Colby's '66 Halfcab Build

[colby45]

Hey guys!

It's been a long time since I last posted but I'm glad to be back. I spent the last year out of state (and away from my Bronco) for work, but now I'm back and starting to get rolling with restoring my '66. I thought I would start a thread to document the build.

A little background about the project can be found here. Essentially a few years back, I pulled the '66 out of storage, gave it a new clutch and transmission and a tune up and drove it for a year. It was fun, but the little 170 lacks in power so it's hard to drive.

The whole thing needs a good going through as no one has done any work on it up to this point aside from what I have done. It's mostly stock and original and a very early '66, so this is going to be a completely stock rebuild. For now I want to get all things mechanical in order, then worry about cosmetics. Here's the short list of what needs to get done to get this Bronco into really good, drive-able condition (kind of in order of priority):

Engine - Complete overhaul. Compression is low, I think due to valve issues, but since it's going to be out and disassembled, I think a full rebuild is in order.
Overhaul carburetor
Replace fuel tank
Replace radiator
Brake job
Rebuild both driveshafts
New tie rods
New coil springs
New shocks
New front bushings

Engine got pulled this weekend, I'm shooting to get it out for the rebuild by next weekend, then I'll tackle the carb and fuel tank hopefully and order some new engine accessories (fuel pump, water pump, ignition stuff, radiator and heater lines, etc)

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[Gunnibronco]

Awesome, glad you are back! I'm looking forward to seeing this happen. Happy to see it restored to stock.

[Kinder]

Woohoo! Next time I’m up your way I need to stop by and check it out again, this time more detail & some pictures.

[Strike2]

Very Cool 66, Looking forward to the build thread
Looking at your photos, are the bottom rocker panel stripes "OEM"? I've yet to see a bronco with them and really the look of them.

[Jesus_man]

Pass me the ! I'm watching this!

[colby45]

Thanks guys! I'll keep you updated.

Woohoo! Next time I’m up your way I need to stop by and check it out again, this time more detail & some pictures.

You definitely should! You're welcome anytime! We're down in Parker now actually.

Very Cool 66, Looking forward to the build thread
Looking at your photos, are the bottom rocker panel stripes "OEM"? I've yet to see a bronco with them and really the look of them.

Thanks! Yes they are OEM as far as I know. I like them too. I think they were a dealer installed option. This one seems to have a few optional things. Visors, lots of chrome, Warn hubs up front, the rocker panel striping. It also has an engine block heater. No idea where that came from.

[colby45]

Progress this weekend. Engine is out to the machine shop for the rebuild.

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We also got the gas tank pulled, cleaned and painted the strap and the new tank is ready to go back in. The old tank actually wasn't rusty at all. There does look to be a leak near the sending unit. It's got some kind of coating on the bottom of it. After closer inspection, the whole underside of the Bronco has some kind of coating. I assume it was a rust preventative, which did seem to work. There is very little rust anywhere.

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Something peculiar did happen. I ordered a new set of exhaust manifold bolts and when I got them I realized it didn't have the right number and lengths of bolts. After some research on the cast numbers, I think this exhaust manifold is actually meant for a 170 in a 1965 Econoline van. It has more metal around the ports for cylinders 3, 4, and 5 so the bolts need to be longer. Dunno why that got put on there. Since the Bronco was built in August, 1965 I'm assuming it was an early production mistake.

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[Kinder]

Who is doing the machine work on the motor? Also, don’t throw out the tank, if it’s a simple solder fix I’d like it as a spare. I’ll have to look at my exhaust manifold and check the casting number.

[colby45]

Who is doing the machine work on the motor? Also, don’t throw out the tank, if it’s a simple solder fix I’d like it as a spare. I’ll have to look at my exhaust manifold and check the casting number.

USA Performance Engine up on the north side of town. Yeah it doesn't look to be a huge leak. I just see signs of it around the collar where the sending unit sits. I'd imagine it could be soldered.

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Yes definitely check your cast numbers and let me know what you find. I'm curious. I've found some info that says the U in C5UE is for the Econoline, but I can't say that's definitive.

[Gunnibronco]

Since the Econolines & Broncos (and Pick ups) shared the same assembly line, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were pulling Econoline parts for the earliest Broncos. Wish I was still in Gunnison, I could look at my friend's August 65 truck and see if his manifold was similar.

Also, I've read that the Budd pressed sheet metal seemed to rust less than the Ford metal. But that is hard to prove.

[colby45]

Made some more progress today. Picked up a bunch of engine parts I had powder coated by Dan down at Surface Tek in Parker. He did a fantastic job and was really, really affordable. He also sand blasted our exhaust manifold. I'm going to hit that with some VHT paint when it warms up a bit.

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Got the new gas tank/sending unit assembled and mounted. I had the original strap powder coated because the one from Tom's didn't come pre-bent and I thought the original would look better than if I tried to bend the new one. I was missing a rubber pad on one of the chassis mounts so I made one out of a piece of rubber hose. Seems to be fine.

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Also, heads up to any '66 guys out there. The vent hose on the '66 tank is on the opposite side of the fill hose compared to later Broncos so you have to have a long enough piece of rubber line to go under the fill hose with the vent hose, or replace the fill neck assembly if you put in a new OEM tank.

I also pulled the old fuel line that ran along the chassis. I need to order some new line. That way, the whole fuel system is new when we get the engine back, since the carb is getting overhauled too.

