i was wondering why this forum wasn't split between the different body styles of the bronco? i don't know for sure what year they changed the body styles but it seems to me there would be two differents forums for them. a lot of things i start to read don't apply to both styles. just a thought.

 

The F Trucks are split up by years and are a good place to look also as the bronc is based off of them

 

It ain't too bad, most common problems seem to branch through all the years in one form or another. I kinda like reading bout other years anyways.

 

There are many more general technical similarities between all the years, than there are disparities.

 

I agree with Rich on this one. The body styles changed when the F-series changed. Other major changes weren't necessarily made in the same years as the body styling changes. Fule injection wandered into these rigs without the body style changing. The transmissions and T-cases weren't changed when the body changed so using the body styling as a distinguishing mark would split things up even more and be all the more confusing if you ask me.

 

78-79 Bronco is a completly differant animal, doesn't even have the same engine family, doesn't have the same front and rear ends, suspension. What applies to the 80 to 96 bronco won't apply to a 78 -79 bronco, and if it did than it would have to so general that it would apply to any truck. I personaly don't care if they spit the years up, I for one have an interest in both generations of bronco.

 

The frontends are different (but the front brakes are not)

The rearends are not different. The change over from the 9" to the 8.8" was not at the same time as a bodystyle change

Rear suspention is exactly the same, even the spring pad distance is the same.

Front suspention is pretty close. While the 78-79 has a solid axle, coil springs, radius arms and a track bar is pretty close to coil springs, radius arms
and axle pivots acting as a track bar.

tailgate shells are the same, rear windows are different
engines offered do have some overlap.

 

You forgot to say they both have 4 wheels! Front brakes are way differant from my 96 bronco and my 79 Bronco! Hell My 96 Bronco has more in comman with a fox body mustang than it does with my 79 bronco! And the 351M/400 was not an option after 79. Sure its an 8 cylinder has spark plugs, an oil filter an air filter and runs on gas but has nothing interchangable with the windsor family unless you want to mill the heads redo the water passages and make a boss type 302. But than again I can put chev valves into my 5.0/5.8 heads so perhaps I should say chevs are the same as a bronco, lets see chev had the blazer, 4 wheels, top removes, kinda looks like a bronco, a bad looking bronco but hell its simular.

tailgate shells are differant, the 78 - 79 has a completly differant design than the 80 -96, doesn't match the body style at all. They can be made to fit but you have to change hinges, and striking plate.

Anyway I love them both, but they are differant, they drive differant, they handle differant and they look differant.

 

the front brakes are different on a 79 and a 96
but not on a 79 and a 80 or 81-84

It might be the fact that here in the north that we see a lot of ford of canada rigs, maybe the 300 wasn't offered in the states in 78-79. I wasn't talking about the 351m I was talking about the 300. I owned a 78 with a 300, 4spd and they were offered in the later body style

tailgate sheels are indeed identical. same part # even

 

Same Part #?? Did you make that up? I'm looking at both of my bronco's and they are differant! Yes they can be made to work, but are differant. And the part numbers are differant.

Tailgate Shell, 83-96 Aftermarket
# 34501
New
1980-96 Bronco
Truck Ship
Price: $250.00

Tailgate Shell, 83-96 OEM
# 34503
New
1983-96 Bronco
Truck Ship
Price: $725.00


Bronco Tailgate Shell, Aftermarket
# 24500
New
1978-79 Bronco
Truck Ship
Price: $250.00

 

Not according to the literature anyway. But it did end up in Broncos and F-150's after that cutoff date.

There are specific features in different year Broncos that are sometimes only found in one year vehicle.

For example, try to find performance intakes and headers for an '86. They all say '87 up. Even Fords truck MAF conversion is '87 and up.

Wouldn't bother me one way or the other. But for specific problems in specific areas (engines, etc) there are forums dedicated for it.

 

that should have been same hollander #

 

Guys, guys, c'mon, the fact of the matter is that the simplest place to easily differentiate between one Bronco and the other is at the change from the original to the fullsize. The F-series went through the same changes that the full size Bronco did and truthfully, while the 78-79 and some early 80 models still had different front suspension and body styling, much of the rest of the components are the same. the arguements I have heard could be used just as effectively to COMBINE this forum with the early Bronco forum since, the 302 was available in the EB, the D44 was used up front, the 9" was used out back. Sure there were differences but why plit 'em up? Because the truth of the matter is that going from the small body/frame setup of the early model to the full size body/frame made the most significant changes in a SINGLE MODEL YEAR. A 1977 model Bronco has next to nothing in common with its 1978 younger brother considering that even though it had the D44 solid axle and the 9" rear, they were both much narrower. Otherwise the two models have the LEAST in common with each other as compared to ANY other model year Broncos. The differences between a 1978 and a 1996 are quite numerous however, the changes that took place over those 19 years were never significant enough in any one model year to make a completely separate forum to deliniate the two. Now, I imagine that if Ford reincarnates the Bronco nameplate in the next few years as it looks like they might, we will most likely see a new Forum sprout up for it since it will most likely be so radically different from its older brothers.

 

yep, grey is right... but of course, I guess we could have 1 forum for 78-79, then one for '80-84 with M engines and / or 9" rear, then another forum for '80-'84 with windsor engines and / or an 8.8" rear, then we could have a forum for 84-86 since they're all pretty close, then maybe a forum for 87-92 since the body style and interior is a little different from the '93-'96... and maybe a '93 only forum since it's a unique year for engine/interior/body combinations, but then again some '93 had '94 parts... oh, and since the topper on EB changed colors for '95, we'd have to have to differentiate those... but only EB. Oh, and wait we'd need each of these forums split up by the different trim levels and engines... oh, transmissions too...

or we could just keep going as we are. it works. why change it? If anything, put your rig's specs in your sig. that'll help everyone know what you're talking about. Or, they could just take 30 seconds to read the post and if it's not related to the issue they're looking for... they can just move on

-JD

'93 5.8 A4OD 8.8" TTB EB Cloth Interior 33x12.50 BFG ATs, broken leaf spring hanger, , broken brake line, new shocks still in box...

 

If they do reintrodruce the Bronco, it better be bad and freakin' awesome.