'Ello all.

I recently discovered an older Bronco pickup, and need some help on value.

For starters, it's had the fenders trimmed, and very poorly. It's sitting on some very bald Super Swamper TSL's, 33 or 35 inch I believe. The paint is in terrible to poor condition. It's been lifted a bit, enough to fit aforementioned tires.

That's all the info I have at the moment...I saw it from the road, then called the gentleman to inquire further.

Somewhere in it's life, the rear axle was changed, so the front and rear gears no longer match. He doesnt have the title, but may be able to get it from one of his family members.

I want this to clean up and build a neat little tral rig out of, not a show machine. I'm going to try to look it over closer on Thursday. His asking price is 1600. I'm thinking of offering 1400, and working up to 1500 or 1550. According to the gentlman, it does run.

I know this is a broad question, but does 1600 sound like a fair price? The half cab is still there...looks to be in good shape. Opinions? Things to look out for?

Thanks

 

Could use some more information on year, options, and drivetrain.

Things to check out. Typically rust, check the floorboards, door posts inner fenders, doors, rocker panels, tail gate, half cab bulkhead. It sounds like you will end up changing or rebuilding a lot of the drivetrain parts anyways. As long as everything is there, you should be ok.

Without knowing any more details, offer $1000 for it. And then see how willing they are to counter offer. Being that it doesn't have a title (or may be missing), that could end up being more of a hassle than it's worth.

Jason

 

Well, I drove by again today and noticed a little more. It does have chrome trim all way around, and some sort of rack looking thing on the rear...I'm thinking maybe a home built tire carrier, unless Ford offered them? The paint, actually, is in good to very nice condition...just a mud brown color.

It's the only early Bronco around here that I can find. I want to built a nice daily driver/ trail rig...not too hardcore into the off road stuff, but capable enough to have some fun.

I'm planning for either a rear 9 inch or Dana 60, and a front Dana 60 or 44. it will need to hold up to 35 or 37 inch tires and selectable lockers. If it has a V8 in it then I'll stick with it, and if not I'm lookig at either a 351 Windsor or a Chevy 454. Transmission wise, I'm thinking either an NV4500 or similar. I've not heard much about the Dana 20 case, so I'll probably keep it until it breaks, then go to either an NP205 or 208...or get a doubler and run both.

I'm trying to figure a way to easily run 75 mph on the interstate, yet still be geared low enough to do some moderate to difficult rock crawling/ general trail riding. I've been thinking about using low axle gears and some sort of overdrive between the transmission and case, or on the back of the case. Only problem I see here is driveshaft length having to be shortened, because I plan to rotate the rear axle spring pads to take out the driveshaft angle.

Opinions?

 

My 2 cents:
If it runs reasonably and body fair, it would be worth a minimum of a grand in parts alone.

1000-1500 would be fair if it ran and drove, but needs work.



With that much lift and tire, you will not be able to shorten the driveline.
Go for the High pinion style axles to reduce driveline angles.

My 67 has 5" lift and the drive line angle is nearing a point that I'm concerned about it binding, even with the double cardan joint.
I'll be looking into high pinion axles to solve it, in the future.

 

Trying to get a larger picture.
Sorry for turning your post into a test.

 

Thanks man, that helped a lot. I think high- pinions ought to be better than an attempted rotation anyway, if for no other reason that increased ground clearance.


Thanks!

 

Wow, I never would have thought you could get away with running the driveshaft like that. I bought a 75 for $1400 just for parts. It ran but was not in good shape. The dana 44 from the 75, that I put in my 71 kept me from giving up on Bronco's. The dana 30 I had would not track well at speed. Never did figure that one out.

 

Replies within:
>>[B]and some sort of rack looking thing on the rear...I'm >>thinking maybe a home built tire carrier, unless Ford offered >>them?

There was an optional tire rack available. It mounted on the RH corner with 2 cast steel brackets and a round tubular tire hanger.

