So I figured I'd start a thread to tell of my progress of my friend.
In the beginning he was just going to be temporary transportation I had a Bronco that needed attention. So I was just going to do a quick fix then pull the Bronco off the road and go through it. That horse had been my ride 7 years or so and been in two recent accidents along with typical Bronco cancer and some maintenance was overdue.
I bought him March '07 and he was in dire need of rescuing. He is a '92 F150 Custom and his only options are 4wd and sliding rear glass. Truly a bare bones truck, almost surprising that he wasn't painted white.




He didn't run right (only ran w/ the MAP disconnected) and had some frame rot (the bumper was hanging on by one side only) but he had 4wd and the price was right $500. He had high mileage (220k) but I wasn't afraid, his heart is the old 300 which can go much further.
So I got him back to the shop and attempted to pull the codes, only to find the his brain was toast. $125 later he was running like a top!
He had no radio or speakers and tires with a fair amount of dry rot. After a call to Crutchfield, radio was on order and I found a set of used 31" x 10.50 Goodyear's on Craigslist for $225 that were like new. I had some stainless tube steps ($150) and American Racing wheels ($260) I scored off Ebay in my basement for the Bronco but ended up going on him.


His vinyl bench Had to go, so I found a cloth bench w/ the fold down arm rest out of a '95 xlt at a local boneyard for $60.


And that was how I had intended to leave him even though the rear bumper bounced as I drove down the road. Only to find out after filling him with a nice meal he had a half tank by morning, he had severe stomach cancer. So I decided to pull the bed off to fix the frame rot and replace his fuel tank at the same time.

 

I pulled the bed at home and made some homemade mudflaps and drove it to work to fix it there.


After pulling the bed I found the rust to be more severe than I thought so I had a boneyard we deal with back half a good truck so I could section the frame rail. I also swapped two of the crossmembers w/ the frame I got. I initially thought the frame was just bad at the rear hanger and it was only after I was finishing the section that I found the front hanger area was just as bad. So there are three weld seams, the shiny diagonal was going to be the only one. I didn't have enough frame section left to do diagonals for the other two so I took the opposite side and cut the top and bottom off of the C channel and nested it into the sectioned frame for additional strength and bolted it together with grade 8 9/16" bolts


I had a new fuel tank for the Bronco already, so I decided to use that instead of buying a new one. Since this is a single tank truck this also adds 14 extra gal. at the same time.

 

Looking at the pics I just posted reminded me of the new shock mounts one of the old ones had rusted right off. Mounting the Bronco tank was a task and here is the link that helped me and I added to: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-tank-mod.html


Got him buttoned back up for the ride home, this was about June now. I think at this point my plans had changed. I was having fun fixing him up and knew he was going to stick around for more than just temporary wheels. That and I had missed driving a pickup, a Bronco is a great truck but I missed being able to throw anything in the bed dirty or greasy, big or small w/o worrying about the carpet or having to leave the glass down. So I splurged and bought a Pierce dump kit because... just because I had always wanted to that and I figured it would help doing dump runs Unfortunately I didn't take any pic of that install


This is now almost March '08 and that pic also shows some new used sheetmetal I got from a fellow FTE'er in PA. I bought a whole lot of parts from him including rust free fenders, core support, doors, cross tool box, another set of rims, and misc parts(i think that was September '07 or so I forget). I also didn't think to take pics of the nose apart either. It can be too easy to get caught up in the project and forget the during pics. Picked up a good tailgate



And got the good doors on


About here is when I traded the Bronco in on a mint condition '96 F250 XLT SC with the 7.3 my new "good vehicle" while my buddy here was still going to be my dump running daily driver.

 

I'm liking the blue/white.

 

So that summer I hauled a couple of loads of mulch to my sisters house. Her yard has a hill that after dumping the mulch I needed 4wd to get up the grassy yard w/o making a mess and found out that the universals were pretty much shot. Now in August '08 while replacing them I ended pulling the front axle out so I could also re-gear (3.73's for the stock 3.08's) in preparation for a planned plow.


Old stuff out


Had a bad radius arm



The re-assembly, and having fun powdercoating parts





All new parts installed including Warn premium hubs and new super cab coil springs for a little lift (3/4") to help support the plow.

Back on the road after a long winter, the rebuild took longer than expected due to a new job now May '09

 

nice

 

Now I can commute in this and keep mileage off the F250. Having a 32 mile commute racks up miles quick, April '10


Installed a 3G 200 amp alternator (after powder coating the case )


Bought a used 8.8 so I could rebuild mine and re-gear so I can have 4wd again. This axle has the 3.55s so in the meantime the truck will have a little more pep. May '10


As I put in the spare I gave it a quick paint job (spray paint is cheap)


A bit of fun here I build my own air cleaner, Sept '10


The guy I got the spare axle from also had a hitch so I painted that up and bolted it on and was bored one day and painted the tailgate to match the truck


Started the disassembly of the axle


Intrigued by this turbo thread (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/2...y-300-six.html) I had been following, I bought this for a future project


It's been 30k miles time for new cap, rotor, wires, and coil. July '11

 

Now it's Sept '11 and after last winter with record snow falls and only having 2wd (because of the axle mis-match), I'm not doing that again this year. My job also changed locations and my commute got longer so I sold my '96 F250 (didn't drive it much anyways) and I bought a '00 Focus, 30mpg Oh yea! So since I don't need to commute in my buddy I sent the axle out to be finished. I now finally have the axle ready to go back under the truck. It also has 3.73's like the front but it also has an Auburn Posi and I had the axle tubes welded to the center for strength and 35 spline axles




Now he's ready for snow! and we didn't get practically any, figures

That brings us almost current, still intent on installing this turbo I've started that. I had the emissions updated so now that I'm good till 2014 I've removed the exhaust and air pump.


I also pulled the single core radiator and moved the battery to under the bed for room for the air cleaner




Funny the timing of things sometimes, found some decent captain seats, like what was in my F250, so they are now also part of this springs project

 

Thanks, that is the plan. Paint the bed to match after I fix the rust, but that may be awhile I want to finish the mechanicals before I seriously work on the body.

 

Thanks!

 

Nice write up! Lots of info, keep it up!

 

Also, subscribed....

 

Thanks, but I sure I've forgotten some things. Like for instance I installed a tilt column and a leather steering wheel shortly after getting it on the road in '07.

 

Looking forward to seeing the truck come together, Justin.

 

maybe i missed it if you said already, but are you doing the turbo manifold out of stainless or mild?

i want to make a custom header for my race machine but stainless is looking like way too much money in parts, and i would have to get different gas and wire for the welder.