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1985 Bronco Build Thread
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
I wish I had talked to you sooner. The 86 parts bronco had good seats and the tailgate panel. But I think the guy scrapped it a little while after I took my parts off it. I haven't done the 3G swap yet. I haven't really read up in that, but my alternator seems fine. Right now I'm looking at a high torque starter, because my 460 cranks over really slow.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
It's alive!
I got it out of storage today. Charged the battery, choked it, and it fired right up! I drove it around a little bit, and took a few pictures. I'm on spring break right now, so here is my to-do list for this week.
Paint back of new bumper with POR 15 and install it
Check U-Joints
Fix the dipstick
Replace steering wheel and fix column
Fix driver's side door lock
Replace driver's side door bushings
Have seal between transfer case and transmission replaced
Drive it!
Paint back of new bumper with POR 15 and install it
Check U-Joints
Fix the dipstick
Replace steering wheel and fix column
Fix driver's side door lock
Replace driver's side door bushings
Have seal between transfer case and transmission replaced
Drive it!
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Didn't get as much done as I wanted to this week, but I still did a few things.
Pulled the dash bezel off, washed it, glued the warning light things on, and painted on the silver trim. Be careful when you do this, it's hard to get off, and you need to remove the headlight switch ****. I pulled it out, and didn't realize that the headlights were on, and succeeded in killing the battery.
The backside of the bumper I bought had a little rust, so I painted that with POR 15. It is SO nice working stuff that's been in storage since 1988, all the nuts holding on the bumper brackets came off like butter. I also sandblasted them, and my ash tray. The ash tray got painted silver, and the brackets are in primer right now. My dad will be bringing it to the tranny shop next week to have the seal replaced. Then it will go to my cousin, who fixes steering columns, and he will put on my new steering wheel, fix the gear selector, the drivers door lock, and the hazard light switch.
Pulled the dash bezel off, washed it, glued the warning light things on, and painted on the silver trim. Be careful when you do this, it's hard to get off, and you need to remove the headlight switch ****. I pulled it out, and didn't realize that the headlights were on, and succeeded in killing the battery.
The backside of the bumper I bought had a little rust, so I painted that with POR 15. It is SO nice working stuff that's been in storage since 1988, all the nuts holding on the bumper brackets came off like butter. I also sandblasted them, and my ash tray. The ash tray got painted silver, and the brackets are in primer right now. My dad will be bringing it to the tranny shop next week to have the seal replaced. Then it will go to my cousin, who fixes steering columns, and he will put on my new steering wheel, fix the gear selector, the drivers door lock, and the hazard light switch.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
I got the quarter panels, and I also pulled some parts from the 1985 Parts "Onco." I got XLT rear panels, a tailgate trim panel, Overdrive emblem, original 1985 brochures, and a cool warranty card. The guy told me that he had over 80 vehicles on the property at one point, and he had sold the land, and had about 20 left. This 1980 Bronco was next to it, because of the stripes, I think it had the Free Wheeling Package. Can anyone confirm this? He also had an interesting 1979 SuperCab with an 80s bed on it.
The 1985 parts bronco
The 1980 Free Wheeling (?) Bronco
And the supercab.
The 1985 parts bronco
The 1980 Free Wheeling (?) Bronco
And the supercab.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Bad news from the tranny shop. I was having trouble engaging the 4x4, and had them look at the transfer case while they were replacing the seal. Apparently the transfer case didn't have any fluid in it, and now it is ruined. A reman one is $850, so I will checking the junkyards and craigslist for one. I will have it inspected, clean it, and paint it when I find one.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 352
Likes: 2
From: Lucknow, ON
Man you scored huge on those quarters, and the bumper too! Those smoothie bumpers are hard to find where I am. Mines got a kink in the end from an old accident, it's not that noticable but I sure wish I could find a nice one like that 
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Thanks man! I've been looking on craigslist for over 6 months trying to track parts down. The bumper has a few small scratches, so I may have it re-chromed, but it is far nicer than my old one.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Had a busy weekend. Yesterday I washed it, then went to a lifted truck show and met up with twofifty. Then I went to a mud bog (didn't go in the mud), and as I was leaving, the truck wouldn't start, the battery was almost dead. I jump started it, and drove it home. Haven't tested anything yet, but the battery was in the truck when I bought it, and there is no date on it, so I'm hoping it's just a bad battery. I also replaced the wheel cylinder on the right rear today. It will be going to the tranny shop this tomorrow, and I'm having the new transfer case put in. My college car club is having a show next weekend, so hopefully I will have everything back together and working properly by then. Here is the only pic I got of it this weekend.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
I've done a few things to it in the past month. I finally got the new transfer case in, but it still leaks, so it will be going back to the tranny shop, and they will fix it.
