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I am currently in the middle of a 72' highboy frame off restoration, and while the body and frame are off at paint and powder coat, I thought why not buy a cheap Bronco to do a little work on. It is in pretty rough shape. Appears to have a 4" body lift and decent tires. Seller said engine had been rebuilt a while back by someone else and was not sure of how long ago. He said that it was a 302, but VIN shows the original would have been a 351w...Need to do a little research and determine what it is. Trans is a C6 and it is 4wd, although rear axles are missing lockers. There are numerous areas of the floors that need patched. Luckily, whoever lined the interior previously didn't do much prep work so it chips off easily. I cleaned up what I could to evaluate the worst areas. I am going to teach myself to MIG weld and patch what I can. Will likely buy the following:
1. Has anyone ever used the rear quarter panels from the 87' and up? Not sure why they don't make them for 80'-86'...
2. Anyone have experience prepping and painting the fiberglass roof?
3. Not sure if anyone can definitively tell me if they think it's a 302 of 351w based on pics? I'm more familiar with the FE's...
Since I don't want to get too carried away on cost, I will likely leave the cab on and coat the frame and the entire underside and interior floor with POR-15 once I have prepped it. Interior will get carpet after. Im thinking that I will likely go with a single stage paint. Need to outsource this and can't afford to spend $15k on paint job like the highboy currently. Below are some pics showing current condition and a few additional questions. Thanks for any input!
Had this towed up to me on Friday Seats are in decent condition, but the trim for the top is cracked and I'm reading that no one makes reproduction trim... VIN 302 or 351w...? Initial gut to evaluate extent of rust Tailgate was green at some point and doors were blue... What are these thin sheet metal panels? Thought they were just someone putting some sacrificial metal in for keeping mud off the underside of the floors, but some of them look formed... After removal of the rotted sheet metal Rotted sheet metal Transfer case. Underside is in decent shape Not sure what this sheet metal was for or if it was original...? Progress today Worst couple of areas Worst area by far.
Not exactly sure, but that sure looks like a 351W with that rib next to the distributor hold down bolt
Research that rib, because that is the difference maybe
1. Has anyone ever used the rear quarter panels from the 87' and up? Not sure why they don't make them for 80'-86'...
What are these thin sheet metal panels? Thought they were just someone putting some sacrificial metal in for keeping mud off the underside of the floors, but some of them look formed...
The shape of the panel is different as well as the opening of the wheel arch.
It looks like that is the passenger side so those panels should be an exhaust heat shield.
The shape of the panel is different as well as the opening of the wheel arch.
It looks like that is the passenger side so those panels should be an exhaust heat shield.
yeah I’m likely going to go with those patch panels from Bronco graveyard. They are only 3.5 hours from me so I will order everything once I figure out what needs replaced. Thanks.
Look at that rusty bucket! I get excited for more than I bargained for scenarios cause I'm in the Rust Belt of the world. You have 351 my friend. I have both blocks and the rib identifies as it is most definitely the bigger of the two. Lastly.. Fiberglass tops are easy to paint.. mess up.. scratch it off.. repeat.. fiberglass filler is your best friend as well. The only downside is fish eyes in the paint as it cures. A 40 year old top has been exposed to the elements all its life, so its natural to see blemishes like that arise. Say a small prayer, sacrifice a small goat, and hope someone wasn't washing it with dish soap ever week since its birth while your pouring fish eye remover in your paint.. and it'll be alright.
I do NOT think is all that rusty for a 42 year old truck
Those rust away heat shields saved some of the body from rusting away
I would rid yourself of the 208 case and run a 1356 if you can, it'll drive better
So I got around to getting the tailgate and grille off to get a better idea on overall rust areas. Likely going to clean up the frame without taking the body off and coat with POR15 (although I have a hard time only going halfway, and would much prefer to take the time to sandblast and powder coat. In the meantime, because the brakes were locked up, I decided to rebuild the drum brakes in the rear, and replace the parking brake cables throughout. The wheel cylinders were toast and the parking brakes were locked up. I'm about halfway through this process, and will evaluate the front disc brakes after these are complete.
Making slow progress...Spent a little time taking the hood, core support and some other components off in prep for pulling the engine next weekend. The core supports are always the biggest pain in the *** (my 72' highboy was rusted and locked up on the mounting hardware the same way). Hoping to pull the fenders and take the exhaust manifolds off this week and then pull the engine this weekend if all goes as planned. This project is going to be a 2 year marathon and not a sprint.
Finally got the transfer case separated from the transmission and was able to pull the engine and trans tonight. Hoping to get the engine on the stand tomorrow and get my tools all back in order so that I can start tearing down the engine next week. The torque converter is still bright blue, other than that, this thing needs a bunch of cleaning up!
Seats are in decent condition, but the trim for the top is cracked and I'm reading that no one makes reproduction trim...
I think someone does. They reproduce the hockey stick parts at least. I've seen them on Facebook, I thought they were molding them in smaller batches. It might have been for 2nd gens and not third, but I'm not sure how different the trim is. They aren't cheap though, that's for sure.
Ope, I just stopped to look for a link before I posted and it looks like it is 2nd gen trim that is reproduced. https://www.freewheelinbroncos.com/p...ord-bronco-top For a 3rd gen, it looks like you can find sets of trim on the normal places for Bronco ads or Ebay.
I think someone does. They reproduce the hockey stick parts at least. I've seen them on Facebook, I thought they were molding them in smaller batches. It might have been for 2nd gens and not third, but I'm not sure how different the trim is. They aren't cheap though, that's for sure.
Ope, I just stopped to look for a link before I posted and it looks like it is 2nd gen trim that is reproduced. https://www.freewheelinbroncos.com/p...ord-bronco-top For a 3rd gen, it looks like you can find sets of trim on the normal places for Bronco ads or Ebay.
so you are saying I should have done a lot more research and waited to find a 78-79’…I couldn’t agree more after finding out about the rear quarters they don’t make anymore haha.
Might need a new front pump in that transmission because you pulled the engine with the torque converter still bolted up to the engine
You want to separate them with the torque converter in the transmission to avoid front pump damage
Might need a new front pump in that transmission because you pulled the engine with the torque converter still bolted up to the engine
You want to separate them with the torque converter in the transmission to avoid front pump damage
ok, so I pulled the trans with the engine. Then separated the trans. How else would or should I have done it? The torque converter is bolted to the flywheel and I’m not sure of another way to get it off the engine without first pulling the transmission off??
You would pull the torque converter nuts, so the trans separates from the engine leaving the torque converter in place
That way you do not risc damage to the pump
There is another cardinal rule about going back together,
The torque converter must "rattle"
That means the converter is loose in the bolt holes and rattles back and forth before you tighten the nuts
Note
I used to be a trans R&R guy back when the AOID was brand new
Got a ton of hard knocks experience real quick on those early AODs