I also flushed the radiator. There wasn't too much gunk in it. I'm debating putting it back in. It has a small leak (hardly even a drip) but I don't know if I should try to get it fixed, or store it for now and grab a new one.

Engine should be back in about a week. Got an update from the machine shop, 170 is in great shape, just a couple bad valve seats.

[landshark]

Looks great! Will have to look into that powder coater

[rt9]

Looks great and welcome back!!!

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[Kinder]

Interesting point about the fuel tank vent location, I never looked to see where it was. Also, must be something about ‘66 radiators going around, the upper lip on mine opened up on the way to breakfast last weekend. Luckily Gunni hooked me up with a spare, I’ll get the original fixed and put back in.

[colby45]

Interesting point about the fuel tank vent location, I never looked to see where it was. Also, must be something about ‘66 radiators going around, the upper lip on mine opened up on the way to breakfast last weekend. Luckily Gunni hooked me up with a spare, I’ll get the original fixed and put back in.

Yeah I never looked either and I never looked that close at the new tank when I bought it. I'm going to have to really start comparing new parts to old when I buy therm.

Yeah I guess 51 years is a lot for a radiator. I'd like to have mine cleaned out and re-cored and maybe painted. No idea if there are still shops around that want to deal with that.

[Kinder]

Yes there are still a couple of shops doing radiator work, problem is the cost is usually greater than a new, albeit lower quality, radiator.

[colby45]

Yes there are still a couple of shops doing radiator work, problem is the cost is usually greater than a new, albeit lower quality, radiator.

I'm pretty much always all for spending a little more for higher quality and originality.

[Kinder]

Finally took a pic of the exhaust manifold on my ‘66, it’s the same casting as yours, seems like the saying of just grabbing parts from what is laying around is right. Added the info to the Wiki that Gunni started.

[colby45]

Finally took a pic of the exhaust manifold on my ‘66, it’s the same casting as yours, seems like the saying of just grabbing parts from what is laying around is right. Added the info to the Wiki that Gunni started.

Thanks for confirming this Kinder! Super interesting stuff. Working on the the '66s is never dull.

My engine is done and ready to be picked up. I've been trying to get a buddy of mine to make me a deal on an old Toyota truck he is selling so I can have a shop truck for doing stuff like that. Hopefully I'll have the engine back by the weekend.

[Kinder]

If you need help picking up your motor let me know, it’d be a good excuse to see your new digs.

[colby45]

If you need help picking up your motor let me know, it’d be a good excuse to see your new digs.

I really, really appreciate that, but we did end up getting a truck so I think were good. I won't make you drive all over town. But I'll PM you the new address and you should definitely come by and have a beer, see the new place and talk Broncos.

[colby45]

Painted the exhaust manifold this weekend. 2 coats of VHT Flameproof primer and 3 coats of VHT Flameproof paint, baked and ready for install.

Here's how it looks when we pulled it:

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After sandblasting:

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Primed:

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Painted:

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[colby45]

Got my engine back! Hopefully I can get it back together and back in the Bronco this weekend.

I'm really really impressed with the way it came out. Looks brand new. Sorry it's not a great quality pic. It was getting dark by the time we got home. I'll take more as we assemble it and get it back in.

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[Eck]

Looks great. Did you have it built and painted? Home stretch!


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[cpldavis37]

Looks great!

[colby45]

Thanks guys!

Looks great. Did you have it built and painted? Home stretch!


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Yep had a full overhaul done along with re-painting.

Definitely in the homestretch. Just wrapping up all the little details now. Getting all new bolts, power washed the engine bay, cleaned and painted motor mounts and the bell housing. I didn't get as much done as I wanted this weekend because of the weather and I have a cold, but I think I have everything in line to be put back together. The last piece to come back is the carb. Sent it out to the Holley Custom Speed Shop for a full restoration last week. Hopefully by the time it comes back everything else will be done and we can just plop it on and start it up.

[colby45]

Got the engine back in and got everything all hooked back up. All new full exhaust (which this Bronco hasn't had since we've owned it), hoses, hard lines and hardware. Now I'm just waiting on the carb to come back and it should be ready to fire up.

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[BOBS 2 68S]

Looking good!!

[colby45]

Well it's been a while since I posted an update. Many things have been happening with Bronco.

Got the carb back and got it on. Here it is on the Holley test stand for flow testing before we got it back:

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Got the carb installed on the engine, got all the lines hooked up and radiator back in. Here's the finished product (Thanks to Kirk for the air filter housing!):

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First startup went well. We got the engine running without much issue, got the carb dialed and the timing adjusted and ran it to temp.

Next day we went for the first test drive. Things were not good. Had no power. Couldn't get her to run over 30 really and it was overheating slowly. Over the course of two weeks we diagnosed and troubleshot everything. Ignition, fuel, timing, anything and everything. We adjusted timing, points and basically did (another) full tune up. Also realized we put the radiator fan on backward, so that solved the overheating. I also realized I had a stuck rear brake drum. Many of you probably saw that thread.

The stuck drum also cooked one wheel bearing and the seals were leaking pretty bad too, so we put in some rear wheel bearings and seals while the brake drums and everything were off:

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Now it's happily on the road with plenty of power! Well for a 170 anyway.

Here's our first long cruise down to Franktown:

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Bonus dog/Bronco photo:

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Now it's just driving and putting miles on the rebuild for the time being. I'll address other small things, front brakes, bearings, etc. as they come up.

[Jesus_man]

It's nice to get to a point where you can just enjoy them!