Old NP 208:
New NP 208:
Pulled the guard off, and scraped off 30 years of crud. I also removed a muffler hanger that wasn't attached to anything.
Replaced the drivers door pins for the third time, and finally realized that I had been putting one bushing in wrong before.
I also removed the transfer case shifter boot trim ring and painted it.
Before:
Sanded and Primed:
And painted:
And finally, the Bronco hit 145,000 Miles!!
I still need to replace the battery, bring it back to the shop, and do the other drum brake. Hopefully I will get it all done soon.
Old NP 208:
New NP 208:
Pulled the guard off, and scraped off 30 years of crud. I also removed a muffler hanger that wasn't attached to anything.
Replaced the drivers door pins for the third time, and finally realized that I had been putting one bushing in wrong before.
I also removed the transfer case shifter boot trim ring and painted it.
Before:
Sanded and Primed:
And painted:
And finally, the Bronco hit 145,000 Miles!!
I still need to replace the battery, bring it back to the shop, and do the other drum brake. Hopefully I will get it all done soon.
Freshman User
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: Aurora
I really enjoy reading about your progress! There aren't a lot of responses in here, but people ARE reading this and smiling. So your efforts at documenting the work done on your car isn't going unnoticed.
I'm glad to see you took it to a car show, along with your '49. It's nice to see younger people who are willing to work on their cars (beyond bolting on those big chrome mufflers and wings) and proud of what they've got! There's always many cars at those events that are much nicer than yours, but you can be just as proud as anyone! And someday, you may have the Bronco finished to the highest level.
I know what it's like to fix up a car when you're on a tight budget, and you're doing a really great job with the Bronco! Keep it up & don't get frustrated!
I'm glad to see you took it to a car show, along with your '49. It's nice to see younger people who are willing to work on their cars (beyond bolting on those big chrome mufflers and wings) and proud of what they've got! There's always many cars at those events that are much nicer than yours, but you can be just as proud as anyone! And someday, you may have the Bronco finished to the highest level.
I know what it's like to fix up a car when you're on a tight budget, and you're doing a really great job with the Bronco! Keep it up & don't get frustrated!
Thread Starter
|
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
I really enjoy reading about your progress! There aren't a lot of responses in here, but people ARE reading this and smiling. So your efforts at documenting the work done on your car isn't going unnoticed.
I'm glad to see you took it to a car show, along with your '49. It's nice to see younger people who are willing to work on their cars (beyond bolting on those big chrome mufflers and wings) and proud of what they've got! There's always many cars at those events that are much nicer than yours, but you can be just as proud as anyone! And someday, you may have the Bronco finished to the highest level.
I know what it's like to fix up a car when you're on a tight budget, and you're doing a really great job with the Bronco! Keep it up & don't get frustrated!
I'm glad to see you took it to a car show, along with your '49. It's nice to see younger people who are willing to work on their cars (beyond bolting on those big chrome mufflers and wings) and proud of what they've got! There's always many cars at those events that are much nicer than yours, but you can be just as proud as anyone! And someday, you may have the Bronco finished to the highest level.
I know what it's like to fix up a car when you're on a tight budget, and you're doing a really great job with the Bronco! Keep it up & don't get frustrated!
I got the new battery in the other day. The old one was 2005! I'm amazed that it lasted this long. I bought the exact same one, put it in, and haven't had any charging problems since. It was a Fleet Farm brand one in case anyone was wondering, hopefully this one will last 10 years too.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,210
Likes: 7
From: Minnesota
Well, the bronco is home. The last time I drove it, it was idling rough, and had trouble starting. The new transfer case was leaking from a seal, so I brought it back to the shop, and they fixed it. They also had trouble starting it. When I went to pick it up it would not start. It had no spark. We started doing some testing, and the shop said they would tinker with it when they had free time. After a week they figured it out. To get it started, someone has to wiggle the wires coming off the distributor while another person is cranking it. I got it home, and I will be ordering a new distributor and clean the carb. I also got the LEDs I ordered for my gauge cluster, and will put them in after I get it running.