I am contemplating buying my friends 1990 Bronco which has a brand new GT 40 motor complete with vortech supercharger.I have known him for many years,but he has a tendancy to think everything will always be okay because he has lots of money.what i dont want to buy is a headache of a bronco.Right now he has it in the shop getting the new electronic brain that he had made installed.As the story goes,the truck didnt run to its full potential because the ecm wasnt compensating for the supercharger.(no mass airflow sensor)i had driven in the truck after he first had it built.with 19lb injectors and 15lbs of boost, this thing smokes corvettes!Still though, he claims he dyno'ed it,and it only had 375hp.claims it should have 550hp at 30lbs of boost.after completely destroying two rear ring and pinions along with the whole carrier,he has upgraded to an all steel auburn carrier along with auburn gears in the rear.The front differential is the same gearing,but richmond gears.The truck is beautiful and he has over $25,000 into it.He generally spares no exspense when he does or wants something.my problem is that i need a funtional 4X4.I hunt and fish as well as drive to and from work on the highway.Superchargers are supposed to be fuel efficient,but i wonder if the drivetrain will hold up to even moderate abuse.Nothing has been done with the stock ford AOD tranny.that scares me.should i have him get the tranny beefed up?I dont think installing a c-6 will benefit me as it will rev too high on those long hunting trips.im thinking that if i have too much trouble, i'll just sell the supercharger off it and keep the GT 40 motor in it.Should have no trouble selling the Vortech to a Mustanger....lol
If anyone has ventured down this road and has firsthand experience with a bronco or f series that has some radical motor modifications to it, let me know.I can use all of the input in weighing my decision in the purchase of this truck.
Respectfully,
CanOwhpAS

 

Hey, we'd all love to play with a truck like that...but for trouble free off road use and just "turn the key and drive it" use around town you'd be much better off with a less radical rig. If you do buy it you should be better than your average shade tree mechanic to keep it running. As far as the C-6 tranny and gearing: I've put over 700 HP thru C-6's with no problem and have seen articles they will handle 900 HP with minor mods (they can handle much more than that but bring a fat wallet)the AOD or E4OD won't even come close. The gearing with a Supercharger or turbocharger does not have to be numerically high (3.73-4.56) they make a lot of torque at lower RPM and can run a 3.08,3.23 or 3.55 gear. If you do buy the truck you would save yourself a lot of headache by reducing the boost to 5-7 PSI, which most MFGs. consider "streetable" but you'll still need premium fuel. Keep us posted, Deen

 

Deen,
I'll let ya know how i make out after it comes out of the shop.He's going to let me have it for a week to see if i like it.I have a nice 20 mile run to work every day, so i'll put it through its paces on the highway.I'll keep you posted.
Respectfully,
CanOwhpAS