My late introduction post

[BroncoCrawler]

well I've been a member for a while and never made one of these so i figured its about time.

Ive probably met alot of you over the years from either buying and selling but unfortunately was always in a jeep since I was two scared to hurt the bronco but I cant hold back my true calling anymore.

Rig #1 Is a 1976 Bronco That my dad bought brand new from Golden Ford (when it was still around) I got it back in 1999 for my first car. It had dropped a valve on my dad driving to work one day so when I got it it was my first big project to put a reman 351 in it and have I been wrenching, driving, storing it ever since.

Its been through alot of stages and up until recently was in storage for several years while I came to my senses and abandoned the jeep nonsense.

It currently sits like this

351w NP435 D20 9in with a detroit and dana 44 open with 3:55 gears on 35s

Here are pictures from my first ever trip to Moab with it in 2002 when I was 14. These pictures are on Pritchett canyon this was my second time ever wheeling it and my dad thought pritchett was a good choice






Here is how it currently sits in my shop. My Parents have decided to take it to the Rubicon with me in a month so the build has started.





Building the 3rd member



Here is the plan

ARB's front and rear, 4:56 gears, 31 spline rear shafts and 4340 front shaft, Champion bead locks and 35in MTRS, rebuild and twin stick the Dana 20, new Deaver springs front and rear, door inserts with soft doors, 4x4x2 steering, hydro assist (if time)



And here is bronco #2 which you probably recognize as Bronco Hut's old buggy. I bought it late last year and have been fixing and or improving years of abuse ever since. These pictures were in moab this year for EJS and it did great.







I will update this as progress on the 76 moves forward.

Thanks David

[Justin]

Welcome! Did I buy my battlement long arms from you? I think I might have.

[Viperwolf1]

I never see cheerleaders on a trail ride...well, unless you count Shawn Gregg in schoolgirl attire.

[Jesus_man]

Good intro! You've got some nice rigs there. Start a build thread, or continue using this one as we like to see how you progress!

The Rubicon is on my bucket list!

[Gunnibronco]

Good stuff, thanks for posting up. I'd love to see more of your build.

[BroncoCrawler]

Yep Justin that was me. I originally bought them for the brown 76 and then chickened out on building it well now I wish I would of kept them. Oh well I'll probably build some of my own since I have a shop now.
I didnt even think of them being cheerleaders haha. They were with the "Gen Right" guys who we crossed paths with on Pritchett this year, although we have several ladies I wheel with that would put most guys to shame including my girlfriend. She has a TJ on 37s and drives it everywhere any of is guys go, and all without breaking....funny how that works.

And yes the Rubicon has been on my bucket list for years so when a friend asked if we wanted to go the answer was easy.

[BroncoCrawler]

Viperwolf I believe I sold you some j shift transfer cases some odd years ago. One with a twisted off output. If you still have one I wouldn't mind buying one back as a spare.

[BroncoCrawler]

ok well little progress last night. My Dad decided to just pull the rear axle and truss it since it was empty. he is building a truss that wont interfere with the gas tank.





got my new springs too! should be x1000 better then the 20 year old james duff springs that were on it. but im still trying to figure out what route to go with shocks

[Viperwolf1]

Viperwolf I believe I sold you some j shift transfer cases some odd years ago. One with a twisted off output. If you still have one I wouldn't mind buying one back as a spare.

I remember. I don't have any at the present time though.

[BroncoCrawler]

no worries never hurts to ask. If i break this one then ill just have to buy an atlas

[Jesus_man]

Oh yeah, Pritchett isn't really a good trail to cut your teeth on! Never done it myself, but I would like to someday!

[Rox Crusher]

Welcome aboard.

Rubicon........count me jealous

[BroncoCrawler]

Yes pritchett just seems to get harder and harder. I have now officially done it 5 times. Rock pile seems to be my nemesis obstacle. I thought for sure I had it this time in the buggy but all I did was successfully test my cage........hard.

And I'm very much looking forward to the Rubicon. I think my dad might be more excited though since he gets to drive his old rig. Haha

[BroncoCrawler]

Time for an update. Took both Bronco's to Rubicon and Fordyce. It was an epic trip. Both rigs did great! I did every hard line I could in the buggy and my parents tooled through both trails in the brown one. They continued to wheel it the rest of last year until they bought another EB and began work on that. I ran the buggy through Carnage (twice) Grand Junction and Montrose trails along with Penrose. It did great but then thanks giving day on the highway coming back from a snow run The front axle locked up causing both tires to go into a skid at 50mph. I managed to keep it on Hwy 285 but it broke the housing and spun it on the tube. I ended up ordering a Dynatrac housing to replace it but ran out of time to get it installed before EJS. I switched to plan B which was do some much needed upgrades to the brown one and take it.

The to do list.

make and install Lars Bars
install new shocks/towers
bump stop everything properly
Redo steering with One ton chevy and ditch the factoy y link
replace rear main seal and oil pan
replace NP435/ dana 20 with NV3550 and Atlas
Pull 9in 3rd member and replace leaking ARB orings

Oh and I did all this in 4 days......







Used a band saw to cut two slits in the tubing



then an 1/4" end mill to clean/straighten it all out



Then machined it down with 3/4" so it would slide in the factory arm





Machined the inside of the factory arm out slightly



The tube after I machined it down



Put a bend in both arms so they lined up with the frame right and have no side loading of the bushings. For reference this is 2" .375 wall DOM. Very heavy stuff. my home made die and the torch took care of it. No kinks or marks.



Completed Arms



Bracket alignment on frame at ride height



You can see the F-250 shock towers here







Bump stop and suspension clearance checking



New shocks 12" Bilsteins and checking full bump



Old steering



New steering






Final Checks





Full droop the front Driveshaft CV bound up badly







Tore the cv apart and ground it for clearance



NV3550 Ready to go in with adapter plate installed





Everything went together really smooth. I used the advanced adapters kit. The atlas came out of a Jeep Cherokee so it bolted right up to the NV3550 which was sourced from a 2002 Wrangler

[Eck]

Nice. You going to take it to Bronco Safari now?!

[cravenbronco]

Nice. You going to take it to Bronco Safari now?!

X-2

[BroncoCrawler]

Ummmmm Unfortunately I don't think that time off is in the cards the only reason I got this work done was because it was literally my vacation time. We had this trip planned for months and my Girl friend ended up leaving 4 days earlier with our truck and camper and then I left once the Bronco was done. (4) 18hr days followed by a drive to Moab in the snow/Ice was rough but totally worth it. I would Love to go to the Safari, Since I've never been but we shall see. What happens if I show up for Friday & Saturday with no registration? can I register there?

[landshark]

You should be fine and able to register. Get in touch with the Utah guys and let them know

[BroncoCrawler]

Well I got the OK from the GF to go for Friday and Saturday. Sent an email to the Utah guys this morning and haven't heard back annnnd the Bronco protested by leaking coolant from the water pump this morning. No matter I'll put a pump on it and hopefully see you guys out there.