welcome to the Bronco world. There are many *ahem* diseases associated with this little rig. And I am sure you'll experience them all as you go thru your rig.
Bronco-creep = while I have it apart, I might as well do...which often time results in a full frame-off resto.
Bronco-itis = thinking about broncos nearly 24/7

In any case, I also have complete confidence in all the members here to steer you in the right direction. And the guidance you'll receive will likely be from direct experience as well.

We have rules tho and you've already broken one...POST PICTURES! We love to over these machines!

As others mentioned, we need to know what you want in the end. You want something that will be at home on the street and a mild trail or two, or something like Penrose trail system (being ~ 9 of 10):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4x2AZEb33k - sorry bad example of "crawling".

Yep, the sickness referred to as Bronco-creep may set in sooner than you think. My first bout was a little rust repair that ended with a bunch of body work, new paint, new interior, etc. My current episode started with a loose timing chain that has turned into a Explorer 5.0, new tranny, transfer case rebuild with twin sticks, new steering column, painting the engine bay and who knows what else.

Welcome, there are a bunch of good folks here that will offer great advice. Sometimes you may get differing opinions but much of that comes down to preference of driving style.

[hockeydad4-22]

Ok - this thread has gone on just about long enough without a single picture of this "alleged" bronco.... Time to drag out this old standby

[sykanr0ng]

Maybe I'm having a cynical day...........

But he's been a member for a year, has two posts and hasn't been on here since Monday shortly after he started this thread ???

[Digger]

Yup

[akaFrankCastle]

Life has a way of keeping you away from the things you want to pursue.

[colby45]

He said he is currently working in the Middle East. Maybe his location gives him limited access to the interwebs.

[Justin]

We've got a decent number of lurkers on the board.

[samst145]

Ha...Thanks for all the support so far gentlemen (and possibly ladies).

I will reply to these in line....

Justin/Digger, Based on this rating scale (http://www.colorado4x4.org/trail_ratings.html), I think I would like to be approaching an 8. I don't think there are any mods on the truck that would improve it trail readiness. My father expressed regret in turning it more towards a race car and away from its intended purpose which I intend to rectify. The shocks (I think...showing my ignorance) are now too stiff and it fishtails like on the washboards. No lift, 7 tires and rims but will need to be replaced for something larger...

Heaps of smiles to current responses, Jesus_man - hockeydad4-22 - sykanr0ng - Eck - DanHall, I have caught a little of the sickness and am sure to get worse before I get better :D

Can't wait to get home from the work trip. My apologies for lack of response but colby45 is correct...I am working at a new nuclear construction site in the UAE 6 days a week 14 hour days. Kinder/EFI Guy, I am thinking about Avery and Pork and McCallan when I return and you will be more than welcome to come for "Assessment Day" :)

Thanks for poking me Hockeydad4-22 - sykanr0ng - Digger...I only have two pics with me but have a couple videos that I shot in PA before bringing it out...hopefully these will load. I will post a couple more pics when I get back to CO (hopefully by the first week of Oct)...

Thanks again for all the support and looking forward to getting more involved with the group as time pushes forward!

[samst145]

Seeing as videos can't be uploaded here, I quickly opened an account and uploaded a couple to YouTube....Hopefully this works...

http://youtu.be/vwh04ZfMmzU

http://youtu.be/4K_QvqfuWkA

[sykanr0ng]

Your goal is about the same as mine, trail capable to somewhere between a 7 and an 8 on that scale.

My first Bronco had dual heavy duty shocks on all four corners (done two previous owners before me), drive over a dime and tell you if it was heads or tails, on the plus side it would not wallow through any corners on mountain roads no matter how hard it was pushed.

Sounds good in the videos.

[DanHall]

Looks good! Sounds good too. Should be a great start to where you want to take it.

