New member, in the hunt!

[RADO]

Hello from Thornton! I've been lurking for the last couple months and hoping to be a future Bronco owner. I recently sold my weekend toy, which was a moderately built Vehicross. Over 7 years of ownership, the VX became a project where I learned all about suspension design, steering, axle gearing, welding, fiberglass, vinyl wrap, and so on. In the end, the VX was on 37" tires, dana 44 radius arm front with ORI struts, rear triangulated 3-link, selectable lockers and a whole lot of other custom work including a rock bumper and tire carrier. The real challenge was getting the VX to cruise at 80MPH on the highway again, which it eventually was able to do. After all this work, I had a kid and finally realized I wanted something bigger to use with the family.

I'm hoping to take everything I learned working on the VX, and apply it to a classic Bronco. I've wanted one for YEARS, and now I have the opportunity to finally buy one. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled and have activated all of my craigslist searches. Of course, I would appreciate help in my search if anyone happens to find a deal.

My budget is a bit restrictive at $15k or less. I'm considering going cheap and getting a rebuild project, but would prefer a Bronco with some previous love that just needs further improvement.


Anyways, thanks for letting me join the forum! Hopefully I'll be an actual Bronco owner sooner than later...

[Rox Crusher]

Hello and welcome to the best affliction around.

Are you wanting to get a Bronco that will be as functional / capable as your VX was built ?

[RADO]

Thanks!

I would want to build a Bronco for more dual purpose than the VX. The big challenge on the VX was the SAS and steering, but a Bronco will already have the solid front axle. I'd probably be happy keeping the stock suspension setup instead of going for a super flexy linked set-up. If I'm not mistaken, the later year Broncos came with stronger axles (9"/D44)... that would be a real benefit to start out with. Right now, I envision 35" tires, select-able lockers, full roll bar, and basic recovery equipment (like air & a winch). A set-up like this would keep me happy for a while and I'm sure I'd find additional things i'd want to modify.

[Jesus_man]

First, I would love to see a pic of your VX!

Second, with the proper setup, you are on the right track to a rig that can handle some solid trails as well as the highway.

[Justin]

I think I saw your Vehicross up on Craigslist. Looked like a fun and unique rig. You can build a great dual purpose ride. I'm on long travel suspension, full widths, and 37's and drive my Bronco all over town. It's not very civilized, but I've had it up to about 85 without incident. It runs out of torque and gears to do that for any length of time. Your plan sounds like a good one overall, especially since you can wheel any trail in the front range with the setup you're describing.

[RADO]

Yep, I found the trails around here get to a point where you can enjoy most of them with a moderately built rig... or you're running carnage or independence and getting body damage. I never wanted body damage on the VX, so I avoided the really challenging trails (and it may have not been built enough anyways). I stopped driving the VX as much around town because the tires were $450 each and my insurance was highly undervalued for all the work I put into it. In addition, taking my 1.5 year old daughter with me was such a hassle, I didn't enjoy owning it as much as I once did. It was time to shake things up a bit. I want to enjoy driving this future Bronco and make it a decent family trail rig. Anyways, just need to find a good Bronco now so I can stop day dreaming and start wrenching!

I had the VX on CL for a couple months. I did a pretty good job with keywords, so it came up in a lot of searches and I'm sure you came across it Justin. The new owner picked it up last week...

[RADO]

Unfortunately, I missed dirtheadz 75' sale by about a month. Bummer.

I'm not seeing all that much right now in my price range... just a couple fixer uppers.

[Jesus_man]

Your old VX looked like a neat rig. Appears you took it about as far as you could! Rear tires rub? Doesn't look like you got that much flex out of the rear. Uniqueness is what got me into an EB! Everyone has a jeep. I wanted to be different.

[landshark]

Keep looking especially on classic broncos.com. There was one on there yesterday or the day before in the classified section but no pics that might be close to what you want to start with. I saw your ad on CL as well nice rig.

[Justin]

How did you like those ORis? I kicked around going that route, but they don't turn up cheap on Craigslist.

[RADO]

Your old VX looked like a neat rig. Appears you took it about as far as you could! Rear tires rub? Doesn't look like you got that much flex out of the rear. Uniqueness is what got me into an EB! Everyone has a jeep. I wanted to be different.

I lost a little bit of up travel with the 37s due to rubbing. 3" up & 8" down which still allowed for pretty good flex in most situations.

Honestly, a Jeep Wrangler (like LJ or JKU) would probably be the best choice for me to get into a family friendly wheeler. I agree with you though, everyone has one which is a big turn off for me... and Broncos are much, much cooler!

Keep looking especially on classic broncos.com. There was one on there yesterday or the day before in the classified section but no pics that might be close to what you want to start with. I saw your ad on CL as well nice rig.

Awesome, thanks! I'll check it out.

How did you like those ORis? I kicked around going that route, but they don't turn up cheap on Craigslist.

They're worth the coin. I was planning to install them at all four corners when I had some extra money to throw at the VX. I didn't need to run a sway bar up front because the ORIs were stable, but surprisngly still flexed nicely. No bump stops needed either which can save some money if you're looking at coilovers + hydraulic bumpstops. Broncos might be a bit heavy for ORIs though as I had to run them pretty stiff for the VX.

[landshark]

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=270794

[RADO]

Wow, that Bronco in TN is a steal! Too bad it's not local, as I'm sure it will be gone before I have time to make a move on it.


...
I looked at a Bronco in Thornton on Monday. Not bad, but I thought the price was a bit high for the specs. The front end was replaced with a 44 and everything on the axle did appear new. Overall it drove pretty well, although I had an issue with my knee clearing the 3-spd shifter in 1st gear. No power steering, drum brakes all around, rust on the rockers & floor, no info on engine age or rebuild.

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5799836354.html