>>I want to built a nice daily driver/ trail rig...not too hardcore >>into the off road stuff, but capable enough to have some fun.
>>I'm planning for either a rear 9 inch or Dana 60, and a front >>Dana 60 or 44. it will need to hold up to 35 or 37 inch tires and >>selectable lockers.

For most wheeling, the factory 9" and a Dana 44 will work just fine. It will be plenty capable keeping the tire size limit where you want it. It sounds to me from what you say you're wanting to do with your Bronco is Dana 60's would be overkill for the time, expense and extra "headaches" to make them work. When you install the lockers, upgrade to the stronger 31 spline alloy rear axles, and the F150 U joint front axles. This should be more than sufficient for most four wheeling.

>>If it has a V8 in it then I'll stick with it, and if not I'm lookig at >>either a 351 Windsor or a Chevy 454.

Pick the Windsor. It's almost a direct swap and it has the potential to match even a well built big Chevy for power. They don't lend well to a heavy engine on the front end. It can have a negative effect in its trail ability.

>>Transmission wise, I'm thinking either an NV4500 or similar. >>I've not heard much about the Dana 20 case, so I'll probably >>keep it until it breaks, then go to either an NP205 or 208...or >>get a doubler and run both. I'm trying to figure a way to easily >>run 75 mph on the interstate, yet still be geared low enough >>to do some moderate to difficult rock crawling/ general trail >>riding. I've been thinking about using low axle gears and some >>sort of overdrive between the transmission and case, or on >>the back of the case. Only problem I see here is driveshaft >>length having to be shortened, because I plan to rotate the >>rear axle spring pads to take out the driveshaft angle.

If you go with the 4500 (or a Ford ZF 5 speed), your worries about cruising at highway speeds are over. Most guys that I have talked to with OD trannys, and 35's- 37's run 4.88-5.38 ring and pinions. This gives an excellent low range and allows a decent cruise RPM. Although IMO, 75 mph in a lifted, soft suspension Bronco on 37's is an... experience. I run 4.56's with 35's with a NP 435 in mine. The cruise RPM at 60 mph is 2600.
The Dana 20 is a very stout unit. The weak link would have to be the rear output shaft, which is upgradeable. It also has a 2.46 or 2.34 low range, depending on the year, which is much better than the 205. The 205 will fit, but it is very tight. If you must have double gear reduction, there are several options to mate another low range unit to the Dana 20. This is my next big project A 203 to a 20 to a Atlas 4.3.

It sounds like you're wanting a project. So as long as everything is there, it may be a good deal. Even if you want to swap some of the parts, they can make good trade material to fund your buildup.

Jason

 

The standard these days on a 5.5" Bronco lift is a tapered shim to tilt the pinion up slightly. Judging by your picture, that doesn't look too bad on the CV end. I'd be curious to see the rear yoke and pinion angle I am running a extended driveline on mine with 3.5" (more like 5.5") lift springs. The angle at the CV looks comparable to yours. I haven't had any problems with U joints or vibration with it.

Jason

 

Glad to hear you're not having problems with the angle. Mine is not driving yet, but I was concerned with axle droop/flex on the trail pulling the angle out further. Neither joint angle is terribly bad, but it'll probably need greasing every 500 miles or so. It's well beyond (assumed) engineered specs for driveline rotation.

My springs had a built in shim to rotate pinion up, but I had to add a little extra grease to make sure the pinion is never running dry.

Parts for some of this stuff is so scarce or expensive it sometime makes sense to upgrade to new stuff.

 

I'll take a couple of pictures of my driveline angles this weekend to post for comparison.

Jason

 

Another picture of rear driveline:



Picture of front adjustable radius arm brackets:

 

Here's a couple of pictures of my driveline angles:

rear driveline angle at transfer case

rear driveline angle at differential

And a action photo. I don't have any recent pictures of it. I transferred this from my camcorder to my digital camera to my computer, so it is a little fuzzy:

Lake Creek 2002

Jason