I have an '89 Bronco that was my fathers and it's now mine. I learned to drive in it, learned to four-wheel in it, slept in it when I was between apt's, learned to... Well can't say that one...

Anyway, it's been sitting since '97 and all my friends except one say junk it. It's never been hit, it's rust free, but it's going to need a fair amount of work to get it going again. I can do most of the work myself, I have a two car garage to work in, and the one friend that is behind me is a mechanic (with over 25 years exp.) and he's my cousin so he gives me real good rates... Considering the sentamental value, do you guys think I'm crazy for wanting to fix it up?

The main question that I have is about the drivetrain, and if I need to get spare parts. I was outside looking it over today and I was pulling the motor over by hand (breaker bar) with the plugs out and the belt off. There where a few spots where it would hang up. I was able to pull it through but it was harder then the rest of the time. Also it wasn't at the same spot every time. I wasn't counting real well but it was more then one revolution between hangups. Any ideas? Maybe a stuck lifter?

I have two options, Rebuild or swap. If I choose to swap, or if I just want to collect parts, what years and models should I look at. I'm thinking 87 - 91; Bronco and F150's Is this correct? The truck is a 5.0, could I get a 5.8 truck and swap it in? What about other later parts like the E4OD or mass air? The body's straight so I'm looking at just mechanical parts.

I'm want to modify the truck for power, I'm not going to lift it much (it has 32's and I want 33's, so I may just do a 1 - 1 1/2 inch lift. I don't want a tall truck). Should I look at other vehicles like Mustangs for performance parts? I'd like to have 250 - 300 hp at the crank.

What about crate motors? Also if I rebuild is there anything that anyone would recomend like a stroker crank, or a roller block?

Ohh, one last thing... I don't want to through ten's of thousands of dollars at this. I don't mind a couple grand though; so that rules out blowers and other high dollar parts. Also I want it to pass smog, so big blocks are out unless someone has a real good reason to try it.

Thanks in advance for any input.

P.S. You can see a picture of it in it's prime in my gallery.

 

couple things, what state do you live in? ie what are your emissions laws. I have an 89, came w/ 302 replaced w/ bumped up 351. Live in california. wish I kept the 302 and supercharged($1500-2k) it, would have gotten the performance I wanted w/ less $ and fewer headaches. Depending on how you get the 351 and what you do, ie convert to mass air and other stuff, your looking at some $.
Although I would do it again. Stomping on the gas and having you head hit the headrest is great.
hope that didn't discourage you, mainly just a warning. I only wanted to spend a couple grand, and I am suprised at how much I have actually spent.

 

I live in PA and the emmissions aren't that bad. If it passes the sniffer then it pretty much passes the visual if you find the right shop (I know of a few...) I had a beater $400 Jeep wagoneer that the smog pump and all the brackets were gone. They ran it, telling me that there was like a 2% chance it would pass. It sniffed clean and they passed it. Basically if it's not right in everyones face then it stands a good chance of passing. Then there's the waiver that says if you spend $x on repairs then you pass till next year. As far as I know if you keep spending the money they keep writing waivers year after year (Not 100% sure though)


I guess that when it comes to building the truck I don't want to get into a money pit that I'll never see the end of. I've seen people dump 20-30k into building a 20k vehicle then if they have to sell it their lucky to get 10k for it. The value of the truck with everything done back to factory new condition is about 10k, give or take a couple grand. Modifing the truck can be a hit or miss thing. I could add 5k to the value or I could take it away. But as they would say in the visa comercials; having the perfect truck for me - priceless...

I've already set in my mind that this is going to be a couple year build (Mostly because I don't have the time to devote to it). That makes the money thing easier to deal with and while I might not want to dump 10k into it now, I know that over time I might end up dumping 20k into and that's fine, but if I can do it for 5k then I be happier.

I would like to get parts vehicles and take what I need, sell what I don't and hopefuly keep cost at a reasonable level. I would like to know what years to look at, and what parts should I collect. I was talking to a friend and he said the borg warner t-case was junk and that I should get an NP205. What trucks should I look for to get an NP205?

As for the engine, I'm guessing that bigger is better, and rebuilding a 351 would cost about the same as a 302, I just need a core. A 460 would probably cost as much as a 351 (There goes that 460 idea again... ) What would be involved in putting a 351 (or 460) in? If I got an '89 doner would it be just swaping the motor and computer?

I'd go the supercharger route, but I'm going to need to rebuild the engine, so since I have to do it, I might as well build it the way I want from the start. I can always add the supercharger later.

 

you dont even need to swap the computer if you dont want to, it will run with a 5.0 comp,
sometimes sentimental reasons are good enough to keep a old truck whether it was in the family or a major part of your life, when my 79 got hit hard i weighed it out and decided to let it go even though the value was great sentimentally, it was something i fixed and it has great memories between me and my wife and i still ave that even though i dont have the truck, but i have anther friend who got his grandfathers truck after he died and it was so far gone it was basically a rotted out cab on a frame with rusted out remnants of what it was, he has paid more for storage than the truck will ever be worth, it has made him a idiot, so if doing it dont make you a idiot go for it...lol. sounds like a good truck though. and sometimes even the biggest pieces of junk are priceless to the owner,
a 351 swap should be easy enough though, and get a good quality cam and exhaust system. the truck as it sits sounds like a $800-$1000 truck and putting 2-3g's under the hood should bring it back to life, but if possible go with a crate or thoroughly involve someone who knows what they r doing, too much can go wrong if you arent careful and it is nice to have a warranty when it does

 

Sweet, that is what I hoped you would say.
I went the 5.8 route because it is a straight swap, about as simple as you can get. the 460 is a different story and I don't know so you'd have to do a search on it. If you go the 5.8 route, find a donor, get motor and wiring harness. If you want to keep it MAP get the computer also, 5.8 and 5.0 I beleive have different eprom for the different enfgine size. All of your 5.0L accessorys will bolt on (AC comp, Alternator, PS pump, etc). If you want to convert to MAF (required if changing 5.8 bore or cam) I highly recommend doing this, You can buy the converison kit from ford SVO for $650, or if you are really lucky you may find a california 95 or 96 f-150 or bronc that has a MAF sensor and wiring harness. I don't think you would want the computer out of the 95-96 because it is OBD-II, and I don't know if it will work w/ the 89 harness and sensors. Or you could find a mustang or t-bird 5.0L to get the computer, but your on your own for wiring it. The SVO kit comes with an injector overlay wiring harness for the MAF computer becasue it is a SFI (fires 1 injector at a time) vs. the MAP which is bank fire(fires 4 injectors at a time).
I am sure I forgot a whole bunch of what I had to do.
as for years of vehicles to grab parts, 87-96 for motor parts and 87-94 for computer stuff.
anyone, if I am blowing smoke correct me.