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I'm thinking about buying a '78 or '79 Bronco for intermittent daily driving and occasional 'wheeling. I found one on Craigslist and drove down and took a look at her this afternoon. Custom trim level, 351M, C4 (i think), factory axles, 35s and 6" lift.
The pluses: Very straight and solid body; only a few small rust bubbles on the tailgate and a dent on the bottom corner of the driver's rear fender, but then I'm not really that concerned with the body. Seats are in good shape as is the dash. Engine runs and sounds strong and has a Holley carb and Edlebrock intake. Brand new 35" Maxxis tires. All the ujoints, splines, and TREs felt good and tight.
I got a transmission for my 89 Bronco for $1121.18, labor and all.
With that being said, I would buy it. Sounds like it is set up for what you are wanting to use it for. Good luck and enjoy your new toy!
If you can do the trans work yourself it's worth it.
If your going to bring it in to get it done keep looking.
Your in Atlanta no rust should be easy to find.
Up here in Minn the truck would be worth it just for the body.
Thanks for the input guys. I'm not going to make a decision until I talk with my dad, but I'm really leaning towards getting it. I shouldn't have any problems doing the brakes and swapping out the c6 with one from a salvage yard for a few hundred until I rebuild the one in there now.
You can buy a rebuilt C6 tranny for about $400 which isn't bad at all. If you were to buy a stock bronco and do all the work your self, you'd be way over the $2,000 buying cost.
I'd say it's worth it, and I have a 79 Bronco that I did everything to it from stock, and it cost....
IF the truck has been regeared, I'd jump all over it, b/c thats an extra $1,000 right there.
I'm pretty sure it has roughly 3.55 gears. 4.10s and lockers are definitely in the plans.
What I'm looking at right now is fixing the trans and brakes and whatever else I need to get it road worthy, then drive it around a bit to massage out any gremlins while saving up for a real lift (the 6" on it now consists of 3" suspension w/ blocks and 3" body). This a decent kit?
Say I do decide to bring this Bronco home. Could I mount a tow bar to it and just pull it behind my truck? I can get a trailer, but its a little overkill (~2000lbs lowboy) and a hundred miles away. I'd spend less on a tow bar than I would on gas, but will it be safe? Maybe if I avoid the Interstate?
Sure, if the alignment is good enough and you make certain the tranny and T-case are in neutral and/or the front hubs are unlocked... ya know the typical stuff you would need to do to any 4x4 you want to flat-tow.
I used a towbar on a falcon from Denver to Mpls.
Over 900 miles and no problems just checked it alot and retightned things once and a while.
100 miles should be no problem.
You should be fine with getting a tow bar. I bought one for my Bronco, but have been to lazy to put it on.
From what I understand, the best way to flat tow is to put the tranfer case in neutral with the transmission in park(if it's a standard, then in gear).
Like you said, when you get enough money, then you might want to get rid of that body lift, and rear blocks. You don't have to spend a fortune on rear springs. You could keep yours, put a 3" add a leaf, and a rear shackle flip(lifts 3"), and you'd have a 6" lift for the rear.
i have an older 67 bronco that I flat tow all the time, mostly shorter trips of just a few miles, but never had any problems. Since the older broncos don't have a steering wheel lock, I just tie the steering wheel solid and place everything in neutral and have never had any problems. If it is a long way to tow, I might consider dropping the rear driveline. It is very easy to do and with the front hubs unlocked, prevents any strain on the transfercase/ transmission at all.
It sounds like a good deal to me. I have a 79F250 that I am rebuilding and I bought a very detailed C6 rebuild book on ebay for less than $20.
FORD C6 ATSG Transmission Service Repair Rebuild Manual
Man, you guys rock!
That'll come in handy. After I get her driving and the suspension squared away, I'll either rebuild the old trans at some point or swap it over to a 4spd.
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