[Justin]

OK, so to reliably run trails they rate at an 8 you'll want:

-35" tires, with 37's being even better. That will require:
-4-5" of lift. This can be a combination of suspension and body lift. On early Bronco's things get wonky above 3.5" of suspension lift, so lots of folks combine those with a 2" body lift to run 35's. You can run 37's with that amount of lift, but it'll require some fairly serious body trimming. That's the route I'm taking with mine. 37's are about the max the stock front axle can handle, and even then upgraded axle shafts are a good idea. This assumes you have a Dana 44 rather than a Dana 30 which is what came stock in that year of Bronco. A swap is easy if you can track down a stock EB Dana 44, and a swap to full width axles isn't that hard either.
-Differential Lockers. A rear locker makes a huge difference, and a front one is helpful as well.
-Roll cage. Safety first!
-Disc brakes. Ford is preferred for a trail rig, chevy swap also works great.
-Lower differential gears. These are needed to compensate for the larger tires.
-If you've got the stock 3 speed, a transmission swap is nice, but not mandatory. Something with a lower first gear makes a big difference.

It's kind of a big list, but can be done in pieces. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are Broncos. You may also find that you're just as happy with mellower trails. I'm building mine to tackle fairly hardcore trails, but am just as happy running dirt roads and exploring the backcountry.

[Jesus_man]

To add to Justin's comments...
Suspension : you need a fair amount of articulation to tackle 8 rated trails, especially if you want to do it gracefully. 11leaf packs seem to do this best. Here is also some trick spring rockers that gain a couple inches of lift and gain flex. You'll need to do some radius arm modifications to allow the front to move and some good springs with taller shocks.

Engine: you want this to run at odd angles. Some guys have good luck with certain carbs but EFI sure does an amazing job and I think any carb will struggle on anything over a 6 rated trail.

Gearing: for me I like to match near stock gearing after I chose my tire size keeping your highway speeds and rpms the same. Maybe just a tad lower to compensate for more wind resistance and added unsprung weight. I think the best place for trail gears is in the transfer case. And you'll need some good low gearing for the higher rated trails.

I'd work on reliability then look into lift, tires, and axle gearing/ lockers. Wheel it a while and see what you think the next step is.

[samst145]

Great info...Thanks! After speaking to a friend about some trails he took me on earlier in the summer, it seems as though I will be shooting for a vehicle the will handle 7's.

That makes me think 35's are in my future. I will start doing some research into what you all have given me so far and make a priority list and the associated components to go along with each activity. Will then post here and look for some feedback again before I just start shooting from the hip and ordering stuff. Thanks again!!

[Jesus_man]

Sounds great! You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with 35's on a bronco with the right stuff!

[D&D72]

That thing looks like a real nice platform to start on. sounds decent too. no shortage of excellent people here as you have already noticed.

[samst145]

OK...so finally got some time to do some research and have come up with the following loose to-do/buy list...noting is concrete until I buy it and would love to hear any feedback if you have any. Also, are there any gaping holes in what I am thinking here? As always, thanks so much for the time and help!!

- Carb…
o Need to figure out if the old man put an EFI in or not (Several items on this list need to be researched once I get back to the states and lay my eyes on the Bronco again….)

- 35ΓÇ¥ Tires
o Whatever is cost effective and looks decent

- 2.5ΓÇ¥ Suspension Lift
o http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/category/B ... System_2in
o http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/category ... suspension

- 2ΓÇ¥ Body Lift (Pros and cons to upping this to 3ΓÇ¥ or leaving this alone and increasing the suspension to 3.5ΓÇ¥?)
o http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/category ... -body-lift
o http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/category/Bronco_Body_Lifts

- Differential Lockers (ARB Air Lockers) http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/category/B ... ferentials
o Rear
o Front
 Dana XX, X.XX ratio?
 Air Compressor
ΓÇó http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/ARB ... p8607.html
 Manifold Kit
ΓÇó http://www.carid.com/arb/air-locker-man ... Hwodq68HRg

- Roll Cage (6-Point)
o http://www.broncobob.com/

- Lower Differential Gears?
o Dana XX?
o Ratio? Tire Size dependent…

- Spare Tire Carrier and Bumpers?
o http://www.broncobob.com/

- Switch to a 5-Speed?

[Broncobsession]

Good plans.

Changes I would make.

Up the suspension lift to 3.5 and lower body lift to the integrated WH 1" body lift kit.

Go with NV3550 5 speed. Gear at 5.13 for the 35's.

I have Arb front and Detroit rear. The Detroit is not as friendly on the street in my opinion but works well off road. Depends how much time you spend on vs off I guess.

I love protofab plate bumpers -- so much so I bought 2 sets.

Efi - prior owner put mustang efi stuff on mine and works great.

Thanks my 2 cents. Do whatever you want...it's yours!