thanks guys.. feels good to drive it.. the hood and top should be installed in the next 2 weeks...

Got a few things done yesterday...

Finally finished the carpeting on the tailgate, waiting to do the small cutouts when I get the top on and install the backsides, probably about 2 weeks.



Installed the door sills, passenger door, door straps









truck didn't come with a passenger mirror so installed one...



Grill trim finally came in.. installed that and the license plate. I used two little rubber bumpers to stand the plate off from the grill and body and then put some small vacuum line on the top of the license plate to keep it from rubbing the grill when i go too fast ;)





and a gratuitous engine shot ;)



next on my list is to get my tires checked.. i think thats the source of the vibration at 10 mph.. and iam going to order up a VSS kit as I think thats the problem with my idle..

Love the 68 turn signals, every bronco should go back to them.

Not much going on as I have been out of town, however the bronco got its final touchups, seam sealer and hood/top installed while i was gone. Picked it up today... now I need to clean it up and install the final remaining weather stripping and other bits and pieces that are left...

Wow Chris that is really something! That bronco is one of the nicest I've seen! I can't wait to see it at an event

Damn....that thing is beautiful.

thanks guys.. working on the weather stripping and painting a few misc items i forgot to take care of.. then a deep cleaning and more smaller items that I have yet to do.. excited to get the top sound deadened and finished to see how much quieter it will be...

Damn Chris that thing looks good.

Chris, I hope to get a ride in this rig someday. With all that you are doing, it will be nearly as nice as a new vehicle, but twice as classy!

not much to update on, finished putting the weatherstripping on and finished the headliner, wiper cover, sun shade install. Used a can of light parchment to touch up the wiper cover and headliner.. came out pretty good seeing how they are 35+ years old...

I used some 3/4" sound deadening material my wife grabbed from work (some kind of space material)... dont know what they use it for but its dense sticks like hell so should work very well. I also used a bit of Dynamat up front under the wipers as i didn't hve much space and then augmented it with the thick material.. shouldn't have too much trouble with the tin can sound now ;)











tonight i started cleaning and prepping the stock rear side panels for some chrome paint and install...

a few more things were done today.. tried to get the rear quarter panels in.. but because of the side mount for the roll cage I wont be able to get the driver side panel in as it sits. I think the best way to go about making it fit is to remove the rollbar and cut/grind off the tabs.. only way i see it working. Not sure if even loosening up the roll bar will even help.

I also started working on my idle. got a new spring for the throttle return, took the throttle body off and cleaned the snot out of it. It seems to be working much better but idle still returns to 1000rpm after a few burbs of the throttle. I'm trying to set the idle again and have the battery disconnected so we shall see. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Not sure, might be a bad IAC still, its used after-all.

oh i have a couple of poser shots, went over to to a fellow bronco enthusiasts house right down the street from me and it seemed like a good spot to flex it a little.

I will get some better pics soon.

Beautiful.

That thing is sick. I'd ask to come see it but I don't want to have to buff my off that paint. I'm surprised that you've got so little gap between the tub and the roll bar. I had to shim 1/4-1/2 an inch on both sides.

Whose house and bronco in the garage is that? Looks awesome Chris!

That thing is awesome!!!! Thanks for all the pics, I'll be using these as a reference when working on mine to know what all the bits and pieces should look like.

kind of a lame update, but trying to figure out what to do with my tire carrier.. making sure i have all the parts i need to paint and go together before it heads off to the paint department.

I know the previous owner did a few fixes to this thing to get the tire to quit bouncing around but a few bits are definitely worn out. i replaced the plastic sleeves, which were missing from the hinges and put everything together and ordered up some new bits from Toms. I see the previous owner added a center section with a length of pipe which I assume was to help to tighten down the tire to the rack. I think iam going to 86 that part and have a nice center section welded together so that its not only stronger but better looking then have everything painted... and yes thats a threaded pipe.

anyway some boring pics

86 is such a strong word...

Took a ride down south to Rox's place to hand off some stuff and since it was so nice out we took a short jaunt to get some pics. Obviously not everything is done, waiting for the tire carrier to be painted and have some finishing touches to complete. Also will be replacing the front seat coverings over the winter as well as some of the exterior stuff that just doesn't match the truck now ;)

anyway some show off shots. I will get some even better ones once I have the tire carrier on...



























































anyway coming to the end of this adventure but iam sure there will be another!

Simply amazing what you were able to accomplish in so little time. A work of art for sure.

Yes and some pictures that need to be submitted for the Calendar.

if you think any are calendar worthy let me know and I have the high resolution ones.. i haven't had a chance to find a great place to take pics yet but a few in there are ok?

got my emissions done, passed easily thanks to the custom bracket for the smog pump that a friend of mine made...

would be happy to lend out the pump and bracket to anyone who needs it in order to pass emissions and has the Explorer serpentine belt setup. It bolts right on the old air conditioner area, then you have to figure out the rest... but i just ran a rubber line to a check valve that goes into the cat... so anyone who needs this just needs to find a way to get it into their exhaust before the cat or the heads etc. I will take some pics of the bracket when i remove it in the next couple of days.





bummer side of things is i have a pin hole leak in my heater core.. new core so not sure whats going on but its inside and not very bad but will probably pull it out here this week to see if i can repair it.

Whats the belt size?? I like the bracket

I would like to copy the bracket, I will get with you after the holiday

Sure took it off today. Your welcome to borrow the whole setup only takes 10 min to swap the whole thing out

I'm not going to run it full time.

Nothing too new.. holidays have been busy but I did get my walk around videos before it snowed.. here you go

Walk around video:






Exhaust Video:

What a great piece of documentation! Did you have a helper or remote start?

Chris that thing is like it just rolled out of the showroom.